Biographies: Ivy Keyes, 1987, Winn Parish, LA.
Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483
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From: July 8, 1987 Winn Parish Enterprise News-American

Won't Carve Much Longer, Atlantan Finds Pleasure in Handle

by Melissa Flurry

A trail of shavings serves as a makeshift driveway leading to a weathered
wooden porch, a porch dotted with small piles of broken glass and heaps of
wooden handles.  More handles of all shapes and sizes hove overhead, lodged
between a beam and the ceiling.  The mounted deer antlers hanging across from
the doorway sport several fedoras and a lone baseball cap.  Just beyond, a
rocking chair sits in quiet repose amid yet more ax handles.  And inside
resides Ivy Keyes, 83 year old handle-maker and movie star extraordinaire.

"You didn't know it, but I'm already a star," Keyes had mentioned when first
contacted for an interview.  And indeed, he is, having been filmed by "those
New York people" for a film on Huey Long.  Keyes had known Long from his youth
when they had cut furnace wood together.  "They (those New York people) had me
in overalls, shirt sleeves, and bare-headed," he explained, "just sitting on
the front porch talking."

But that doesn't explain the handles and hickory shavings strewn across the
porch and yard.

Keyes has been making hickory ax handles by hand for almost 17 years and
selling them in just about every state.  

Keyes had served in the U. S. Army, joining at the age of 39, worked on the
survey crew for Brown Paper Mill, and then for Olin when he retired at 68. 
"One day, I just got up and said I'm going to do something," said Keyes.  "So,
I cut me some hickory and made an ax handle."

His handles now sell for four dollars and a pair of, say, posthole diggers
goes for eight dollars.  But Keyes isn't trying to make money.  In fact, he
didn't really try to sell them.  It just kind of happened.

"One day, a fellow came by and looked at them on my porch," said Keyes.  "He
admired them but didn't think they were too sturdy."  Keyes put one on the
edge of the porch and jumped on it.  "It didn't break and the fellow bought
it," said Keyes.

Keyes makes all kinds of handles.  "I make double-bit axe, posthole digger
handles...." he said.  "I even make shafts for a single wagon."

The broken glass is used to smooth the handles after they have been hewed. 
The handles hanging from the top of the porch are the patterns.  Bur for some
things, such as hatchet handles, Keyes doesn't need a pattern.  "I can look at
a piece and see the picture," said Keyes.  "I'll know what is supposed to be
made out of that piece of wood."

An average handle takes about 35 to 40 minutes for Keyes to make.  "One time a
fellow timed me at about 25 minutes," said Keyes.

A man visiting from Chicago one day saw the axes on Keyes' porch and bought
some.  "He flew in twice a year, for several years," said Keyes, "and each
time took an armful back."

Throughout the 17 years of handle-making, Keyes said, "There's no telling how
many thousands I have made, sold, and given away and there's not many states
I've missed."

But he doesn't plan on making ax handles much longer.  "I'm too old to cut my
own timber," he said.  "People bring me timber, but it's getting scattered and
scarce.  But I'll find something else to do."

Two men pulled up in the driveway and asked Keyes for some of the hickory
shavings.  They wanted them for a barbeque.

"Sure, help yourself," said Keyes.  "Get all you want."  He turned to walk
inside, stopped, and turned back, suddenly remembering.

"I guess you fellows didn't know that I was a star."