“Build everything to last forever,” declared Ernest "Mooney" Warther and it could not describe the man behind the name any better. Mooney Warther was an incredible wood carver whose ingenuity helps to give us a glimpse into not only the steam era, but also the death of our sixteenth president. I visited the Warther Museum and was amazed at what one man was able to accomplish. This man’s character and accomplishments had a profound effect on me. Who is the man behind the name Mooney Warther? Well to explain I must divulge the history behind the nickname Mooney. Mooney’s father passed away leaving his wife with five children and not much else. Mooney was only a toddler at the time of his father’s passing and while his older brothers took jobs at a local mill Mooney was too young, so at the age of five he began herding the neighbors’ cows. He earned not only a penny a day to help his
…show more content…
It was when this 8 ' x 10 ' shop was completed that Mooney stated “I have stopped whittling and started carving." And thus began his life’s greatest work, carving the history of the steam engine. Mooney considered his early carvings of pliers to be “whittling” and his steam engines to be “carvings.” Mooney’s history of the steam engine began with him carving the Hero 's Engine from 250 BC. Sixty-four steam engines later his work ended with the carving of the Union Pacific Big Boy Locomotive of 1941. All of his masterpieces are made out of walnut, ivory, and ebony. Although being unable to afford ivory in the beginning, Mooney’s first fifteen train carvings were made of bone and walnut. The bone was beef bone that he saved and bleached on his roof so that the dog could not chew on them. Later in his life he was able to afford ivory so he redid all of the beef bone pieces in his previous fifteen carvings. As I looked through the different rooms, I was continually amazed at the many intricate steam engine
It was when this 8 ' x 10 ' shop was completed that Mooney stated “I have stopped whittling and started carving." And thus began his life’s greatest work, carving the history of the steam engine. Mooney considered his early carvings of pliers to be “whittling” and his steam engines to be “carvings.” Mooney’s history of the steam engine began with him carving the Hero 's Engine from 250 BC. Sixty-four steam engines later his work ended with the carving of the Union Pacific Big Boy Locomotive of 1941. All of his masterpieces are made out of walnut, ivory, and ebony. Although being unable to afford ivory in the beginning, Mooney’s first fifteen train carvings were made of bone and walnut. The bone was beef bone that he saved and bleached on his roof so that the dog could not chew on them. Later in his life he was able to afford ivory so he redid all of the beef bone pieces in his previous fifteen carvings. As I looked through the different rooms, I was continually amazed at the many intricate steam engine