Connecticut western news., 1911-01-19
JAKE SCAMERHORN DOES
 BEAUTIFUL INLAY WORK
Fine Artistic Skill Displayed by &C., Year-Old Citizen. in CrazYquilt
 Wood Work Articles.

TGdT-0Iu SlIZSEs III N|I0ZIAdhN
 Wood Work Articles.
 Jacob Scamerhorn is over 80 years old, and in spite of recent long and severe illness, he is as active, vigorous ambitious as she average man of 5O-in fact, it would bother the man of 50 to keep his end up, with Jake, in days strenuous work. But while Jake is apparently as good as ever, at heavy, outdoor work. he is, as h1s fellow-towns- men generally may not know, capable of executing work requiring not only, exceptional skill but exceptional patience and genuine artistic taste and perception.
 This fact may be readily appreciated by any one who will take walk over to his pleasant home on West Main street. where evidences of his ingenuity and skill are to be seen on every hand-and inspect particularly the various speci- mems of inlay work with which he has adorned certain articles of furniture, etc. This work is, in the main, i'll the pat tern which the ladies would call crazy-quilt patchwork, and stone masons recognize as random bond" but with & systematic arrange ment of ornamental designs worked into 1t to relieve the monotony of the ''crazy'' patchwork on large surfaces and combine with it an appearance of regularity.
 One small cabinet contains on its sur face no less than 10.524 separate and distinct pieces of wood, some of which inch wide. Every variety of wood that grows ill this region has entered into this unique covering, besides specimens of wood from abroad, and relics of rare interest contributed by friends for the work. Pieces of gun-stocks used in the Revolutionary war; fragments of the handles of knives to which some special interest is attached, and suoh-hke contributions go to help make up these interesting surfaces. On one piece of inlay work-a round center table con- taining many thousands of pieces, arc ] little squares made from shoemaker s lasts used by Mrs. Scamerhorn's father, John M. Fuller whom some of the old residents may remember as shoemaker | in Canaan many years ago. It is such component parts as tbese that give to these articles special value aside from their interest as works of skill and /, art.
 These specimens represent many months of patient and careful applica- tion, and are we'll worth seeing. Many of the relief designs worked into the patchwork are intricate patterns, in- geniously wrought out and tastefully distributed for attractive and harmoni- ous effect, and all give evidence of pains taking and conscientious thoroughness and natural genius.
 But Jake" is not the only genius in that household. by any means. Mrs. Scamerhorn. herself. who doesn't hesitate to own up that she is some months older than her husband. being in her 8Ist year and fully as sprightly as any woman of half her age, is a | housekeeper, but an artist in the science of making rugs, as any neighbor can bear witness, who has ever inspected the. splendid specimens that cover her f1oors-large, generous, stoutly W Wrought. thick fluffy comfortable rugs in various skillful and attractive designs, all made of carpet rags by the lady's own hands, in her leisure moments. In justice to Mrs. Scamerhorn it should be stated that modestly belittles her own work in this line when her big son Fred proudly lays out these rugs for the visitors inspection, and assures the admiring visitor that ''you ought to see some of Fred's inlay work-he beats his father all to pieces at that kind of work" So it appears that genius runs through the whole | family.
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