Harvey Helmke
Harvey was one of the best bobbin turners ever. Unfortunately he passed away in the fall of ’97. He taught his nephew Michael how to turn bobbins and Michael is still turning them out the last I heard. If you Goggle Harvey’s name, you will find a link for M&H Handcrafts. This was Harvey’s business (the M is for his wife May) and Michael is carrying on with it. Before Harvey passed away he was working on a how-to video on bobbins turning, but it was not finished when he went on to the wood shop above.
I was blessed to consider Harvey one of my best friends ever and even today when I touch a piece of wood with a tool at the lathe I think of him. Every time I have a catch start and stop it before it digs, I can still hear Harvey saying “yep, you saved that one.†We used to turn together in his shop one or two days a week. He would be in the back of the shop sitting on his paint bucket (later replaced by an old office chair) turning bobbins on his “Bonnie†and I would be in the front of the shop on the big Delta or my Jet that I had there. When May would get home from teaching school it was often the case that she would find us covered in chips and hungry since we forgot to break for lunch. The days when we did beak for lunch, we often took our fly rods with us and stopped off to wet a fly or two on the way back from lunch since he lived on Canyon Lake, north of San Antonio.
One of the best days ever was the day that Bonnie stayed over after the mini symposium and out there with us to just hung out for the day. We made some chips fly, talked turning, and grilled some chicken, and just had the best day ever. (We still tear up when either of us mention his name to each other. Sorry, Bonnie) Oh, those were the days.