NEW BUSINESS: NEW BUSINESS TURNS OLD REDWOOD INTO CLOCKS, TABLES AND PLAQUES

John L. Lashly works with old wood.

Utilizing slabs of old redwood, he turns them into clocks, plaques, tables and jewelry boxes.

Redwoods are among the world's largest trees, says Lashly. "They grow to be 200 to 350 feet tall."The wood, he said, is soft, red and resistant to decay.

Great burls (lumps) often grow on the trunks of older reds."The burls are highly valued for their beautiful grain," said Lashly, who is familiar with the redwoods of Northern California. "I worked in the that area a number of years."Upon retirement, Lashley, a St. Louis native, became a "wood artist," found a redwood supplier in California and starred producing "Burl Product's," which recently opened at 709 William in Cape Girardeau.

Some of the redwood used to make Burl products are 1,000 years old.

Burl Products is open six days a week Wednesday through Monday, closed only on Tuesday. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday.