Ness to make another appearance for talk at Opera Hall on May 24

Jerry Ness, who gave an interesting and humorous presentation combining his hobbies as a self-taught woodcarver and storyteller last May in the Opera Hall, will be returning for an encore performance at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24.
Ness, a successful track and field coach for many years at Atwater High School (later becoming Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City), was introduced to the audience last year by his sister, Judy Hagen. Due to popular demand, Ness was asked to return.
Besides being a coach and teacher for 37 years of his life, Ness also became a taxidermist and woodcarver, all of which gave him material for his storytelling prowess.
His basswood carvings include various 6- to 8-inch Norwegian caricatures, cowboys, hillbillies and ducks. He has a name for each of his Norwegian carvings, including Herbertina, Adolph, Gladys, Marvin and Olaf, and includes a comical, memorial or interesting story to tell on each one. Ness grew up on a small dairy farm in which he claims “everyone in our area was of Norwegian descent. The primary form of entertainment for these hard-working farm folk was conversation and story-telling.”
When he and his wife, Geraldine, moved to North Dakota, he began freelance writing for some outdoor publications. When the pandemic hit in 2020, he began to master his art of woodcarving and, in turn, the stories began to unfold.
“I enjoy sharing their stories with others,” the personable Ness stated. “Often, folks are reminded of real people they have known in their own lives. My hope is that listeners will someday record their own stories for future generations to enjoy.”