‘Lamp Man’ shows it’s never too late to reinvent yourself
Wooster resident Charlie Mann shows off a floor lamp made of cholla wood and lilac he has on display for sale at Stull’s Barbershop in Wooster. Mann, 89, started making lamps from cholla 10 years ago and hasn’t stopped.
Charlie Mann pointed with pride to a full-size floor lamp as he discussed how he made it.
“The bottom is lilac, and the top piece is cholla wood,” Mann explained. “I had to get an eighth-inch-wide threaded stem clear through that (for the electrical cord). That was a job. I started making lamps about 10 years ago out of wood that I found. I plan on making them for the next 20 years.”
Mann has about 25 lamps he’s made, along with mineral decorations on wood bases and walking sticks, on display for sale at Dick Stull’s Barbershop in Wooster, located near the Wayne County Fairgrounds.
Mann picked up the hobby at age 79 and is now 89. The Wooster resident is proof it’s never too late to reinvent yourself.
“Having a master’s degree in geology, I’ve always been interested in rocks, minerals and wood,” Mann said. “I always wanted to be in the woods looking around.”
Mann spent 59 years working for Engineering Associates Inc. in Wooster, where he retired as a co-owner. The 1952 Wooster High School graduate also served as Rittman City manager for a time and worked for Standard Oil out west for several years.
During a trip with his wife Lela to visit Santa Fe, New Mexico about a decade ago, Mann got the idea for a hobby that’s been a huge part of his life ever since.
While helping to clean up 3 acres of his niece’s property before putting up a fence and doing some electrical work, Mann removed a large amount of cholla cactus. Mann wound up with a huge pile of cholla wood — the skeleton of a cactus — that they’d have to get rid of.
Mann slowed down enough one day to go into town with his family, and they visited some shops when something really caught his eye: a lamp made of cholla wood.
“I saw that cholla lamp and thought, ‘I’ll take that cholla wood piled up on my niece’s property back to Wooster,’” Mann said. “I used my machete and cleaned the thorns out of it, trimmed it up and packed all of it that I could into the back of my Jeep Cherokee. I had decided that I was going to make lamps.”
Cholla wood is a popular material for crafting and jewelry-making because of its patterns, colors and durability. It’s known for its characteristic holes, which are a result of the way the cactus grows.
In the 10 years since, Mann estimates he’s made 60-70 lamps. He’s branched out to also using lilac, cherry, walnut, pine and oak. He usually builds several lamps at a time in his shop, needing several days to complete them.
Mann said other than cutting down a couple small trees, all of the lamps have come from wood he’s found on the ground. One lamp was made from a uniquely shaped stick the neighbor’s dog carried into his yard.
Like many artists, Mann signs his name on the bottom of each piece. He also writes what kind of wood it’s made of and the completion date.
Mann brought some of the first lamps he made into Stull’s Barbershop because that’s a perfect place to talk about something like that.
After Stull showed interest, Mann gave him a complimentary lamp.
“Dick has been cutting my hair for 60 years,” Mann said. “I trust him. After we agreed I’d sell some lamps here, he said he wasn’t going to charge me. I said, ‘You’re getting a portion. It’s not right that I leave them here and you don’t get anything.’”
Stull said Mann has given lots of lamps away to friends, the Wayne County administration offices and Wooster City Schools. Stull wanted to give him the opportunity to display and sell some of the lamps in a room at his barbershop.
“He’s an outstanding man,” said Stull, who will donate his proceeds to the Wayne County All-Stars softball scholarship that he’s given out for many years. “He makes beautiful lamps, and it’s fantastic how many he’s given away.”
Mann has given lamps to his children and to a multitude of grandchildren. Charlie and Lela also have many great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild.
Just when most people his age are really slowing down, Mann’s late-life hobby has him brimming with enthusiasm just short of his 90th birthday.
Already having lived a rich and full life, Mann’s lasting legacy might well be Wooster’s “Lamp Man.”