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The Warther Museum : Our History
The Warther Museum A family tradition for your family By Teri Stein  The Warther Museum not only celebrates the incredible carvings of the late Earnest “Mooney” Warther, known as the World’s Master Carver, but also the way he lived his life; a hardworking, simple life that focused on family and friends. Caring for others and making the Warther home Dover’s gathering spot are what Mooney Warther, born in 1885, considered more valuable than the priceless works he carved detailing the history of the steam engine. “Mooney thought the steam engine was the greatest invention of all time,” said his grandson, Mark Warther. His carvings include the Driving of the Golden Spike, the Lincoln Funeral Train, and the Empire State Express, an eight-foot ivory train on a stone arch bridge. A total of 64 ebony, ivory, and walnut train carvings are showcased at the museum. Mooney Warther was meticulous. Each piece was carved to scale and pinned together, never glued. “Goal setting and time management were important to him,” said Mark Warther. “He never started a project without a date that he wanted to finish by.” Mooney’s lack of a formal education was not a barrier to success. “Mooney was a reader supreme and self-taught,” said Mark Warther. “He got pictures of the engines he wanted to recreate and he would visit and climb all over an engine.” Mooney’s original workshop, built in 1912, is attached to the museum and is still used by family members. “He built everything to last forever, including his own family,” said Mark Warther. “His shop was never off limits to the kids.” At the museum, along with Mooney’s carvings, are family photos of the happy times spent in their backyard, which was designed to look like Switzerland. More than 6,000 annuals are still planted on the grounds each year. Ohio’s largest gazebo is located there and is the ideal site for weddings and rehearsal dinners. The Warther family started work early each morning, at 6 a.m., and ended their toils at 3 p.m. each afternoon to spend time with their family. The younger children enjoyed hunting for arrowheads, while a 70-foot rope swing attracted the older children. Mooney even built a cave in the bank under the garden. His appreciation of family, and the realization that his real riches were at home, may have been because his own father died when Mooney was only 3 years old. That event shaped his life, as he was forced to quit school after the second grade to help support his family. He went to work as a herdsman for nine years and acquired the nickname Mooney - short for Moonay - which is Swiss for “Bull of the herd.”  One fateful day, Mooney found a penknife while on his way to the pasture and he began to whittle to pass the time. A hobo taught young Mooney how to carve a pair of pliers from a single piece of wood using only 10 cuts. In a tradition still carried on today at the Warther Museum, Mooney made each child he met a pair of wooden pliers. A tree of 511 working pliers from a single block of wood was displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1933. It was Mooney’s last whittling effort and took 31,000 cuts, which left no shavings. Experts said one would need a mathematical education to complete the project. Mooney replied that he was glad he was told that after he made the tree. At the age of 14, Mooney took a job at a local steel mill, where he worked for 23 years. During that time, he completed 25 carvings and also learned to forge and temper steel from a neighborhood blacksmith. He began making his own knives for carving in 1902, and later crafted kitchen and pocket knives. During mill shutdowns, he would make knives to supplement the family’s income. Mooney’s concern for his neighbors was so great that when the United States entered World War II, he halted his carving projects to make commando knives for local soldiers. Though he was opposed to war, he felt the area soldiers needed to have the best fighting knife he could make. Approximately 1,100 commando knives were made; each was hand-forged. The serviceman’s name was stamped on a brass plate inset in the handle of each knife. When his wife, Frieda, told Mooney the war was over, he put down the unfinished commando knife he was working on and vowed never to make another one. Knife making is still the livelihood of the Warther family. In their fourth generation of knife makers, the family uses the same techniques developed by Mooney to make the world’s finest cutlery. Visitors to the museum are able to view the knife makers at work. Artistically framed arrowhead collections and Frieda’s button collection make Warther’s Museum a stop that brings families together in the same tradition of the Warther family. For more information, visit www.warthers.com or call 330-343-7513. |
Address: 331 Karl Avenue Dover, OH 44622 330-343-7513 Visit Us: Open daily 9-5, last guided tour starts at 4 pm Email Us: info@warthers.com Visit Our Website: www.warthers.com
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