White-Oak Easter Basket Memories | white oak baskets
Growing up we got Easter baskets each year from Paw-Paw John until he wasn’t able to make them any longer. Paw-Paw John made white oak baskets after he retired from Georgia Pacific. His grandpa started showing him when he was about 4 years old. He made Easter baskets for Mimi and Auntie when they were little. It wasn’t til after he retired that he really made baskets up until then it was for family. People saw them and asked him to make them one. Paw-Paw had several people come down to watch him one even videoed him. He also taught several people to make them.
He would go in the woods and find about a 6-7 inches diameter white oak tree. All that he was able to use is the truck up to where the 1st limbs would start(past the limbs the wood would be knotty and unable to use). Once he got it home he would take a froe and split the trunk in half length wise, after that he would quarter it. Next he would cut out the heart of the tree because it was too brittle to use for baskets. Depending on the size of the quarters he might split it again to make the width smaller. A drawer knife would then shave off the bark. Once he had that completed and the splits like he wanted he would take a spoke shave shaving them til they were completely smooth. At this point he was ready to start weaving his baskets. He could make anything anyone wanted from small baskets(fit 1 egg) to large baskets(bushel baskets). All you would have to do is show him a picture or tell him how you wanted it and he could do it. Maw-Maw Versie (his wife) would sew a liner in some of the sewing baskets.
He had a basket donated to the Ag museum in the General store in the late 1980’s early 1990’s.
In 1998 he passed away but by that time he had at least one of this baskets in almost every state. If he would have still been living he would be 105 as of this March. I miss him very much!!!!!!!
