Trumansburg native puts new spin on giving

When Trumansburg native Steve Garner’s brother Richard fell ill several years ago, Hospicare & Palliative Care Services of Ithaca were brought in to help with the growing requirements of his care and the stress that came with it.

“There were a lot of things to address when my brother became ill,” Steve said. “We finally decided we needed help managing whatever the outcome would be and called Hospicare.”

Hospicare addresses the pain management treatment received by a patient with skilled doctors, experienced nurses, spiritual leaders and extensively trained volunteers. When a patient enters Hospicare, the patient no longer receives treatment to cure a condition; rather, doctors aim to provide relief from symptoms.

“These people from Hospicare are like angels put on Earth,” Steve said. “They were so wonderful with the help they provided and the care they gave.”

During this time, Steve became interested in whirligigs. Having retired from a career in education that spanned over three decades, Steve decided to try a new hobby.

“I retired from SUNY Oneonta, where I was an associate professor of health and physical education and an athletic director and coach,” Steve said. “My wife, Joan, and I decided to come back and retire to Trumansburg. The house that my dad built in 1952 and the 10 acres it is on was just sitting here empty and unused.”

A whirligig is an object that spins or whirls. A whirligig can also be referred to as a pinwheel, spinning top, weather-vane, buzzer, gee-haw or spinner.

“After some research, reading and some trial and error, I started building whirligigs,” Steve explained. “I build them on the back of my property, and initially, we just put them out and watch the wind make them whirl and spin. … These are all made and assembled by hand.”

Whirligigs that are wind driven transfer the energy of wind into a release of kinetic energy through rotation. Wind forces the whirligig to move, using inertia to transfer movement into all of its oscillating parts.

“Once my brother had passed, my wife and I decided that we wanted to do something for Hospicare,” Steve said. “We got the idea to give away our growing collection of whirligigs and ask for a donation to Hospicare in lieu of payment. We set up at the Trumansburg Fair with the goal to give away 25 whirligigs. The Trumansburg Fair Association gave us room, and a man from Enfield donated a circus-style tent. We put them out, and before we knew it, people were taking our whirligigs and giving donations to Hospicare.”

Each whirligig recipient is provided with an information sheet that contains a short history of the kinetic folk art and care instructions. Preprinted envelopes with address and donation information are provided as well.

“With the pandemic, we no longer had a fair to showcase our whirligigs at,” Steve said. “I have a collection of them. Each has a different theme or story they convey. We’re hoping to have the opportunity to return again to the fair this year.”

Having no outlet to showcase the growing collection of moving art, Steve eventually filled his garage to capacity with them. As he created more and more, he needed to add another shed. Using a spot behind his house on the back of his 10-acre property, Steve built a shed perfectly measured to house his eclectic creations.

“I keep them and work on them in the shed because the garage became too packed and we needed to use it,” Steve said, smiling. “A lot are completed, but some are in various stages of being finished. Some still need their polyurethane coating that makes them stronger.”

Each whirligig has two coats of polyurethane to protect the paint and wood and make it durable for New York’s unpredictable weather.

“We recommend that people avoid keeping them out in strong winds and rain,” Steve said. “Despite being coated with polyurethane, it is still susceptible to extreme wetness. When the selected whirligig finds its new home, you’ll want to take it inside for the winter.”

Despite boasting a wide variety of themes and designs, Steve has no intention of slowing the building of more whirligigs. Having grown adept at constructing his American folk art pieces, Steve is always coming up with new ideas.

“We have holiday-themed whirligigs, activity- and hobby-themed whirligigs and a lot of different ones in between,” Steve said. “I get ideas from everywhere. The most sought out lately seem to be aquatic-themed whirligigs.”

Through his artistic expression, Steve and his wife have met many people who share their own experiences with Hospicare. Many of the people who share their experiences will simply donate and don’t take a whirligig of their own to do so.

“Hospicare has touched the lives of so many people,” Steve said. “The whirligigs are secondary to the donations. We do this as a way to give back to an amazing organization that helped us so much through such a difficult time so they can go on and help others.”

To learn more about Steve’s whirligigs, contact him at (607) 280-7715 or stevegarner52@yahoo.com.

Trumansburg Connection appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

St. Patrick’s Day Irish coffeehouse

Join the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts, 5 McLallen St., on March 19 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. for a musical celebration of St. Patrick’s Day!

This informal evening of music, hosted by Three Stone Fire, will feature traditional music and songs from Ireland and the British Isles. Also featured will be music from our local session band Se Leigheas. The evening will conclude with an open Irish session, so bring your instrument!

Come and enjoy some warm spirits, tunes and songs from the Emerald Isle. $10 suggested donation.