Earl Mathies lives in a tiny one-bedroom apartment maybe 50 yards from the Kanawha River. On the television, there's a primetime crime drama playing in the middle of a weekday afternoon.
SMITHERS, W.Va. - Earl Mathies lives in a tiny one-bedroom apartment maybe 50 yards from the Kanawha River. On the television, there's a primetime crime drama playing in the middle of a weekday afternoon. Outside, it's a miserable gray day. A cold December rain is coming down in buckets. On a day like today, the only time Mathies goes outside is to smoke. On better days, he goes next door and up the stairs to his workshop.
The 53-year-old former mechanic and carpenter builds miniature churches and bars. Examples of his work take up nearly half his living room. Using often found materials like plastic trays, wooden boxes and refuse furniture, he turns them into doll-sized buildings and sets.
"I got a little Jacuzzi I built that really works," he said. "It's got a pump and everything. You just got to plug it in."
He's proud of what he's created. He talks effusively about where he's picked up some of his materials, how long it takes him to put something together, and how he's turned one thing into something else. He took the motor out of an old CD player and turned it into a tiny turntable. His biggest problem is keeping the power to everything. He says he uses a lot of batteries.
Mathies doesn't work and hasn't held a job since he began collecting Social Security 23 years ago. He was born in Montgomery, but grew up in Louisville, Ky. When he was 3, he contracted polio. The crippling disease attacked the right side of his body, caused scoliosis of his spine, partially paralyzed his leg, and damaged the nerves of his right hand. Through his childhood and teens, he endured more than a dozen surgeries.
"They broke my toes and put a bunch of screws and staples in my leg."
These days, he walks stiffly, but resolutely, with a weathered cane.
He climbs the stairs to his workshop without much additional effort, but when he stands for longer than a few minutes, he will sometimes lean on walls or doorways for support.
His hand trembles violently. Mathies has to fight with his fingers to make them behave, to keep his grasp steady. He doesn't seem to notice, but it makes his family nervous when he handles power tools.
"You watch him and want to reach out and help him sometimes," Mathies' cousin Jerome Bars said.
"You want to reach down and do it for him."
Mathies would rather do it himself. Mostly, he always has.
His workshop space is small, cluttered and dimly lit. To keep his costs low, he runs an extension cord from his apartment up to his workshop in the next building.
He used to have it the other way around, but he spends more time in his apartment. He can't really afford to heat and power both places.
SMITHERS, W.Va. - Earl Mathies lives in a tiny one-bedroom apartment maybe 50 yards from the Kanawha River. On the television, there's a primetime crime drama playing in the middle of a weekday afternoon. Outside, it's a miserable gray day. A cold December rain is coming down in buckets. On a day like today, the only time Mathies goes outside is to smoke. On better days, he goes next door and up the stairs to his workshop.
The 53-year-old former mechanic and carpenter builds miniature churches and bars. Examples of his work take up nearly half his living room. Using often found materials like plastic trays, wooden boxes and refuse furniture, he turns them into doll-sized buildings and sets.
"I got a little Jacuzzi I built that really works," he said. "It's got a pump and everything. You just got to plug it in."
He's proud of what he's created. He talks effusively about where he's picked up some of his materials, how long it takes him to put something together, and how he's turned one thing into something else. He took the motor out of an old CD player and turned it into a tiny turntable. His biggest problem is keeping the power to everything. He says he uses a lot of batteries.
Mathies doesn't work and hasn't held a job since he began collecting Social Security 23 years ago. He was born in Montgomery, but grew up in Louisville, Ky. When he was 3, he contracted polio. The crippling disease attacked the right side of his body, caused scoliosis of his spine, partially paralyzed his leg, and damaged the nerves of his right hand. Through his childhood and teens, he endured more than a dozen surgeries.
"They broke my toes and put a bunch of screws and staples in my leg."
These days, he walks stiffly, but resolutely, with a weathered cane.
He climbs the stairs to his workshop without much additional effort, but when he stands for longer than a few minutes, he will sometimes lean on walls or doorways for support.
His hand trembles violently. Mathies has to fight with his fingers to make them behave, to keep his grasp steady. He doesn't seem to notice, but it makes his family nervous when he handles power tools.
"You watch him and want to reach out and help him sometimes," Mathies' cousin Jerome Bars said.
"You want to reach down and do it for him."
Mathies would rather do it himself. Mostly, he always has.
His workshop space is small, cluttered and dimly lit. To keep his costs low, he runs an extension cord from his apartment up to his workshop in the next building.
He used to have it the other way around, but he spends more time in his apartment. He can't really afford to heat and power both places.
"I use what tools I have," he said. "I got a band saw and a circular saw. I'd like more tools, but I use what I got."
Earl Mathies grew up poor. He came from a good-sized family: four brothers and one sister.
They lived in inner-city housing projects in Kentucky. Life was rough and tumble but he managed with the help of his family. He wore a brace to protect his leg, but played football with the other kids. He says he didn't run fast, but the other kids didn't like tackling him. That leg brace was like hitting a piece of armor.
Mathies was always good with his hands.
"I used to make slingshots for the other kids," he said. The memory makes him laugh. Times were very hard.
"We used to use them to hunt rats."
The regular surgeries and the poverty played havoc with his education. It was a struggle to keep up.
"I went to Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky," he said. "Same as Muhammad Ali. I wanted to take classes to be a mechanic, but I missed out because of the surgeries. I ended up taking a class on upholstery and took classes on wood and metal working."
After he graduated high school, he took automotive training and became a mechanic. He worked on cars and owned a few he still remembers fondly.
"I had a 1967 Cougar at one time," he said. "It had a 390 four-barrel, the biggest engine you could put in a car that size."
It was a long time ago. He doesn't drive these days and has let his driver's license expire, though he thinks he might get it renewed. He doesn't want to have to take the written test again.
Twenty-three years ago, he went on Social Security disability. The hardest part has always been being idle. Mathies said he couldn't stand it. So he helped with relatives. A few years ago, a cousin was taking care of her father. He came to Smithers to help. He lived in her house until his uncle died, then got the place on his own.
He got started with the wood-working projects to give himself something to do. He doesn't know what he'll do with them. He says he might try to sell them, put them on eBay, but he hasn't really worked out the details. Mathies isn't entirely clear about who would even want them.
"I just want to leave something behind, you know?"
Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.
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