Edward Yarbrough retired as a foreman from Amoco Chemical in 1988, but after a couple of years of leisure he decided he needed to take up a hobby.

He read about a community education class being taught at Athens State University on chair caning. Suffering from a significant hearing loss, Edward was hesitant to take the class.

“He said, ‘If I send you, would you teach me?’” said his wife, Annie Yarbrough. “He said, ‘You can learn better than I can.’”

Annie Yarbrough, who had retired as a guidance counselor from East Limestone High School because of health problems in 1979, had the time, so she took the caning class.

“He thought I could come closer to learning than he could, so I took the class and taught him and he has been doing that for the last 10 or 12 years,” she said.

The Yarbroughs, married 58 years, were high school sweethearts. He was from the Copeland community and she from East Limestone. Today, they have three children, Ann Smith, Huntsville, Donald Yarbrough, Cumberland Furnace, Tenn., and Yvonne Chadick of East Limestone. They also have five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Caning by roll

Edward and Annie order their split-reed cane webbing from a catalog out of California.

“We order it by the width we need and it comes precut in rolls of about 100 feet,” said Annie.

She said sometimes they soak the reeds, as recommended by the manufacturer, but sometimes Edward works with it as it comes.

“He has done several kinds of caning, but he likes straight chairs and a flat weave the best,” she said.

Working from his carport, she said Edward will cane a chair for almost anyone who brings him one, but he mostly performs his work for family and friends.

“He probably spends five to six hours per chair,” she said. “One friend does a chair in an hour. But not my husband. He takes a lot of time and patience and when he is finished with one he can say he did a good job.”