50 YEARS AGO (Sept. 26, 1974): Kirkland to demonstrate carving work at festival

The following article was reprinted from the Sept. 26, 1974, edition of the Ozark County Times. 

[Reprinted from 1974] Claude Kirkland of Howards Ridge will be here during Hootin an Hollarin to demonstrate his art of carving link-within-a-link wooden chains from a single piece of wood. 

Sometimes he includes a round ball within a link to add interest when the chain is moved, and at the end of a chain he will carve a fish or some other decoration. It takes him about 16 to 20 hours complete a chain 28 to 30 inches long, he said. 

Kirkland has been carving the chains and other objects such as small animals, fish and eagles, since he was injured in an explosion in a Texas oil field where he was working some 40 years ago.

A native of Howards Ridge where he was born in 1897, the son of John and Ida Schrum Kirkland, he holds both an honorable discharge from the Army and from the Navy. He served in the Army in World War I and following his discharge in June 1919, he enlisted in the Navy in November and served until September 1921.

Kirkland and his wife, Eutha, have many examples of his art in their home. Some are for sale and others are very special to Mrs. Kirkland and form colorful displays on the walls of their attractive home. Mrs. Kirkland is the Howards Ridge correspondent for the Ozark County Times. 

The chains that are for sale bring about $5 and the other objects he carves range in price according to size and the type of carving represented. 

Kirland says that he is having difficulty in getting the linden wood which he needs for his chains and would appreciate knowing where a supply would be available.