GROSSE ILE, Mich. – A man who lost the use of his fingers to frostbite is using wood carving to exercise his damaged hands.
Ken Wagel carves birds and remembers what brought him to the craft. His fingers were damaged during a winter storm after he got caught on the ice where the Detroit River feeds into Lake Erie.
He was told he might get dexterity back into his fingers if he tried wood carving and 50 years later he teases that his only disability is he can’t ball a fist for a good fight.