The drive is one the Troy man has made several times during the past eight years and one he plans to make again this summer.
Later this month, he’ll pack his van with about 500 wood blanks, or precut pieces for carving, and carving knives, chisels, and rotary tools, and drive to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation where he again plans to spend a month teaching children and adults how to carve.
Papanek, a retired school psychologist and guidance counselor, said he finds wood carving to be relaxing.
Teaching carving to children has many benefits. Carving teaches them how to start and finish a project, how to measure, and how to use tools, like knives, rotary tools, and sandpaper, and how to paint.
“They actually finish something and can be proud of it,” he said.
When Papanek first visited Standing Rock Indian Reservation about eight years ago, he was delivering clothing. He’d brought along wood and his carving supplies so that he could carve during the trip.
“The kids saw me carving, and they wanted to carve,” he said.
Because of the poverty on the reservation, the children had little access to wood and the carving tools, he explained.
The reservation, its people and the poverty, made an impression on Papanek, and he has returned there several times. He helped build housing, he delivered more clothing, and once, he played Santa when visiting in December.
For the past several years, he also has gone during the summer months and taught carving to children as well as a few adults. Papanek said that organizations and individuals from the Miami Valley area donate money for supplies.
While there, he sometimes stays with families and sometimes stays in the teacher housing at Little Eagle Elementary School. He splits his days between teaching at the Boys and Girls Club in McLaughlin, S.D., and at the elementary school in Little Eagle, S.D. During that time, he’ll usually work with 50 children.
Depending on their skill level, he’ll teach them how to carve bison, eagle heads, horses, prairie dogs, penguins, beavers, or frogs.
After a few summers, some have developed into good carvers.
The 70-year-old Papanek also talks and listens to a lot of children.
“Kids open up to me when they’re carving, and they talk to me,” he said. “We just listen and offer empathy.”
During the course of the summers, he has met a lot of people, and participated in many customs on the reservation, including watching the rodeo, powwows and the sweat lodge. This summer, he hopes to find someone who will accompany him on the trip and help with the driving. He said that the person would learn about woodcarving and develop a better understanding of Native American culture.
The experience may make them want to return again and again.
Do you know of someone who should be featured in Hereabouts? Send an email to Beth Sears at sears@erinet.com or call her at (937) 448-0101.
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