Making something of it

Kevin Purcell

Spud Gooch stands with an eagle he carved out of a chinaberry tree.

JACKSON COUNTY — Growing up on a farm puts you in contact with a lot of tools. There was one in particular Spurgeon “Spud” Gooch hated.

“I’d gotten sick of using chainsaws for cutting up firewood,” he says. “It was a lot of work. Hot too.”

From those days where the heat would bounce off the saw’s engine and tag up with Georgia humidity, though, Gooch would lay the groundwork for a skill he’s presently exploring to bless others and show them Christ.

In June a storm blew through between Jefferson and Athens, leaving two fallen oak trees at Attica Baptist Church. The trees were adjacent to a playground and thankfully had caused no damage to the equipment, but needed to be disposed of.

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