“I knew he could,” Sheila responds. “If he could build boats, he could build a stairway.” And of her walk-in closet, she adds, “It’s a room, not a closet!” “I love working with wood,” Bill says. “It’s God’s gift to man — beautiful in the forest, and you can make beautiful things with it.” On the other side of the house, next to the original, traditional stairway, Bill painted a mural that adorns three walls. The scene is a waterway with a hilly landscape, a paddle wheeler, sailboats, islands, a village with a church and, on the upper landing, clouds that drift into a sunset. With a blend of humbleness and innate artistic expertise, Bill says, “I didn’t put too much detail in it. I’d rather err on the simple side than the cluttered side.” Another notable “canvas” in Bill’s portfolio is his HO train layout in the basement, which prompted his original proposal to expand the house. The array occupies 1,200 square feet, with 240 feet of track that holds more than two dozen engines and 300 cars. The miniature pieces — people, animals, trees, trestles, barns, houses, power poles, water towers, silos, signs — number in the hundreds. The creation represents the landscape from Boston to Montreal, which Bill studied extensively through books and maps. “An artist is constantly fooling the eye,” he says of the compressed distance between towns. “The hills in the background are smaller than in reality. The buildings in the background have less detail, and the ones in the foreground have more detail. That’s how art works — it’s a forced perspective.” Yet the detail throughout is 100 percent true to 1954, including 48-star flags, yellow stop signs and vintage automobiles. “There’s nothing bad or violent in here,” Bill says. “No fires. No cops chasing robbers. We can make the world any way we want. It’s enjoyable for me to create a world that’s not bad.” With similar sentiment, Bill compares the train parties he has hosted for local friends and international guests to a theatrical stage.
“When we put the trains in motion, Act One is on its way and we all have jobs,” he says. “We have to interact with each other. It’s not quite like Shakespeare, but it’s just as much fun.” And while others vie to be the dispatcher, who has to make sure none of the trains collide, Bill shies away from that role. “I know how to build it, how to fix it, but I don’t like to operate it. That’s why we need different types of personality. The world would be a boring place if we were all like me or all like you.” In addition to his work on boats, model trains and his house, Bill also repairs mechanical clocks and maintains a restored Model A and Model T. While he keeps busy with all of these activities, Sheila is active in the community most days of the month. In addition to being a member of the Schoolcraft Ladies’ Library Association, she belongs to two historical societies, a United Methodist church and women’s group, the American Legion Auxiliary, Friendship Force of Western Michigan (a cultural exchange program) and two car clubs. She also bicycles regularly with her biking buddies. “Why join if you’re not going to be involved?” she asks. This simple rhetorical question applies to her commitment to her husband, too. “I would never have ridden a bike to New Orleans, I would not have crossed an ocean on a sailboat, except that I married Bill,” she says. “I have to be in motion, creating something,” Bill responds. “It can’t be just any kind of motion; it has to be highly focused. I enjoy the satisfaction of completing a project from A to Z.” Sheila gives him a look. “Except they really don’t quite —” “Well, I get to W or X anyway,” Bill says, flashing a boyish grin. Sheila emits another hearty laugh. In those expressions of charm and laughter lies the secret of their successful life together: to love and accept — even when the adventures don’t go as planned.
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