Dana Frazier says focusing on making canes has helped him stay sober
Dana Frazier says focusing on making canes has helped him stay sober Transfer Commode Chair
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Dana Frazier says focusing on making canes has helped him stay sober
A man from the Androscoggin County town of Poland says making handcrafted wooden canes has changed his life.
Dana Frazier says he discovered two years ago that he has a flair for turning rough branches into sturdy, decorative canes.
"They're all rough in the beginning and you shave them down and you sand them and shellac them, they're all smooth...they look store-bought," said Frazier.
Frazier says it all started when he needed to buy a cane for his fiancee but found that store-bought ones were just a little too expensive.
"We priced some and they were over $30 to $40, so I went out into the woods, found me a stick and made it for her," said Frazier. "And then there were a few other people who needed one."
As demand quickly grew for his canes, he launched a business called Walk With Us Woodworking. He set up shop in a shed in his backyard in Poland and says he is proud that the work keeps him busy and away from alcohol.
"It keeps me sober too. I don't think about drinking," he said.
Frazier's family says they have seen a change, too.
"I think I've seen him smile more lately than I have in the last five years or so because he's found something that makes him happy," said Frazier's grandson, Trevor Michaud.
Michaud helps his grandfather run the business and says he has seen Frazier transform from a self-described belligerent alcoholic.
Frazier says making the canes gives him something to focus on and find peace working outside.
"I'm more peaceful with myself and with others. I'm finding that I can talk to people without arguing. I mean, that was all the alcohol back then," said Frazier.
Frazier sells many of his canes at craft fairs to help pay for materials, but he donates many more to rehab centers and nursing homes, handing them out to people who need them. He calls it another way of making amends.
"Makes me feel so good inside, you know just to see an older person smile and say thank you, it's awesome," said Frazier.
He says he hasn't felt this good in years and that he needed something to just keep him steady, like a cane.
"When you're out in the woods, you got no reason to drink. You know, it's just peaceful," he said.
Frazier says he has been sober for five years and has never felt better.
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