Hickory Trees
"Taught to the tune of a hickory stick." is a line from an old song. Did you ever stop to wonder "Why hickory"? Turns out hickory is very strong, very flexible, and has lots of small, low branches that are easily cut. In other words, the perfect tool when the sudden need to discipline a student arose. My, how times have changed since that was written. A teacher who used that approach now would probably be looking at jail time.
The same characteristics of strength and flexibility make it valuable for building furniture. We learned more about this recently when my elderly (90+) mother-in-law, who grew up in Pennsylvania, mentioned that she had always secretly wanted a hickory rocker. If you have ever dispaired of finding a gift which an elderly relative actually wanted, you will understand why this stirred the family to action.
Mom lives in Waco, TX, with one daughter, another daughter is from Albuquerque, NM and the son is from Chicago. However, the wish for a hickory rocker was mentioned when all four were back in Pennsylvania for a wedding. So, in deep secrecy, the search for the proper rocker began. They are not actually uncommon in that part of the world so it came down to quality of work, price, and size (Mom is very small). Since all three kids were on site the buying decision could be a joint process and everyone felt included.
The Chicago son had driven to the wedding so he offered to take it home with him and ship it from there to Waco. (Mom had flown). Packaging a hickory rocker for shipping is quite a chore. There isn't much weight, but it sure is awkward. The box also has to be strong enough to prevent crushing. Difficulty always translates into dollars, so in the end, the shipping cost more than the rocker itself. However, Mom was Happy! so it was worth it.
Hickory can grow larger than sapling size, to where it is good for flooring and other lumber based items. The bark can be stripped and woven into baskets. In fact, for a family that livers where hickory grows, I think it could form the basis for a Make and Sell opportunity for the kids.
If hickory products sound interesting or you want to experience the variety of ways it is used, visit Ebay. The list below shows current auctions of hickory items on Ebay. Clicking any of the links will take you directly to that auction. The creative ways trees and tree products are used in folk art items, antiques, and new products is something we find interesting. We are building a network of tree related sites where preselect auctions of related items are displayed automatically. From there you can see what other tree types we have created sites around.