Vet honored for art work

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

July 31, 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

Lawrence "Larry" Wehus of Pennington is probably better known locally for serving in two major wars than for his work as an artist.

But for him, his hobby of stamping leather will be forever tied to his service in both World War II and the Korean War.

Wehus picked up the hobby 10 years ago when he was hospitalized in the St. Cloud Veterans Administration medical center for post-traumatic stress syndrome -- previously known as "shell shock."

Because he was permanently affected by several years of combat during those wars, his occupational therapist decided he needed something to take his mind off those horrible memories of war. She taught him the beginnings of stamping leather, a hobby in which the artist uses preformed or handmade stamps to burn images into leather. Wehus then takes the leather and makes such objects as wallets, checkbook covers and letter holders.

In fact, he recently placed first in a local contest and took second place in a national contest for a stamped leather letter holder he made, depicting the nationally recognized prisoner of war emblem and other images.

The piece was called "Freedom Flight" in honor of a Minnesota man who has a hot air balloon decorated with the POW emblem.

The contest, sponsored by the National Veterans Creative Arts Program, is held annually at VA hospitals across America, and Wehus competed with 975 other entries in the first phase of the national contest. That includes entries in about 40 different art categories. He did not know how many leather stamping entries there were nationwide.

On Sept. 3, Wehus will attend a recognition party for all of those locally who entered the art contest at the St. Cloud VA Hospital, and the hospital staff will present a second place medal to him on behalf of the National Veterans Creative Arts Program.

"I'm pretty proud of that (award)," he said Tuesday of his second place finish. "They've been trying to get me to enter for a couple of years, but this was the first time I did. They've been telling me my stuff is good, but I didn't believe them."

Wehus, 70, said the leather stamping has given him something to do during the long, Minnesota winter day when he cannot leave his house. Considered totally disabled by his post-traumatic stress syndrome, he can't work. So he passes the time with leather stamping.

He makes the leather pieces mostly for his friends so he does not charge for them. However, even when he charges for a larger order, he never asks for more than $10.

"All I want is my money back to pay for my material," he said. "It's the leather lacing that costs to much."

Wehus, who was 17 when he joined the Navy and fought in six major island landings in the WWII Pacific Theater, said he can spend up to two days putting together a piece such as the one that recently placed second in the nation. But by far, most of his time is spent working on a project's lacing.

"But I've got a lot of time sitting out here in the winter, all by myself, with nobody to bother me," he said sitting next to his work bench in his Pennington home.