Toothpick church: retiree finds beauty in the quarter inch

Jerry Hackett, an 81-year-old retired accountant and father of six, is generating a lot of press with his toothpick sculptures. After creating a series of intricate windmills and bridges done to scale, the cradle Catholic turned his attention to Minnesota churches, starting with his own: St. Mark (now a campus of Sts. Joachim and Anne) in Shakopee. His remarkable creation of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague — a six-month process using 12,800 toothpicks — will be auctioned off in August at the church’s festival.

Q) You grew up on a farm, the second of 13 kids. Tell me about that.

A) With that many kids, you ate what was put on the table. You didn’t complain. You learn a lot on a farm. You might not be an expert, but you can do a lot of things. You have to.

Q) You learn by tinkering. Is that a lost skill?

A) I think so. Nowadays, kids have to have everything planned for them. Right away, they’re bored. We were never bored.

Q) You were in your mid-70s when you made your first toothpick sculpture, the Eiffel Tower. How did you get the idea?

A) I was looking for something to do to keep busy, and I remembered that one of my kids had done a toothpick project back in the ’80s.

Q) And that just popped in your mind?

A) Yeah!

Q) Would you encourage other 70-somethings to take up a hobby?

A) Well, yeah, instead of just sitting around waiting to croak. I know a guy down the street in his mid-70s who makes cribbage boards in the shape of Minnesota. He sells them at the farmer’s market.

Q) Are all your toothpick sculptures done to scale?

A) Yeah. One inch equals four feet. That way every quarter inch is a foot. It’s easy to figure stuff then.

Q) Tell me about your process.

A) I start with rough drawings, and I put my measurements on that. Then I make the drawings I’m going to use for the actual parts, and I put wax paper on it, so I can still see my drawing, and I glue the toothpicks together and then peel off the wax paper when it dries. Then I give it a good coat of glue to make sure everything holds together good.

Q) It sounds so tedious!

A) That’s the only way you can do it. You can’t fast-track it. You pick up one toothpick at a time with a tweezer and dip the end of it in glue and stick to the one before.

Q) Is that a metaphor for life?

A) Yup. You can only do it one day at a time.

Q) You work in your porch, listening to polka and country music on KCHK Radio.

A) It’s peaceful. I’m getting toothpicks ready for my next project, the church at Union Hill, and there was quite a bit of clipping. I cut the tips off 2,400 toothpicks in two days.

Q) Are you ever tempted to cut corners?

A) No. I guess I enjoy the challenge. There are a lot of places where I’ll end up using a toothpick to make some little corner that’s an eighth of an inch long. That’s more fun. And you learn tricks as you go. I cut more pieces to length now, kind of like pre-fabbing them.

Q) Is it hard to stop thinking about your current project?

A) That’s my problem at night. I’ll wake up thinking about how to do this part of the church, and I can’t go back to sleep.

Q) When you are finished, you have an intimate knowledge of a church — the kind few people have.

A) It feels good. It makes you more observant. On the New Prague church, there are three add-ons, or lean-tos, and two are exactly alike and the third one is a little different. The people who live there probably never really noticed.

Q) Does that carry over to other things?

A) Yeah. We’ve got a row of evergreens behind us, and I’ll be studying them: This one looks the best, that one is a little darker.

Q) Do you do that with people, too?

A) Not really. To me, people are people.

Q) What is it about working with your hands that’s so satisfying?

A) For one, I’m lucky: My fingers are still nimble. I don’t have arthritis. When I finish a church and I’m looking at it, there’s a sense of pride.

Q) What’s on your toothpick wish list?

A) There are two projects I’d like to do. One is the old Duluth Central High School. It’s on the national register, and it’s quite unique. It’s made out of stones. I just found out they are selling it. I’m going to see if I can get some drawings from them so I can build that. The other one is the old courthouse in downtown Minneapolis with the green roof. That one’s made out of stone with round corners and different towers.

Q) It sounds like your toothpick sculptures help you appreciate the world around you. Does it relate to your faith? Does it point you back to God?

A) Oh sure. We needed some rain awful bad and God gave us some yesterday.

Q) What do you think God’s purpose is for you?

A) I don’t know, but he did a good job of keeping me here. I’ve had a couple close calls — near car accidents.

Q) This September you’ll mark your 60th wedding anniversary. What have you learned about marriage?

A) Boy! There’s got to be a boss for the marriage to go, and then there’s a husband.