The Glider Rocker is Home
Bob estimated that the rocker was from the early 1900s. It will now be able to go forward being able to not only look at but to be enjoyed as a rocker.
The glider rocking chair is back home after several weeks of being in the repair shop. For as long as I can remember there had been veneer missing on the back side of the very top of the back rest to the rocker. In its place was a huge smear of putty to bridge the gap of the original veneer to the rougher wood used to create the curved top of the backrest. I can only imagine how hard it was for Bob to get the aged putty cleaned out for a new piece of veneer to be placed and then carry the same curvature and detailed knobs at the very top. The seat has been reinforced from the bottom for many more bottoms to enjoy rocking away. One of the spindles on the backrest had been cracked. The only thing keeping it in place was the tension the remaining spindles recreated. Bob, my SOB, Sweet Ole Bob, made a slice in the narrow spindle and inserted a narrow steel rood for support with glue as the final touch. In the glider portion itself, one of the dowels going across the width had been replaced with a piece of broom handle that had then been painted black. Now, a new stained wooden dowel matching the rest of the dowels is in place. This beauty has had much TLC under Bob’s capable repair. The repair ticket taped to the back for the cost was for $30. I realize that Bob had been my boss for many years when he was one of the county commissioners, and we had a good relationship when I retired. He argued . . . but in the end a $50 bill stayed with him in his shop. There are not very many people who will take the time to honor older pieces of furniture that have a lifetime of sentiment attached to them. I feel so blessed to be able to not only look at this rocker and recall decades of memories, but it now has full utility to be sat in, and perhaps someday, a new baby will be rocked in it, just as I rocked my brother Michael when he was an infant 66 years ago. The dusting of it . . . after all these years, still a challenge.