Initially, Guild activities included:
- Wood days at Canterbury Shaker Village (started 1991)
- Demonstrations at the League of NH Craftsmen’s Sunapee Fair
- Summer field trips
- Small meetings
- Also at that time the Granite State Woodturners was formed through the efforts of Peter Bloch.
- Other subgroups were formed such as BIG (Beginners and Intermediate Group), and somewhat later, the Period Furniture Group. All of these groups are thriving today, especially the GSWT which, as a subgroup of the Guild and a chapter of the American Association of Woodturners, has almost 200 members. More recently, subgroups have formed for luthiers (guitar making), and hand tools.
The meteoric rise of GSWT, increased membership in the Guild, and Jack Grube’s position at Pinkerton Academy made it possible for the Guild to stage a large woodturning symposium in 1997. These symposia are held every three years and draw about 300 people. In between years, the Guild runs symposia on other topics, such as woodcarving, finishing, Windsor chairs, etc.
Then in 2000, Jack Grube became president and through his exceptional organizational skills took the Guild to a new level. This included formal versions of the Guild Bylaws, and establishment of the 501-C-3 tax status.
Following Jack Grube, the presidents were Peter Breu, Roger Myers, Dave Anderson, David Frechette, Bob LaCivita, Bob Couch and Claude Dupuis.
In the fall of 2004, Jim Seroskie took over editorship of The Old Saw. His work was revolutionary, and took the publication to new heights, transforming it into a 40 page full color magazine. This resulted in a surge of membership, and in just three years the Guild grew to over 500 members (currently 567 members—May, 2015).
What a success story! – Jon Siegel
Updated 5/15