After 10 Years, Woman Finally Finishes Carving Her Totem Pole

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Single-handedly carving a 13-foot totem pole with a hammer and chisel is as easy as following the directions in a book titled, "How to Carve Totem Poles."

Betty Mallinger, 71, used the instruction manual, self-published by family friend and carver Paul Luvera Sr., to create the cedar pole that greets visitors to her home off John's Creek Road in Shelton.

The totem pole stands at the end of her gravel driveway, in front of a circle of fir trees.

After 10 years, with interruptions due to illness and family tragedy, she finished the project a few weeks ago.

"It's been a long process," said her daughter Melody Calvin. "I think it was just an artistic adventure."

http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005508310328