Parkinson’s Disease hasn’t slowed down woodworker
Published: January 18, 2006
You know you’re a friend of Russell Hargan’s when he’s asked you to put a nail in his coffin.
Then he’ll hand you a marker so you can sign it, right beside the nail, along with more than 100 other old friends and new ones, locals and folks who’ve come to visit all the way from Florida.
“It’s like this,” he’ll tell you. “We’ve all got to have a casket. Here’s mine.”
It’s sturdy, made of sassafras with a cedar lining in the bottom and a little embellishment on the sides. No fancy padding on the inside; a quilt will be cushion enough when the time comes.
He keeps it out in the shed and works on it from time to time.
It’s his casket. He made it. And it’s just the way he likes it _ with a few extra nails from his friends.
At 71, known to most people as Pug, Hargan figures everybody should be able to make their own casket. By that right, he probably suspects everybody should be able to make their own furniture too.
But, in the middle of his workshop, where the walls are brown with sawdust and the smell of wood is thick and sweet, Hargan makes furniture and has for about 40 years. Waiting to be finished on his bench is a roll-top desk, proof that even after living 17 years with Parkinson’s Disease, he hasn’t lost his ability to create.
Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive brain disorder that often results in slowness of movement, shaking and stiffness, especially in the hands. The disorder has made it more difficult, especially in recent years, for Hargan to do the woodworking he loves so much.
A brick mason and farmer by trade, he started woodworking in 1965. It has been a constant outlet of energy and creativity, even after he could no longer work.
He has a photo album full of pictures of bedroom suites he’s made for his children and grandchildren: television stands, picture frames, clocks, baby changing stations and high chairs _ a two-seater for the twins _ and more than 25 cedar chests.
“And I gave ‘em all away,” he said lightheartedly.
His projects take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to make. They are large and small. Ornate and basic. And, they’re all built to last.
In the 1960s, Hargan was featured in the Nolin News for the kitchen cabinets he made out of walnut trees. The cabinets look the same today as they did in the dated photo. He recently carved a nativity scene with trees 4 feet tall, an angel and manger scene that sold at a Vine Grove fundraiser auction for $75. He calls it the Christmas trees, but most of his creations don’t get names. They’re just ideas he comes up with and sometimes sketches out.
“I’ve got to see it finished before I can start it,” he said.
All the wood Hargan uses, from his casket to the smallest picture frame, comes from his nearly 200-acre Vine Grove farm, cut by his own hands.
He’s got a barn full of oak, walnut and sassafras stacked and buried alongside old wooden items _ like the legs from the kitchen table of his childhood home or a tattered old desk _ just waiting for reincarnation.
Occasionally, someone will come in and ask him to work on something for them and he will. Or he’ll give them something he’s already made as a parting gift.
“He makes all kinds of things and just gives them away to people,” said Becky Heitz, assistant Vine Grove city clerk.
He’s given Heitz several things. A wooden cross, for one. His friendship, another.
To Sam Pike of Elizabethtown, he gave more than that.
Pike began working for Hargan in 1966 as a freshman in high school. First, he was a farmhand, then he helped with bricklaying.
When Pike’s dad died, Hargan urged him to push on.
“He had this unique ability to challenge people to be the best they could be,” Pike said. “Nobody could do that like Pug.”
Always an independent, active and strong man, Hargan acted as a father figure and mentor to Pike through his college years, medical school and his residency.
Pike named his second son Russell after Hargan, and all five of his children call him Grandpa. His wife, Alta, they call Granny.
She’s the good woman behind the good man, Pike said.
“He has been quite an influence in my life. I owe him a lot,” he said. “He is without a doubt, the most talented man I know.”
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