By hook or by crook – meet Don Vonderschmitt

To say that Don Vonderschmitt, of Jasper, has made thousands of crocheted hats, scarves, headbands and afghans would not be an exaggeration.

“It’s the best pastime I’ve ever found,” he says. From right after breakfast until bedtime, with few breaks in between, Don’s fingers are busy.

Every staff member at the Providence Home in Jasper has been the recipient of a warm hat, scarf or blanket — or two, or six or ten. Wishing to give back to the community, for the past several years Don has made hats and scarves in gold and black for all the Jasper Wildcat cheerleaders.
But, he says, if he can get some yarn in other school colors, he’d be happy to do the same for them.

Piles of finished items are stacked on nearly every flat surface in his room at the Providence Home. His closet shelves are stuffed with handmade afghans.

Don, who did a stint with the Merchant Marines, recently gave several afghans to the American Legion Riders who, in turn, donated them in Don’s name to the Veterans Hospital in Louisville, Ky.

Patients at the VA Hospital were delighted. And, the Legion Riders were touched.

On Saturday, October 25, the Legion Riders roared up to the Providence Home to show their appreciation. They brought a thank you card and ten big skeins of beautiful yarn, so Don can continue his work.

Don was over the moon.

“Those blankets were handmade and man-made,” he joked.

“We really appreciated those afghans,” said Ella Tempel, wife of Legion Rider Ron Tempel. “And the veterans appreciated them. One lady was just all smiles and she said ‘You just get that over here and cover me up right now. I’m cold!’ They all really loved them.”

The American Legion Riders are members of the American Legion who are also motorcycle enthusiasts. Their goal is to promote and support Legion programs. Being able to take afghans to patients at the VA Hospital was right up their alley.

Don arrived at Providence Home in the fall of 1993. Born and raised in Jasper, he graduated from Jasper High School, then spent two years with the Merchant Marines. He returned to Jasper and got a job in the veneer mill, where his father worked in maintenance. Never married, he loved working with his hands and spent much of his spare time oil painting. He also enjoyed braiding palms, which his mother taught him as a young boy.

“Then, my eyes started going and it got harder to do,” Don laments.

While wandering around his new home, he came upon some staff members who were crocheting on their breaks. Don watched in fascination.
“I wondered how they could do that and just keep talking,” he marvels. “Then I thought, I wonder if an old man could do that?”

He pressed one of the ladies to show him how. “But she went so fast!” he recalls. “I asked her to slow down and I wrote it down on paper.
“The first couple of things I made didn’t turn out so good,” he adds with a grin. “It takes awhile until you get on to it.”

But he found crocheting a pleasant way to pass the time and worked to perfect his skill. “It’s all in the tension,” he explains.

At first, he meticulously recorded what he made and to whom he gave it. But, after the first thousand or so, “It got monotonous,” he shrugs.
He stopped recording those gifts years ago.

Still, he has never found crocheting monotonous. He loves to give his creations away to those who appreciate them. “There are 10,032 stitches in each of those blankets,” he notes. And every one is done with care.

“I could do this all day, I believe [and he does].” Don concludes, “It’s the best pastime I’ve ever found.”