March 13, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.

Carousel display

Museum will show horse carved by Portland’s Dick Kelly
Carousel display
Carousel display

Stop by the Jay County Historical Museum from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday and you’ll have a chance to meet “Misty.”

That’s the name former Portland resident Dick Kelly and his wife Bettie gave to a full-size carousel horse that Kelly carved after his retirement from Sheller-Globe Corporation.

Kelly, who had been a product tool engineer, retired from Sheller-Globe in 1993. He began carving miniature carousel horses and fell in love with the designs of Charles Looff, dating from the early 1900s.

Over four and a half years, he hand-carved a full-size horse fit for a vintage carousel.

“Misty” has been donated to the historical museum and will be featured in an open house unveiling.

According to a piece written by Dick and Bettie Kelly’s daughter, Kellie, for the historical society’s newsletter, Dick Kelly had enjoyed woodworking for years.

He first carved a small replica of a little ceramic carousel horse that belonged to Bettie and that led to a fascination with carousel art.

“He studied the photos and pictures and fell in love with the artistry and detail of the carvings,” Kellie Kelly wrote. “In particular, the carousel horses made by Looff caught his eye. He loved the ornate trimmings on the saddle, the flowing manes and tail, the expressions on the horses’ faces and the glittering gemstones which made the horses sparkle.”

It was a Looff horse that Kelly decided to recreate with his own carving. He carved a full-sized replica of the carousel horse’s head, then the tail and then the body. The finished work found a place of honor in the couple’s living room.

Dick Kelly died in 2017, and Bettie Kelly died in January of this year.

Now “Misty” has made her way to Jay County.

“It is truly Dad’s masterpiece,” wrote Kellie Kelly. “And it is our family’s hope that visitors to the museum will enjoy the beauty and detail Dad carved into his horse for many years to come.”
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