Pointing the way

By Lori McKay - The Weekly News
When Alden Killen retired a few years ago, he decided he couldn't just "stop," so he took up a few hobbies.
It was his interest in local history and a passion for sculpting that brought him to his latest project: a seven-by-five-foot sign for the entrance to Shubie Park's Fairbanks Centre. The sign will be up within the next few weeks.
Killen, a member of the Shubenacadie Canal Commission, said this sign was something the group had been talking about for years.
"We have to market the place," said Killen. "People don't realize the history behind Shubie Park. We're trying to bring the past to light. I said I'd do the sign and they (the rest of the commission) were all in favour of it."
The materials were supplied to him, but he donated more than 140 hours to complete the project, which he started in mid-December.
"Overall, I'm reasonably pleased with the finished product," he admitted with a laugh. "You always see things you could have done."
Most days, Killen can be found working away in his workshop shed behind his home in Woodlawn with his wood stove going. His workspace is surrounded by a collection of historic tools, another hobby.
The beauty of being retired, he said, is he works when he feels like it.
"I had no deadline on this project, except we wanted to have it up for spring. So when I didn't feel like working, I didn't. Some days I'd do 20 letters, some days I just did a few. I had to be in the right frame of mind because if I made one mistake, the whole sign would have been ruined."
He said the project proved more tedious than he thought it would be, as he was working with rough-sawed pine, and hand cut and painted each letter.
"I wanted the sign to catch people's attention that this is a historic site. I wanted it to look like an older sign, and this is how they would have done it in the days when they were making signs by hand."
Killen worked in the construction industry for close to 50 years and was always interested in building things and working with his hands.
He was brought up on a farm in Elderbank, Musquodoboit, and said his family had to "make do with what they had.
"I always tried to be creative ... at least that's the way I put it," he said with a chuckle.
He said he was always interested in wood carving and took up the hobby about 10 years ago. His eduction started with his uncle, Elmer Killen, who himself began the craft at age 74 using only a jack knife. He carved until his death a few years ago at 92. Some of his pieces can be seen at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Unlike his uncle who liked to carve small, detailed pieces, Killen likes to work in a variety of sizes and uses different mediums. He likes the larger pieces, but finds them difficult to do in the winter, so right now he is also carving a series of small scenes that represent the men working along the canal.
He says for now, he's just keeping them for himself, but there's a chance he'll lend them to the commission to put on display.
In the warmer months, he likes to do chainsaw folk art and concrete statues. There are pieces all over his property, but they are currently covered with tarps for the winter.
"With folk art you do what suits you, not somebody else," he said. "Working with the concrete is the opposite of carving with wood because you build it out. I'm not sure what I'll do with them all."
He said he has people stopping by all the time taking pictures.
"Some people like them, some don't. I change them around, and always have one out front in the yard. A different theme, depending on the season."
The day The Weekly News visited, it was a statue of Santa.
lmckay@hfxnews.ca