From the Morgue: The skillful hands of Ted Suedekum

One Christmas back in the ’80s, my friend and mentor Judy Crow gifted me with a small wooden box. The interior was lined with green felt, the lid attached with two tiny hinges that still do service to this day.

It’s become my treasure box, holding small items I love because of the memories they invoke: My grandmother Clara’s wristwatch, with its tiny religious medal showing she was a member of the St. Anne’s Sodality at St. Mary’s Cathedral; the timepiece became my eighth grade graduation present, just a few years after Grandma passed away. There’s my high school class ring, no longer of a size I can wear, but still proving I’m a proud member of Notre Dame’s Class of ’79. And there’s another ring nestled in the box. This one gold with a pearl and diamond chips. It was a gift from my parents, for no particular reason.

The box was built by the skilled hands of Ted Suedekum, father of another friend, Marj Suedekum. So the trinket box is itself a treasure.

Here’s an article about Mr. Suedekum and his craft.

Published Sunday, Nov. 17, 1974, in the Southeast Missourian:

Theodore O. “Ted” Sudekum likes to spend time in his workshop, and some days may work as long as 10 to 15 hours. But the nice thing about being one’s own boss, he says, “is the anytime I feel like it I can close shop and take off.” He and Mrs. (Ernestine) Suedekum travel to many area craft fairs, and the rapid expansion of his hobby has literally crowded the couple out of a car. They now load a camper with samples of Mr. Suedekum’s attractive wares. Gordon L. McBride ~ Southeast Missourian archive

Retired dairy farmer works wood into crafts

By SALLY WRIGHT BROWN

Missourian staff writer

The carefully-crafted mushrooms of sassafras wood that indeed look as if they belong in a forest glade somewhere with a frog squatted on top croaking his night song have really mushroomed for Ted O. Suedekum.

Ben Franklin had a piece of sage advice in his “Poor Richard’s Almanac”. He said that “a life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things.” Mr. Suedekum, a retired farmer who lives west of the city, has made the best of his leisure time.

The craft work that began as a hobby “just to give me something to do,” he says, has mushroomed into a small but thriving business, tempered, however, with the joy Mr. Suedekum finds in creating his woodwork and the pleasure he and Mrs. (Ernestine) Suedekum find in sharing their craft ideas with others at the numerous craft fairs they like to attend.

Later this month and early in December. Mr. Suedeukm will exhibit his wares at the Arts and Recreation Council Christmas Craft Bazar at the Arena and the Creative Art Guild bazaar at Hirsch Tower.

A dairy farmer 26 years, Mr. Suedekum retired 12 years ago and now farms on a limited basis only, restricting his work to raising beef cattle.

The Suedekums have lived on their farm 44 years. The charming, rambling farmhouse that sits at the end of a long lane is well over 100 years old; through the years the Suedekums have renovated it, doing much of the work themselves, to meet modern living. A large red dairy barn still stands to the rear of the house, and the cellar of a small summer kitchen serves as Mr. Suedekum’s workshop.

Mr. and Mrs. Ted O. Suedekum share in the joy of creating things through fine craftsmanship. Here, the couple in the kitchen of their farm home near here, which is well over 100 years old. Although Mr. Suedekum actually puts the items together, Mrs. Suedekum shares the work by staining and painting wood and adding decorative touches to his wares.Gordon L. McBride ~ Southeast Missourian archive

Mr. Suedekum has always been interested in working with wood, but it was only three years ago that he began to really put his talent to use.

“We had been attending craft shows with our daughter, (Miss Marjorie Suedekum) who paints as a hobby,” he says, adding that “we got tired of just sitting at shows. So we decided to make something – on a small scale – and came up with the idea of easels for miniature pictures and birdhouses.”

In addition to Miss Suedekum, the couple has another daughter, Mrs. Stanley (Shirley) Popp of Cape Girardeau, and two grandchildren. Both are members of Zion Lutheran Church near Gordonville.

Fine workmanship

It didn’t take long for what began as spending a couple days of a week puttering around the workshop constructing the houses, which Mrs. Suedekum in turn stains, paints and adds finishing touches. Craftsmen like Mr. Suedekum more and more are meeting increasing demands of individuals turning from items stamped out on a factory assembly line to items hand-crafted with the gift of fine workmanship.

Ted Suedekum searches for the wood he uses in making his birdhouses, toadstools and other items in may places. Some wood, such as sassafras, must dry two years before it is workable. Here, the retired farmer-turned-craftsman works on candle holders in his workshop, the basement of an old summer kitchen. He wears a mask to filter sawdust. Gordon L. McBride ~ Southeast Missourian archive

In fact, Mrs. Suedekum laughs they soon found out their car just wasn’t large enough to take everything they wanted to craft fairs. Now the couple packs up their wares in a large camper, taking off to exchange ideas with other craftsmen.

Mr. Suedekum now makes a variety of items, and says he has plenty of ideas for new ones. They include plate holders, bird feeders, miniature birdhouses for use as Christmas tree ornaments, well houses, candle holders and mushroom pads brought to life with tiny flowers and forest animals.

Mrs. Suedekum, who is herself interested in stitchery, admits that most of her free time is devoted to helping her husband by staining and painting items and keeping records.

The wood Mr. Suedekum uses comes from “anywhere I can find it,” he says. Walnut is particularly hard to find now, and the sassafras wood he likes to work with must dry out at least two years before it can be crafted.

Share ideas

Young people, particularly, are taking an interest in crafts, Mr. Suedekum says. “At the fairs, they’ll ask questions – even take notes. A lot of people ask me how I do something, and then decide they’ll make it themselves instead of buying it. But that’s all right. Part of working in crafts is being willing to share ideas.”

Not many men are as actively involved with craft work as is Mr. Suedekum. But he likes it.

In this close-up, Ted Suedekum uses his saw. Although he has been a retired dairy farmer 12 years, Suedekum began working with crafts three years ago when, he says, “I got tired of just sitting around at craft shows.”Gordon L. McBride ~ Southeast Missourian archive

“Some people – especially neighboring farmers, don’t understand why I like the work. They say they have to keep busy or they’d get nervous. Well, I do this to keep from getting nervous.”

It’s not unusual for Mr. Suedekum to spend 10 to 15 hours a day in his workshop “if I feel like it. Sometimes I’m not there more than an hour or two a day. It’s nice to know I can always just close up and take off.”

Mrs. Suedekum says that she frequently has to give Mr. Suedekum a second call at meal time, and that he sometimes finds it difficult to stop until the item he is working on is complete.

Of his workshop, where more often than not the couple’s two dog bound in and out, Mr. Suedekum says, “It’s nothing fancy, but I enjoy it.”

And the crafts that come out of the workshop are enjoyed for years.

A sample of the Suedekums' finished products. Gordon L. McBride ~ Southeast Missourian archive

Theodore “Ted” Suedekum passed away at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau Feb. 23, 1998.

His wife, Ernestine Eggimann Suedekum, died Aug. 20, 2005, also at the Lutheran Home.

Both of their obituaries, published in the Southeast Missourian, noted they were members of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri for more than 15 years.