Retired Alcoa worker, WWII veteran turns scrap into wares

LINCOLN CITY, Ind. (AP) - Wavie Daugherty Jr. situated the hinge on what would be the lid to a small wooden box before drilling the starter holes for his screws. The 93-year-old wasn't sure what kind of wood he was working with, but he didn't seem to care.

"They had some trim down at the church that they were throwing away and I got it and made a bunch of stuff," he said. "Whatever comes to mind."

Picture frames, boxes and children's picnic tables are all items he creates. The tables for kids are his latest big seller.

"I've sold about eight of them," Daugherty said. "It's got six two-by-fours and 76 deck screws in it."

The retired Alcoa worker who is happy to admit he enjoys sitting these days, has lived in his current home for 26 years, but grew up near Boonville. His job at an Evansville veneer plant ended on his 20th birthday. "I got drafted on my 20th birthday," he said. "(The draft notice) said, 'Greetings.' And I was drafted. A 20-year-old.

"I chose the Navy and went on a refrigeration ship. We carried food to the fleet. About every 45 days we'd make a trip back to San Francisco. It was just continuous. I did that until April of 1945," he said. "They transferred me off and I got a 30-day leave. I came home and married my girlfriend (Irene) on April 26, 1945. We've been married 71 years."

The newlywed was then sent to San Diego.

"I was supposed to go on a tugboat, but they canceled that and put me on a troop ship and sent me to Okinawa. We were about even with Hawaii when the war was over. We still went off to Okinawa," Daugherty said. "All I got to do was go through a typhoon on Okinawa."

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Source: Evansville Courier & Press, http://bit.ly/260YRcx

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Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com