In 1988, Ron Vance of Cincinnati, Ohio was asked to be the dean for a week of Wilderness camp at Woodland Lakes Christian Camp in Amelia, Ohio. In Wilderness Camp people sleep in tents, cook all meals over the campfire, do a lot of hiking, swimming, canoeing, rock climbing, basically any kind of outdoor activity. With all the hiking they did, Vance thought, he needed a good walking stick. So he picked up a stick off the ground and used it for hiking. As the week went on, he tried carving in the stick. Using his old pocket knife, he carved the name of the camp, the dates of the camp, as well as everyone’s name who came that week.
If he could do that with an old knife and an old piece of wood off the ground, he wondered what he could do if he started out with a really sharp knife and a nice piece of wood. Off to the hardware store he went. he bought an X-acto knife and a three-foot dowel rod.
It took him several months, but he carved a stick with a variety of designs. After that stick Vance decided to carve something he could use for a real purpose, as a teaching tool. Soon after that, he carved his first Bible Stick. Each walking stick tells a story or represents different aspects of the Bible.
Vance is the associate minister at the Western Hills Church of Christ, located in Cincinnati. He will be in Plymouth on Friday, November 2 displaying and talking about his many Bible Sticks and how he creates them. His presentation begins at 7:00 p.m. at THE WELL located at 199 E. Adams St. in the Educational Building of the First United Methodist Church. The Bible Stick presentation is free and open to the public. A free will offering will be taken. Refreshments will be served. For more information call Cindy Flagg at 574-952-3661 or the Church office at 574-936-2943.
Photo Caption:
Ron Vance of Cincinnati, Ohio will present a program about his hand carved Bible Sticks on Friday, Nov. 2 at THE WELL.
