Conecuh County

Wooden Boxes

Woody Ryals grew up around woodworkers. As a youngster, he used simple tools to construct small projects and went on to work in construction as a young man. Before his retirement from Woodman of the World Life Insurance, Woody began making boxes to hold kindling. A sales representative from Brewton Enterprises admired the boxes and made arrangements for Woody to sell his items to L.L. Bean. Woody also created his duck box and sold thousands of them through the L.L. Bean catalog. Although he now limits the quantity of boxes he makes, Woody is quick to point out that he finds woodworking to still be a relaxing activity even with his arthritic hands.

Woody admires ducks for their natural beauty and therefore uses them on his boxes. In a shop he built behind his house, Woody uses a band saw and a router to cut the seventeen pieces of ponderosa pine he uses to make the ducks. The boxes are assembled with brass fittings and are stained “special walnut” before three coats of polyurethane are applied. Because Woody is careful to never abuse his tools, he has many that are well over twenty years old. He considers this investment a commitment to quality workmanship.