Meet Lee ~ The Westville Woodworker – In this part of Steve Scott’s “Colorful Characters of the Chattahoochee Valley”

When entering the Woodcrafter’s shop at colorful Historic Westville, one is engulfed with the pungent aroma of wood chips, followed by the dazzlingly bright smile of interpreter Lee Gilford.

There are no power tools, batteries, electricity, or other 20th-century comforts. Just primitive, yet effective woodworking tools from the mid to late 1800s. Here, Lee is in his element, and his energy and joy are instantly contagious.

He moves from station to station with ease and you are immediately caught up in the fervor he exhibits while explaining how things were done back then. He is quick to point out that he and the other people of Westville are not re-enactors, but interpreters. Re-enactors are “actors” who are role-playing in the time period represented, using costumes, accents, quotes, and mannerisms of the era. Interpreters, on the other hand, show you how it was. They are educators. Lee says this type of interpretation creates a real education that lasts.

Lee was born in Enterprise, Alabama in 1996 before moving to New Brockton and then to Columbus for his senior year at Hardaway High School. He received a BS in psychology in 2019 from Columbus State University.

As an only child growing up in the south Alabama town of New Brockton, he had loving parents and a wonderful grandfather whose influence on Lee is evident. He had an unstructured and unfettered childhood which allowed him to gambol in the woods til’ sunset and discover the world through play. Introduced to woodworking at an early age, he built birdhouses, hope chests, and many other creations. It clearly stuck with him, because at Westville he truly becomes the woodworker he represents.

Lee’s gentle manner and sincere desire to teach is real. This is not a museum-style display, but the demonstration of real activities that give Westville patrons experiences they remember with joy. Lee is outgoing and friendly and makes things fun.

When asked about visitors’ reactions to the centuries-old tools and gadgets scattered about his workshop, he relates some amusing stories. Kids ask things like “Did they make toy cars and planes out of wood back then?” Lee craftily draws them in with leading questions and hands-on activities. He gets them involved and makes it fun. They become hooked.

Lee’s smile and energy are infectious and it is obvious that he loves what he does. This writer has been to his shop several times and can’t wait to go back.

Take your kids to witness this woodworker’s shop at Westville. They will be transformed!

“Woodworkers Poem”

Bits & braces, axes, and lathes.

All sorts of gadgets a craftsman may crave.

Hand saws and bow saws and buck saws galore,

Hammers and mallets and a cubby to store.

Files, clamps and draw knives, and an old craftsman’s bench,

Compasses, rulers, and hand tools to clench.

Add to this, grinders and odd pieces of wood,

For a master woodworker to make what he should

By Stephen Scott