Damon biking in Topeka

Damon was one of the judges at a skateboard/biker event in Topeka, Aug 6, 2005. Afterwards, the judges had a chance to ride.

Shop Class Desk

Here's the desk I made in 1962-63 in 9th grade woodworking class. The desktop was supposed to be made of glued together solid birch wood. This project took most of the 9th grade year. After the Christmas break, the whole desk had warped due to the desktop curling. Had to redo the top (2x4s, and 1/4" birch plywood on top and sides). Anyway, it still stands today in spite of some hard use by my brothers using it over during my college days.
Legs never broke on this project.

Sam Mar's Family (1950s in Wichita). Standing in the beige jacket is Junior Mar and his wife ("mumu" to my brothers and me). For Ken and me, Junior and Mumu's house was a second home. Our parents were close to them. One of the cousins made a coffee table in junior high (I think it might have been Robert, the one on the far right). He brought it over to our house for storage until he had a chance to get it home. The design had all four legs angled out (about 45 degrees). The legs broke as soon as the table was set in the entryway room. Mom, who was always quick to offer an opinion, commented, "don't ever make a table like that when you take shop." My first project was one of those pine foot stools. Straight legs, but it still cracked within a few weeks.. Eventually, in 9th grade, I made the desk I still have today.