By: Teresa Roca
Norm Pederson arrives at his 19th century style workshop at the crack of dawn almost every morning. Inside, wooden buckets hang from the ceiling above him, spoons, butter presses and rolling pins sit on tables beside him, and scraps of wood are scattered around him. As Pederson carefully makes his way through the cluttered room, sounds of wood shavings crackle beneath his wood-dusted work boots, as he gathers his tools, and prepares to split and shave wood for his next creation.
Pederson isn’t a professional carpenter. He is a volunteer at Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island.
“I portray the farmer who would be working in a shop like this in the 1850s,” said the 17-year volunteer. “I make things the way they were made at this time. That means style, materials and methods.”
Norm Pederson in his carpentry shop.
A Staten Island native for 66 years, Norm Pederson dedicated his post-retirement to fulfilling two passions that began during childhood: carpentry and history. With Historic Richmond Town becoming more volunteer dependent as business decreases with each passing year, Pederson volunteers to help the village stay alive and to inform people of America’s history, just as he was informed as a child.
“My grandfather came to this country from Norway in the 1890s as a carpenter,” said Pederson. “My father taught me carpentry when I was a little boy with my grandfather’s tools. He taught me how carpentry was done during my grandfather’s time. I still use some of my grandfather’s tools, which is a pleasant connection with my own past.”
Pederson visited Historic Richmond Town, the only living historic village in New York City, frequently as a boy. The now 25-acre village with 15 restored buildings only consisted of a museum and the Voorlezer house, which is a national historic landmark.
Despite his passion for carpentry and history, Pederson didn’t pursue either as a profession. After flunking out of college (“I had a lot of fun in college”), Pederson enlisted in the army. He later worked for the city is a deck handler on the Staten Island Ferry, cleaning litter and handling lifeboats. However, he never forgot the skills taught to him by his father. He continued to practice carpentry and research history casually throughout his life.
Pederson got involved with civil war reenacting and returned to Historic Richmond Town for an event in 1994.
Pederson’s carpentry shop.
“I got talking to some of the people who work here and they were very interested in other people who were interested in history,” said Pederson. “Then an offer was made and I got involved. One day I saw the shop, which hadn’t been used in ten years or so and I said, ‘can I kind of hang out in this shop?’”
Pederson now helps visitors explore American life in the mid-19th century by allowing them to experience the life of a farmer through his carpentry demonstrations.
When people come to Pederson’s shop, he always makes sure to follow one simple rule: grab the visitor’s attention.
“Sometimes I go for a cheap thrill, such as splitting wood,” said Pederson. “Showing how it splits seems like a very simple thing, but it actually catches people’s imagination. If you can do that, then you might go a little further and talk about the technical part of it. You don’t want to start out with the technical part because we don’t want to bore people to death. We want to entertain them.”
According to Felicity Biel, the director of education and programs at Historic Richmond Town, “Norm is a wonderful asset. He relates well to all ages of visitors and makes the story of earlier American life so accessible to people who visit his shop to see his demonstration of farmer and carpentry skills.”
Pederson’s wooden pieces aren’t just for show. His items are displayed in museums, sold to visitors, used to furnish historic houses and more. Pederson also helps Richmond Town by performing American Folk music by playing the fiddle with band member Bob Conroy at Richmond Town events, helping the maintenance team pick up litter, and fixing things around the village.
“Beyond what visitors can see, Norm has also helped behind the scenes,” said Biel. “He has repaired spinning wheels that are used in the school workshop programs and carved wooden yokes so young visitors can try them out.”
Despite school and camping trips that drastically helps Richmond Town’s business, the village still suffers because of the neighborhood’s development throughout the years. As Richmond Town continues to modernize, becoming more upper class, people are beginning to forget about this rustic village that has been at the center of Staten Island’s history for hundreds of years.
“You get a lot of people from other countries. You don’t get many Staten Islanders,” said Pederson. “Since the bicentennial it has been down. Europeans are great listeners because they are interested in our history. Americans are not interested in their own history anymore. That is partly why this place doesn’t have much money.”
Although Pederson does not get paid with money for his long hours of hard work, he does get paid other ways.
“I never make a lot of money, but that was my choice. I enjoy my life,” said Pederson. “I am a very lucky person in the sense that Historic Richmond Town needs something like this and they’re nice enough to let me do this. When you are teaching, it’s really rewarding to have people pay attention to you. Having people ask intelligent questions and being respectful, what could be better than that?”
Podcast: Although Pederson enjoys volunteering at Old Richmond Town, there are down sides to volunteering as a carpenter.