Turning skills for a new generation
When John Buckner retired from a career teaching music at both the high school and collegiate levels, he thought his days of teaching were through. More than 30 years later, he still teaches on a regular basis, though the subject matter has changed.
Buckner, an independent living resident at Kidron Bethel Village, is notorious in the area and at neighboring Bethel College for mentoring Bethel College students in woodturning, a specialized branch of woodworking in which pieces are created as they turn on an axis of rotation on a wood lathe. Over the 18 years he has lived at Kidron Bethel Village, he has mentored 17 Bethel College students in the art of woodturning, creating not just beautiful and functional wood art, but also connections that create bridges between the generations and inspire younger people of the digital age to pursue the traditional art form.
“I’m always amazed that these busy college students want to come here to do this, but there is something so fun and fulfilling about being creative,” said Buckner. “They seem to get a great deal of joy out of doing it.”
Buckner’s foray into mentoring budding woodworkers did not begin at Kidron Bethel Village, but in the 13 years immediately following his retirement when he lived in western Nebraska and first encountered high school students who were interested in learning the art.
“My dad was a very fine woodworker,” said Buckner. “He had me turning on a lathe - even though I had to stand on a box - by the time I was seven, so it’s been a hobby for me for a very long time.”
When he moved to Kidron Bethel Village, Buckner knew he wanted something to keep him busy and decided to set up a woodshop for himself in his garage. He reached out to Bethel College’s student employment coordinator to find students who could help clean up his garage and get it set for being a shop.
“After I was set up and working in the shop, I realized it would be nice to have somebody do the clean up work for me while I did the artistic work on the lathe,” said Buckner. “I hired a second set of students – a pair of twins – to do that for me and soon I was teaching them how to work the lathe. They ended up spending four years with me, and it’s all just grown from there.”
As students graduate and move on, new students come in to take their place, with the availability for the experience spreading by word of mouth alone. Buckner has mentored students from all over the world, including his current group of four, who are all international students.
“So far, all of my students have been beginners,” said Buckner. “I don’t think any of them have had any kind of shop or woodworking experience. So we start from scratch and by the end of four years, they are doing some pretty remarkable work. You learn to turn wood by turning wood, not by somebody hovering over you and telling you what you’re doing wrong. You have to make mistakes and figure out what tools work best at what time.”
John Buckner and Friends, as they are known in the artistic world, are featured in five galleries throughout the state of Kansas from Garden City to Emporia. They also do custom projects as requested, including a current project of making “legacy pens” for Bluestem Communities Fund Advancement to gift to donors who have made Kidron Bethel Village part of their estate plan.
Buckner recognizes the mutuality of the relationships he builds with the college students, noting that he learns from them even as they are learning an art form from him. He is grateful for the connections that continue beyond a student’s time at Bethel College.
“I chose to live at Kidron Bethel Village because I have no family, and I thought it would be a good place to be when it comes time to needing someone to push me around in a wheelchair,” said Buckner. “The students I work with become like my family during the years we have together. One of the most striking things to me has been how invariably nice they are. I’m 91 years old and these kids are so solicitous with me. They are patient when I don’t think straight. They always contact me before they come here, and mostly they keep coming. They are so busy with their lives, but they continually make time for this. This whole arrangement is a great joy for me, and the kids are just amazing.”