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4-H Category

Design grad shifts from photography to custom guitars

01.03.2012

piano-top-full-length John Widman ‘84, of Arden, N.C., has put his design skills to an interesting new use — building guitars.

At 50, Widman had worked for years at his commercial photography business, but he was not excited about going digital. “I wanted to do something that I was passionate about and I was ready for a change,” Widman says.

That change came in starting Widman Custom Electrics.

The first guitar Widman produced, a copy of a Fender Telecaster, turned out well. “There is nothing like a little success to fan the flames,” he says.

Widman has now produced 20 instruments, keeping only his Telecaster remake for himself. He describes the building process as unique for each instrument. “That is what a custom instrument is all about,” he says. “When a client orders an instrument, it is made to their specifications. The neck fits their hand, they choose the colors and the woods.”

Widman has also produced several electric banjos. The first banjo, an anniversary present to his wife, served as a prototype.

drill-press Widman enjoys the freedom and creativity involved with creating a new instrument. That includes inventing new parts, which allows for a lot of fun in the design process.

Widman’s guitars come in four different models from a variety of woods. One of his most interesting instruments came from an abandoned piano, parts of which he initially intended to use designing a coffee table.

“I wanted to salvage the sounding board,” he says. “It has made a very special guitar.”

– Jeannene Lang

Family and Consumer Sciences recognizes important past

05.27.2011

(Photo courtesy of Marc Hall, N.C. State Communication Services)

Women from around North Carolina gathered Wednesday at the Jane S. McKimmon Center to kickoff the Family and Consumer Sciences centennial.

The Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) program is a part of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Begun in 1911, the program began with McKimmon working as a demonstration agent, going into homes of primarily rural women and assisting them with issues like nutrition and poverty relief.

Today the program works through outreach to help families in counties throughout the state understand issues associated with energy efficiency, finances, education, literacy, and health care.

Attendees were treated to a rich tapestry of artifacts that depicted domestic life in the state throughout the last 100 years: washboards, Singer sewing machines, Aristocrat canning cookers and quilts dating back a century.

Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Service, a book chronicling the history of FCS, was unveiled at the event. “The book takes and tells a story from every county in North Carolina,” says Marshall Stewart, program leader for FCS at NC State. “When you read it, you can see the history of North Carolina taking shape.”

The celebration also recognized 25 inaugural members into the McKimmon Hall of Fame, some of whom were asked to describe the program’s legacy.

Judy Mock ’82 EDD: The power of education, particularly for rural women. We enable people to be responsible and raise their quality of life. We’re still tied to our roots. The programs are never going to go away.

Sandra Zaslow ’87 PHD: The foundation is Jane McKimmon and all the people in the counties. It’s always been a people-driven program. And that has continued unbroken.

Juanita Hudson: Everything changes, but it’s a growing opportunity. [FCS] has endured because of the research at NC State.

Photo of the Day

01.17.2011

Coretta Scott King, far right, was the featured speaker during the "I Have a Dream" luncheon held during the N.C. 4-H's fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Assembly between Aug. 7-9, 1992. (Photo courtesy of Special Collections, NCSU Libraries)

NCSU Libraries’ Historical State site has thousands of images in its online database that you can view.