Published: July 06, 2009 12:09 am         

Serving up Fourth of July spirit at Billie Creek Village, one scoop at a time

Rockville — “Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one,” Ray Wolve said inside the Billie Creek Village General Store, strumming on a hand-made dulcimer he was ready to sell or keep, whatever Sunday afternoon might bring.

And uncertain as the future might be, yesterday was free all afternoon at the 19th-century village off U.S. 36 in Rockville.

Sue Cooper stood between a table and large wall mirror in one of the village buildings converted for the day to host its ice cream social. Platters full of chocolate brownies, cookies and cake lined one end as Cooper scooped up vanilla ice cream at no charge for anyone stopping by.

“You know, we don’t know,” she said about noon when asked what kind of turnout the ice cream social might yield. “It depends on the weather how many show, I guess.”

Sunday afternoon’s sky wore a thick gray coat of clouds as temperatures hung in the cool, lower 70s. Heavy rains from the Fourth of July dampened the air.

Cooper, who works in the General Store about every day, said attendance fluctuates at the village widely, with large crowds some days and not so many on others. “Some days they just drift in and out of here,” she said, noting the number of adults who come, recalling an elementary school field trip they’d been on years ago. “We’re still here.”

Her husband, Charles, explained that their family became involved in Billie Creek Village about two years ago.

Once a two-term Parke County Sheriff and retired bank president, Charles is now president of the not-for-profit holding corporation which maintains the village, and he said he hopes to see more young people get involved in the programs.

“I think there’s a lot of possibilities out there,” he said.

Sitting on the front porch of a small shack, two shacks south of the Baptist Church, Tom Makosky considered those possibilities into a block of wood.

Once an employee at Clabber Girl, the retiree said he spends his days at the village running his wood carving business, chiseling out plaques, jewelry boxes and other works by hand.

“I got a book out of the library,” he said, describing his craft as “chip carving.” On slower days he carves children’s initials into wood for them, offering demonstrations while selling his work for prices ranging from $5 to $500.

Among the numerous works lining the walls include his “dog house keys.”

Holding a stained plaque with the word “Love” carved into the center, Makosky explained that if a man “gets in the doghouse,” buying one of the plaques is the key to getting out.

Meanwhile, across town in the General Store, Wolve was taking it easy, strumming one of several hand-crafted dulcimers he had on display.

“Primarily, I’m a vocalist and singer,” the retired truck driver from Chicago said proudly, belting out lines from an opera in tenor as he strummed along.

The dulcimer is a flat, stringed instrument which vaguely resembles a steel guitar. Played on a table or lap, the “mountain dulcimers” made by Wolve vary in shape and size from hourglass to barrel, producing a harp-like sound when picked or strummed.

Wolve held a pick in his right hand and a wooden “noter” in his left. The noter is a round, wooden peg slid up and down the dulcimer’s neck, across the frets to produce different notes or chords. One of the instruments on display had numbers on the frets and visitors could play “Mary Had A Little Lamb” one note at a time.

“I really don’t make money doing it,” the former trucker in his 13th year of retirement said. Instruments for sale range from $60 to $175. “But it keeps me busy.”

Wolve cuts each piece of the instrument out with a jigsaw before assembling, and he explained the intricacies of violin and other instrument production, each varying with different types and cuts of wood. “The wood absorbs the sound,” he said.

And back at ice cream headquarters, Beth Brown and her kids helped her mother, Sue Cooper, with the refreshments.

Brown and her family now live in Natchez, Miss., and said they were back for the weekend to visit and decided to help out at Billie Creek Village.

Makosky carved away at his station, waiting for more people to come. “The more the better. There’s a lot out here to see.”

Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.