A woodworking life
For one local man, working with wood helped overcome stress left over from war
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Monday, December 10, 2007 11:10 AM PST
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| Ernest Ballou (above) stands in midst of craft items he has made. Ballou translates a love of woodworking into a unique, local trade with people from across Eastern Oregon making the journey to his shop in Nyssa to see his products. |
Nyssa — Ernest Ballou summed one part of his life in a single, simple sentence.
“I’m always making something,” he said.
Ernest, and his wife Mary, Ballou are already well-known around the valley and outside the area for their home Christmas display.
Yet their Christmas display is special because many of the decorations around their home are produced out of Ernest Ballou’s woodshop where he said he has been busy for the past several years making indoor and outdoor decorations for all seasons.
His work includes bird houses, many in a unique design.
Ernest Ballou — who, with Mary, has been in Nyssa since 1975 — farmed and then worked at Kit Manufacturing and Champion Homes.
Also, Ballou is a Korean War Veteran, serving in that conflict in Korea from 1950 to 1953. He came back to the states within a few months of the end of the fighting.
In a sense, woodworking helped Ballou. After he returned from Korea he said he suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome and discovered that working with wood was therapeutic, and his output has been prolific.
That output over the years includes items like the Red, White and Blue Freedom Train and a lot of other patriotic items along with kissing Santas, dancing Santas, Santa and his reindeer, morning stars, evening stars and snow flakes.
Although they do not live along a main highway, people manage to find the Ballous, who live on North Second Street in Nyssa — often by word of mouth.
“We’ve had people from Mountain Home and Baker City driving by,” Mary Ballou said.
And though Ernest Ballou may not get around to as many craft shows as he used to, people will stop at their home and purchase products there.
And holiday crafts may not be the most important item that Ballou produces. For the last five to six years he has been making crosses for veteran’s graves.
“I’ve made more than 10,000. I do the crosses for nothing. I owe them that much,” Ballou, who is a member of Disabled American Veterans and has been a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, said.
To help get the crosses painted, Ballous call Nyssa High School to see if there are students who need community service credits who want to volunteer.
“That makes the kids feel good,” Mary Ballou said.
Both still do a lot of volunteer work for veterans. She does a lot of crocheting of afghans and other items. An American flag is one of them. Red, White and Blue are popular colors around their house.
Through his wife’s persistence, Ernest Ballou just recently received the three Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts he was awarded during the Korean War.
