In this (
By Student) department,
it is our intention to provide a whole page
for each of our classmates — that is
— for each of you who sends us some stuff on
yourself, and your doings of the past 50 years.
The basic idea is to present
a mini-biography on you.
So far, we only have reasonably comprehensive
information on two of our classmates — but
more are on-the-way.
This is the
Patty Krause page.
As you read through it, hopefully, you'll find yourself kindled to
start drafting your own story, and
gather together some pictures that we can decorate it with.
Pat Oxenford
Fri Jul 29 2011
Patricia Ann Krause Oxenford is the
only graduate of the
Daniel Boone High School Class of 1961
to have written a
book — entitled
Tole Painting
— published in
2008.
Pat has been doing decorative painting for
nearly 40 years
— a penchant borne as a wee child,
at the elbow of her dad, Paul Krause, as they carved
bars of soap, and painted.
Her work
has been displayed at many art shows and museums
— including two in Germany.
Among Patty's premier masterpieces were a
plethora of cakes
that she decorated in her
pre-teen years — a prowess acquired under the
tutelage of her mother, Alethea (Kennedy) Krause.
We're not sure exactly why — but
none of these early works is
extant.
Today, Pat paints nearly exclusively on
tinware,
most of which has been handmade by her craftsman husband,
Ray Oxenford, who is a
tinsmith, wood worker, and clock repairer.
Pat worked for
Kiwi Brands,
in Douglassville, for the 19 years from 1980 to 1999.
Mrs. O. expatiates:
I was called to fill in, temporarily, for a secretary who was
out on medical leave.
Upon her return, I was requested to stay and work in customer
service, for 4 years.
In 1984, I began working as an executive secretary for
Charles F. Palladino, and remained with him as he was
promoted up through the ranks to Vice President of Sales.
I also did the secretarial work for his 7 district and
regional managers, and made all the travel reservations
for the sales department — which
included being the National Sales Meeting Planner.
|
After her 15 years with Mr. P. — Pat took an early
retirement from
Kiwi (at the age of 56) in
September of 1999.
The
Kiwi polish
was developed by William Ramsay in Australia,
in 1906 — and sales soared into the stratosphere
in the years from 1914 to 1918, as it was adopted by both the
British and American armies in World War I.
Today,
Kiwi Shoe Polish is the
king-of-the-hill
in most of the
nearly-200 countries in which it is sold
— as has pretty well been the case across
the planet, for just shy of 100 years now.
You may be wondering what a tole artist might be
doing, working at a shoe polish company.
Pat was attracted by what the product was packaged
in. Yes,
tin.
Although Patty has been an icingologist since before she could
even sppel it — for the seven years from 1969
to 1976, while
a stay-at-home-mother,
'twas officially her business,
wherein she designed, built, and decorated
cakes for birthdays, showers, and other special
occasions —
especially weddings.
Throughout the years, she has had requests for some pretty unusual
cakes, and
deffy
rose to the task at each behest.
Her largest wedding cake served 514 people.
Though no longer in the cakery baking biz on a daily basis,
in 1988, Pat crafted the wedding confection for daughter Kelly,
and Matthew — as well as the 1991 opus
for son Michael, and Christine.
Since 1972, Pat has been a decorative artist, specializing in
historic reproductions of
tinware,
bride's boxes, and various other items —
primarily from the 1700's through the early 1900's.
Pat is a very active juried member of the
Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen,
is on the board of their
Reading-Berks Chapter,
and is also a member of the National Society of Decorative Painters.
She has also served many years on the board of the
Historic Preservation Trust of
Berks County,
and is a juried Brazer Guild member of the
Historic Society of Early American Decoration —
where she is the Vice President, and
President-elect
of the
William Penn Chapter.
Pat does colonial craft show demonstrations, and teaches
her tole craft at various venues around eastern
Pennsylvania
— besides being on the board at Kutztown
University's Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center.
Pat & Ray were married on
Saturday, May 5, 1962, and have 2 children:
Kelly and
Michael;
and 3 grandchildren: Lauren, Erin, and Ryan
— all 5 of whom have also shown artistic talent.
In their (not too abundant) spare time, the Oxenfords are major
Nittany Lions football fans, and have had season tickets to
Beaver Stadium,
and every Penn State home game since 1982.
Why so ?
Well, the fact that their daughter, Kelly, and her brother, Michael, and
his wife, Christine, are all
PSU
grads, may have something to do with it.
Tole Painting, by Pat Oxenford, 2008,
Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg PA 17055,
168 pages, 529 photos & illustrations,
ISBN 978-0-8117-0431-1 — is
available through
Borders, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.com.
Although Pat also includes a brief history of
Tole Painting,
the bulk of
her book
is replete with the tools, techniques,
and tips for learning the craft.
click here to visit The
Oxenfords
Country Crafts & Things
Our Reunion Co-ordinator is:
Joyce
Hamilton Zeiber
118 North Walnut Street
Birdsboro
PA19508-2006
484 333-1009 - cell
phone
& voice mail
jefjoyjam@aol.com - email
This DBHS Class of 1961 - By Stu (1) Page