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Don Dickert can look at a piece of wood and envision what it could become –something beautiful; something interesting or perhaps, something a little wacky.

Dickert owns and operates Dickert Lumber Company in Brundidge.  So, he knows lumber inside and out.

He looks at every piece of lumber that comes to the mill and he recognizes lumber with character and potential.
“I don’t look for what I call plain wood,” Dickert said. “Sometimes, I just like the grain or the color. Sometimes, it’s a defect that attracts me to a piece of wood. Other times, a piece of wood is just pretty, for whatever reason. Something different is what I look for in a piece of wood.”

Dickert has a small shop in the back of his office at the lumber company and, when he has a few minutes, he relaxes by woodworking.

“I wouldn’t want to have to making a living woodworking,” he said, laughing. “I think I would have a hard time doing that. Wood working requires time. Sometimes, it takes four or five hours to make bowl or whatever. Woodworking, I guess is a hobby. I’ve given all my family members something I have made and they seem to appreciate them.”

And, Dickert has also donated several of his pieces for charitable auctions. As a member of the Brundidge Rotary Club, has donated bowls for the club’s annual fundraising auction that supports its scholarship program. His bowls “seem” to be popular, he said.

“I like to support worthwhile fundraiser,” Dickert said. “I donated several of my piece to the Salvation Army last year. Donna Kidd, local Salvation Army service manager, called and asked if I would donate bowls again. I am proud to have another opportunity to support the Salvation Army because it does so much good for so many in our community.”

Dickert said his hope is that those, who bid on his bowls, will do so for the same reason that he made them, to support the Salvation Army’s Empty Bowls fundraiser.
Empty Bowls 2024 will be from noon until 2 p.m. at the fellowship hall of Bush Baptist Church.

Tickets are $20 and include a soup bar, deserts, beverages, and an empty clay bowl to take home as a reminder of the millions of people around the world who go the bed hungry at night.