Short Stories - The Pencil Maker

My younger brother, Timothy Crump, has always loved wood work. He has been waddling ever since the age of six. I remember when he was little, he was fascinated with the pencil. He used to ask my parents how they got the lead in the middle of the pencil.

When we were in our late teens, my grandfather had passed away. He was rather wealthy and my father was an only child so the entire inheritance went to my father. My father had always wanted to send us to a university when we had grown. I was to study medicine and Timothy was to study law.

I was enthusiastic to be able to be able to attend a college, but Timothy was not. He wanted to do something with wood carving. Father disapproved, woodcarvers did not make much money.

For years, Father and Timothy argued back and forth. Finally, Father gave in, he would finance Timothy’s woodcarving career. Timothy used the money Father gave him and opened up a shop in western Pennsylvania. He sold chairs, tables, dressers, bed frames, and other furnishings.

One day, Timothy decided to take up pencil making. He read books and even visited factories in Chicago to see how it’s done. Finally he started making pencils. When it came time to start manufacturing them, Timothy realized he had no idea what kind of wood to use.

Timothy experimented with all kinds of wood he found around his shop; oak, cedar, pine, and even some birch bark. They all worked nicely. He then had an idea. What if he were to use all four kinds of wood? With this in mind, Timothy used pieces of wood and glued them together.

He soon found out this took longer than using just one piece of wood. Timothy wanted to develop a new king of pencil. Feeling discouraged, he took a walk in the woods.

With a down-hearted spirit, he walked along a dry river bed. His brooding was interrupted by a snap of a twig. A thought came to him. What if you were to turn twigs into pencils? It would save money and cut down on time.

With this new inspiration, Timothy grabbed a hand full of twigs and rushed back to his shop. He began work on the first twig pencil and it was a success.

Although his twig pencil was not very popular, he did make money off of it. The twig pencil was mostly sold to people with little money and to school teachers who wanted a pencil that was low cost. Most people found the pencil too primitive for their taste.

I visited my brother’s workshop not long ago. It was continuing to expand. He had regular pencils which I purchased. As a matter of fact, I am writing this story with one of my brother’s pencils. I can truthfully say that this is the best pencil I ever wrote with!

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A little about me: I’m a film student who loves to entertain and tell stories! I also have a deep appreciation for art. All the photos you see were taken by me. On of my goals in life is to provide family-friendly entertainment that is both fun and inspiring. If you would like to get in touch with me, you can do so on my website!