Jacobs shares his skill of making canes

Some can look at a stick on the side of the road or a tree branch and think nothing of it, but for Kevin Jacobs it’s an opportunity to help others. Jacobs noted he was very appreciative of his brother in getting the word out about what he does for those in the community.

A lifelong Wyoming resident and former railroad man with Union Pacific, Jacobs is now disabled and lives in Thermopolis. According to a letter from his brother, Ken, Jacobs taught himself woodworking and over the years has made and donated canes and walking sticks to Wyoming residents and even to actor Wilford Brimley and Senator John McCain before his passing.

Born and raised in Cheyenne, Jacobs was an engineer with Union Pacific. He moved to Thermopolis 25 years ago, though an accident prior to his move resulted in his developing syringomyelia. The disorder causes a cyst to form within the spinal column compressing and damaging the spinal cord.

Though Jacobs has lost feeling in his hands in the past year, he’s made and donated over 400 canes in the last 10 years. “I never charged anybody a dime,” he said. “It was seven states. I paid for the shipping, everything. It didn’t cost them a penny.” He suspects his popularity was due to an article printing his address as someone to write to if anyone needed a cane.

He’s also donated canes to VA medical centers in the Big Horn Basin, and has hundreds of postcards made of photos of the Thermopolis area taken by his mother, Mildred, which he distributes free of charge to area businesses to hand out to visitors.

As for his start in canes, Jacobs said he came out to take care of his father, who had melanoma. After his dad and wife passed away, he started getting into making canes. His mother and one of his brothers also passed, and he joked that he could have a family reunion in a telephone booth.

A neighbor of his, Pete Cavalli, helped him when he first started out, collecting sticks that would later be made into canes. The two met when Jacobs worked at NWBOCES. “I went from one spectrum to the other,” Jacobs noted. “I worked at the Pioneer Home for six years, then the children’s center for six years.”

In deciding which stick he wants to use for a cane, Jacobs said, “There are a lot of things you’ve got to look for. You’ve got to look for knots, which really bring out the color.” He starts with stick lengths of about 38 inches, and most canes end up at 35 inches. After finding a proper stick, he de-barks it, figures where the knots are and brings them out then cuts the notch for a handle. “That’s about it. I used to use stain and I quit that. I just go straight to a little lacquer, then I wax them.”

He previously was able to do a cane in a week, but as he’s lost feeling over time it takes about a month. “I spend more time picking things up than I do working. It’s taken all the fun out of it.”

As for the cane he gave to Wilford Brimley, Jacobs said he didn’t know the actor’s exact address, but knew he had a place in Greybull so he sent it to law enforcement there and they got it to him. Similarly, he sent one to Dr. John, via the New Orleans mayor.

“We wound up writing back and forth,” he said of Dr. John. “I ended up making three canes for him. He’d always write me and tell me where his concerts are.”

The letter from Ken also tells of an incident in which Jacobs rescued an 80-plus- woman from freezing. Jacobs said he found her after taking his his dog up to Spiller Butte for his pet’s regular morning run. “It was six in the morning and she was curled up in the snow. All she had on was pajamas and a light housecoat. I carried her down to the bus barn and had them call the ambulance. It made me feel better to know I did something right.

“That still bothers me to this day. I can shut my eyes and see the look in her eyes when the headlights hit her. That spark was just about gone.”