By Jack M. Willis
Journal Correspondent

Being raised in the Deep South, and with a Forestry Degree, when Andrew Scharr decided he'd had enough years in the Silviculture sector of private industry, it seemed only natural to turn to an unrestrained hobby like woodcarving as a sideline for fun and profit--while also taking up the mantle of free lance writer which only added the cherry to the top of the whipped cream of retirement.

Andrew Scharr is of German heritage, born on March 17, 1944 and reared near Ocean Springs, MS. His father was born in a sod house in North Dakota somewhere around 1920, but Andrew's mother died when he was only eight years old. After his father remarried the family moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast where Andrew lived an idyllic Mark Twain-type boyhood.

His adventures as a barefoot boy with cheeks of tan, clad only in a pair of denim cutoffs most days, would provide grist for the features and the book he would eventually fabricate when he much later made the decision to become a writer.

Even though Andrew is actually very shy, and would not brag about the essence of anything, he was very popular in elementary and high school. While playing football in high school he garnered All-State honors as a senior. But while he was attending a junior college, an incident occurred that would impact him far more that he could ever imagine.

Andrew Scharr had enrolled in a speech class, and in the course of study was given the assignment to compose an essay concerning the current subject of study. The kind, complimentary and encouraging notations the instructor blue-penciled in on the margins of the returned dissertation imprinted his mindset forever.

Graduating from Mississippi State University in 1966 with a degree in forest land management, Scharr was hired by Continental Forest Industries. The company assigned him to North Central Louisiana for employment. In the interim he married Gloria Jean Glasscock, originally from Winnsboro, and settled in the Bear Creek area north of Hodge, LA, where they've been blessed with two sons, two daughters and eight grandchildren.

Andrew Scharr is also the Corresponding Secretary-Treasurer of the Dugdemona Basin Wood Carving Guild and delves into a varied menu of woodcarving expressions in all forms of wood, but prefers cypress. He's created everything from a bas relief of Pegasus the mythical flying horse, to waterfowl decoys to walking canes pursuing unusual themes. He has a fruit orchard on his rural acreage, along with a menagerie of different types of poultry.

During his 33-year career with Continental he became a District Forester and Land Management supervisor, overseeing the controlled burns of 50,000 acres of forested lands, and the planting of millions of trees.

Until 1999 when Scharr retired--and he maintains that he DID retire--most of his creative writing talents had been put on hold. But upon retirement, and with a mental image of the words of encouragement written in the margins of the speech paper years before, he made up his mind to write an autobiography.

In 2004 Scharr combined his love for family, hunting, and penchant for storytelling to craft a novel entitled "Grandpa's Legacy." The 161-page opus, published by Publish America, was not his first foray into narrative composition because he has prior publishing credits of short stories and articles in Muzzle Blasts, Knife World, Deer and Deer Hunting and The American Hunter magazines.

Scharr recounted, "The most enjoyable part of composing my first hoped-for best seller was conveying my emotions and sentiments into a form readers could identify with, but being naturally shy and reclusive, it was difficult for me to expose my true feelings to the reader."

The concise snippets of real life revealed in "Grandpa's Legacy" are spiced with Louisiana lore, politics, family life and healthy, meaningful doses of faith-based religion. Scharr utilizes a poignant prose to paint a picture of a grandfather who passes away, but becomes a legend to his descendants and extended family. Scharr says that he hopes that the people who read the book will gain a more in-depth understanding of family relationships and the necessity of committed Christian living to really bond families together.

Persons interested in obtaining a copy of "Grandpa's Legacy" may do so by going on line to Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, BooksaMillion.com, PublishAmerica.com and various bookstores.

To contact Andrew J. Scharr for information concerning his book or to become a member of the Dugdemona Basin Wood Carving Guild call 318-259-3172 or email:ajscharr@hotmail.com .

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