Wood carver is continuing a family tradition.

Byline: Sandy Quadros Bowles

PAXTON - Louis Dennis Jr. uses his woodworking talents to help others carve out a better life.

Several of his creations have raised money for, or the spirits of, those in need. And all his works reflect a family tradition that he decided to follow later in life.

The Paxton resident, who bills himself as The Country Carver, has created personalized canes for returning soldiers who have been injured in combat. He creates these canes by carving an American eagle face for the head and adorning the body of the cane with the veteran's name, rank, ribbons earned and the date of injury.

Mr. Dennis downplays the canes he has made and notes that he is only one of many carvers throughout the country who have created these items through the Eagle Project, a nationwide effort of wood carvers.

But the canes are only part of Mr. Dennis' efforts to help others. Consider, for example, the bag on his kitchen table, which is spilling over with miniature carved chickadees.

The chickadees have plenty of avian company. His home is filled with carvings of birds, including a green-winged teal, a puffin, a merlin and an owl.

Although Mr. Dennis will "carve anything that looks like it might be fun to carve," he particularly enjoys carving birds.

The chickadees, though, serve a special purpose. He is selling them as Christmas tree ornaments through the Tree of Hope, a project of the New England Woodcarvers, a group based in Bedford.

Proceeds from the sales are used to buy items needed by the veterans at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford. During the holiday season, the carvers visit the hospital to distribute the items and host a party for the veterans.

Mr. Dennis' latest creations are considerably larger than the chickadees. He is carving a flying formation of seven Canada geese.

The geese will eventually hang from a beam in the ceiling of the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster. He created the geese in exchange for the center allowing the New England Woodcarvers to host classes there in October.

He expects the geese to be completed around Thanksgiving.

With the help of numerous Internet photos of Canada geese, Mr. Dennis is carving the birds in a variety of positions. One goose leads the formation, and three pairs follow.

Some will have wings aloft, while others will be posed with wings down. One has a mouth open as if it is honking, which Mr. Dennis admits with a laugh is an all-too-familiar situation.

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