Herding Staffs or Walking Staffs!

Take home a little bit of Tennessee from your visit to the 2005 ACDCA Nationals in Lebanon, Tennessee this October.  These staffs are hand crafted by a fourth generation artisan named Shannon Parton.  The shop Shannon runs with help from his father Fred is called Kear’s Mountain Crafts and was founded by Shannon’s maternal great-grandfather.   The father and son team hand ties brooms and makes staffs both plain and free form carved with the face of a mountain man Fred sees in each piece of wood.  Shannon searches the mountains in Sevier County for native wood with a distinctive look.  Once the wood has aged, Shannon smoothes all the bumps and lumps out, removing a bit of bark for a really cool look!  He adds a clear coat of varnish and a leather string for a hand hold or hanging. OR, you can purchase a carved walking stick as in the photo for $25.  The Mid-South Club looked high and far for a really neat trophy for the herding trials and I thought of Shannon and Fred’s staffs and how most herding folk like a crook or staff.  The staffs for the herding trophies will sport brass plates designating the trial number and placement.  The Mid-South Club thought it would be really cool if the folks who don’t make it to the herding trails could have a chance to take a staff home.  We could add a bit of red and white tape to the tip for those of us who are members of the “White Cane Club”!  These staffs would make great presents!  The staffs are approximately 54” long and can be shortened if needed.