Extreme Recycling, cont'd

A while ago, I wrote a piece about a fellow who made musical instruments out match sticks. I recently heard from his son, Tony Hall, and was delighted to learn that he has documented more of the Jack Hall Story.

"Jack must by nature have been one of our first conservationists because he noted the large number of matchsticks discarded by his shipmates. With no handicraft experience and certainly no books of instructions he experimented with shaping and gluing them together and produced an acceptable dart-box to keep his darts.

"Spurred on with this initial success and egged on by his shipmates he took on the challenge to build a musical instrument out of matchsticks. The lads wanted something someone could knock a tune out of.

"One of the crew jokingly said, 'Why don’t you make a fiddle and strike up a tune?'

"This was a challenge Jack could not resist, and next time ashore he went into a second-hand shop where a Violin was on display. With no carpentry skills and no knowledge of instrument making, he studied the weight and feel of the fiddle and wrote down a few simple sketches and measurements. Then, went back to the Eastwick to begin his self-imposed task."

The more I learn about this man, the more amazed I am at the power of play. Making instruments is hard enough. But making them out of matchsticks. For the sheer challenge of it all. But I was in fact the most deeply touched by his son, and his dedication to his father's memory and work. It's testimony, in deed, to a man, to his skill, but most of all to the spirit that moved him.