Something to crow about

After starting in a renovated chicken coop, the Rooster’s Corner Woodworking Shop at the Masonic Village retirement center in Elizabethtown, Pa., is in a new 8,700-sq.-ft. shop.

The shop is home to more than 50 retirees, including some who put in eight-hour days. They take custom and repair orders and each year the group makes donations to the Masonic Children’s Home and other charities. Hand-made items include puzzles, toys, boxes, benches and furniture.

“Every artist needs the right environment and the woodworkers of Masonic Village now have a state-of-the-art space which rivals any retirement community woodshop across the country, the center said in a statement.

The shop features 56 benches, more than 20 assembly tables, three storage rooms, a paint booth, an office and a spacious showroom. It is fully equipped with a dust collection system, air conditioning, plenty of light and dozens of new machines.

“I believe it is one of the nicest and most modern shops in any of the retirement communities in the state, if not the country,” says resident Dean Miller, president of the woodshop. “Three of us from the shop attended all of the design meetings. We had a lot of input and the final design is based on our recommendations.”

The Masonic Villages is owned and operated by the R.W. Grand Lodge of F. & A. M. of Pennsylvania. It has other locations in Dallas and Lafayette Hill, Sewickley and Warminster, Pa.

For more, visit www.masonicvillages.org. 

This article originally appeared in the June 2017 issue.