Wonders of woodworking

Hillsborough high school students - girls included - produce award-winning furniture with help from a popular teacher

HILLSBOROUGH -- The room was filled with the scent of pine mingled with something that smelled like gingersnaps baking in the oven. But this scent wasn't coming from home economics.

It was the smell of metal teeth grinding against the grain of walnut, oak, pine and any other kind of wood that can be found in this part of the state.

It was Keith Yow's beginner woodworking class at Cedar Ridge High School -- "Furniture and Cabinetmaking." It is considered one of the best in the nation.

Table saws and band saws buzzed as students shaped their pieces. Planers hummed as wooden blocks were thinned. The first project of the year was a simple one: jewelry boxes.

Morrah Goggins used red oak and cherry wood for her box. One for the "feet"-- or base -- and one for the case.

"[The class] just sounded interesting," Goggins, a sophomore, said as she used a stencil of circles to draw a design for her project. "And since it's one of the best programs in the country, my parents wanted me to take it."

The reputation of the class is underscored by the many awards Yow's students have won in woodworking and design competitions. Photos of student work have been published in trade books.

Yow began teaching at Cedar Ridge when the school first opened four years ago. Before that, he taught at Orange High School for nine years and at N.C. State University's College of Design for three years.

His program at Cedar Ridge is full, with three classes each semester. A growing number of students are girls.

"Ten years ago, I had a couple of girls sign up, and they did quite well," Yow said. "It showed other girls they can do it, too. They have a very clear definition, a lot of times, of what they want a product to look like, and they don't settle for anything just close to it."

Today, young women make up about a third of Yow's students.

His philosophy is simple. "I typically say: 'Go in the shop, do a good job, show off the kids a bit and everything takes care of itself.' Positive reinforcement tends to go a long way."

Public displays of student work don't hurt interest, either.

The Orange County Historical Museum shows off the program's handiwork in the form of 18th century-style benches made from a large oak tree. The school district's central office in downtown Hillsborough, where the school board meets, is home to a podium, a receptionist's desk and two end tables that students built.

This year, students have designed a lightweight wooden chair with wheels to help Santa Claus get around when he visits children at UNC's pediatrics hospital.

But first, there are the jewelry boxes. Junior Adam Dodson is using red oak for his. He chose his design -- resembling the roofs of towers in Moscow.

He's not sure whether woodworking is the route he wants to take after high school, but it's high on his list -- even if it will take practice based on the few things he has tried at home. "I made a chair and a workbench," he said.

Then, he paused.

"The chair didn't really work out."