This issue’s artist showcase features a father and son team from Great Falls, Terry and Ben Hill.
Terry Hill grew up in Billings, MT. He attended the University of Montana and graduated with a degree in wildlife biology. He began working as a Montana game warden in 1978 and retired in 2007 to spend time with his family and friends. Terry’s son Ben graduated from Montana State with a degree in economics.
The two of them have been working together on woodworking projects for about 20 years now. “My son and I actually know more about one another now than when he was a kid growing up because of the game work I was never home,” explained Terry. “Primarily its a way of being able to be with my son. Ben and I are known for doing really intricate work, and we’re also known for natural edge bowls, which we sell there at Latigo and Lace.”
“We had a grandson 13 years ago and I went to my wife, and I said I’d like to make a swinging baby cradle for our new grandkid,” Terry explained. “And she said to make one. I said I’d have to have a lathe because I have to turn the spindles and she said to go buy one. An hour and a half later I had a $1500 lathe. Two years later, I burned it up and bought a really expensive one.”
“We built the swinging baby cradle and now it’s getting passed around from neighbors to friends. Each time we do that we put the name of the baby and the date of birth and how much they weigh on the bottom of the cradle. Someday somebody will have it and they’ll be able to look at it with lots of history of Choteau.”
Terry and Ben have been actively producing numerous one-of-a-kind projects including gun cabinets, poker tables, and furniture pieces. “Last year we built what we call a his and her gun cabinet curio cabinet. It’s got a China cabinet on one side and a six-unit gun cabinet on the other.”
Several of their works have won best-of-show ribbons in various categories at the Montana State Fair in 2013 and 2014. To see their work and many others, visit Latigo & Lace in Augusta.
Author: Karen Anderson
Karen is the Editor-in-Chief overseeing all news operations at Foxys Publishing Co. She also loves photography and spending time with her dogs.
