Yesterday we visited Louisville Slugger in... you guess it - Louisville, Kentucky. They have a great visitor center and the tour takes you right out into the midst of bat making. You might be amazed to know how many of our products are made with a good deal of good ol' manual labor. While Louisville Slugger has computerized lathes to turn the bats, everything else, from sanding, staining, etc. is all manual.
Today we visited a carousel production and restoration company in Ohio. Photos of the actual critters were not allowed so we only have photos of the finished carousel in the town center. It was fascinating to see how these animals are created from blocks of wood - entirely by hand. Well, they do use power tools but they are hand-held tools, like mini chain saws, other type
s of saws and grinders are used. Initially, they take of larger pieces of wood while gradually being more and more selective, until they're finally down to sharp, knife-like hand tools. Then comes the piecing, more carving, sanding, painting and painting some more. It's a process that takes weeks from start to finish. A complete critter sells for thousands of dollars.
Oh my. There are so many ways to pronounce Louisville. Trying to say it them hard enough, let alone trying to write them! Here goes... some say Louie-ville. Others say Lua-ville. The locals say something like Lowl-vull. It seems to me that the closer you can make it to two syllables the better. :-)
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