Briggs does it for love of children
Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 3, 2001
ADAMS – The secret ingredient in every woodworking project Gordon Briggs undertakes is affection.
Thursday, May 03, 2001
ADAMS – The secret ingredient in every woodworking project Gordon Briggs undertakes is affection.
Specifically, affection his children and grandchildren.
He does it also for the challenge and to relax, but most of all, Briggs does it for family.
"Woodworking is only one of my hobbies,: Briggs said. "I also enjoy golf and fishing, but I would say woodworking is my favorite most of the time."
"I do it in my leisure time for the relaxation and the challenge, but most of all for my children and grandchildren," he said of his woodworking hobby.
A native of Rochester, Briggs entered law enforcement after a stint in the Army. He worked first as an Olmsted County Sheriff’s Department deputy, then as a Kasson police officer and since later as a contract deputy for the city of Adams with former Mower County Sheriff Carmen Halstenson.
For the last 17 years, he has been the Adams police chief.
He and his wife, Terry (Josephson), a native of Austin, have five children, three daughters and two sons and six grandchildren.
His father was a mechanic and his mother a talent at anything she tried, including arts, crafts and upholstering.
"I remember my first real project in high school was a magazine stand in shop class that I made for my parents," he said. "Right from the start, I enjoyed working with wood and I knew then that I wanted to create more projects."
After he began his career in law enforcement and married, it took a suggestion from his wife, Terry, to open the door to the possibilities woodworking offered. "She suggested that I make a wood Christmas stocking," he recalled. "All I had was an old saber saw, but I cut and sanded the best I knew how and finished it."
That was 10 years ago and next came a Christmas wreath of hearts and soon afterwards a tape cabinet and toy box made for the couple’s children.
Then, more projects came one by one. An Orca the whale rocker and then two more, a dinosaur rocker, wall hangings, play tables first simple in design and then a baseball field model and finally a Minnesota Vikings football field.
Except for shop class in high school, Briggs has had no formal training. Self-taught, he sees something he wants to recreate, buys a pattern and then goes to work in his basement shop; usually in the mornings after a long night patrolling the community.
Through the years, he has expanded his tool collection and has what he needs to get the job done.
Briggs describes himself as a "fussy" guy, who strives to "get it right the first time.
Some projects are simpler than others, while still others offer a stiffer challenge. During the golf season, he is a regular at the Cedar River Country Club located west of Adams along Highway 56. Fishing is something he and his wife enjoy doing together. Woodworking is a solitary pursuit.
He created one-of-a-kind models of the city of Adams’ police car, a vintage fire truck and the city maintenance engineer’s truck. They are on display at the Adams City Hall as Briggs’ gifts to the city. When John Kiefer, the city’s maintenance engineer acquired a pickup truck with a snowplow, Briggs – ever the perfectionist – created a miniature snow plow to add to his model of the city vehicle.
The scale models are "toon" car images in wood made of pine.
Through the years, Briggs has gotten so good at woodworking that his fans have encouraged him to create more and to either enter them in competitions or offer them for sale.
Briggs has resisted until recently.
It happened, when he created a model Harley Davidson motorcycle, 20 inches high and 3 feet long. It took him four months to build and in the end his plans to turn it into a rocker were sidetracked and it became instead a play toy for a grandchild.
So impressed with the walnut and oak creation, that Briggs made another smaller model to have for himself.
Then, he saw a wooden golf cart creation and just "had to build one."
Again, it was wife Terry’s idea and the finished models went as gifts for brothers- and sisters-in-law.
The golf courts are exact to the smallest detail. Two bags full of clubs rest in back and there are cup holders up front. The carts are made of cedar in honor of his favorite golf course, Cedar River Country Club.
Dave Bonella, manager of the Adams golf course, will have first crack at the golf cart models, but others are also expressing an interest in them.
The golf carts are his first venture into commercial woodworking and will be offered for sale.
But Briggs will have a problem keeping up with orders so long as his family keeps demanding more from him.
His youngest grandchild is waiting for a new train rocker for her bedroom.
"The woodworking has been even more than I expected," he said. I didn’t realize how much joy and satisfaction there would be."
"My wife Terry has encouraged me through the years and all in all it has been a very satisfying hobby," he said.
"I want to do more things as time allows and I will always make things out of wood for my children and grandchildren," he said.
A hobby that relaxes so much and offers a challenge to create more sophisticated projects, while creating something for others to admire can’t be all made of wood.
Briggs kids will say there is love in everyone of his creations.
Call Lee Bonorden at 434-2232 or e-mail him at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com.