Dr. says every year Lindy Jones and his wife Colleen will stop making baby boats. But they still do it every year. It's been a tradition since Lindy gave birth at Bartlett Hospital, where she said she formed a deep bond with her parents.
The couple, who have worked together in the carpentry shop since college, build a small rocking boat each year for their first child born in Juneau. They make four or five boats a year for nurses and friends, if they have children.
Lindy is now an ER doctor, but when she worked in the delivery room 20 years ago, she wanted to acknowledge her connection to parents struggling with infertility and difficult pregnancies.
“There are families that I have connected with and been through the whole process and it was a form of acceptance for them and for me,” he said.
The couple also build boats for adults, like the 30-foot fishing boat they launched last January. Colin stands in Jones's lodging and lumber shop, which they built themselves, and points to the resin-covered hull.
"It's basically a wooden house converted into a boat," he said.
Colin says he spends about four hours a day in the carpentry shop, working on his big projects and the couples' Christmas presents.
"It's a way for someone special to share something at the beginning of the year," he said.
For this year's nursery, they used yellow cedar that was grown and harvested in Hoonah. Lindy has worked for many years with Wes Tyler, owner of IC Straits Lumber.
“In fact, this year he gave her yellow cedar for the boat,” he said.
Baby packaging is labor intensive. At one point, the couple stopped building for nearly a decade. But Lindy said it wasn't a waste of time.
"Shopping time doesn't count towards life, you know?" he said
Lindy said he feels a deep sense of obligation to Bartlett as an employer, which motivates him to continue building and outfitting these boats.
“It opened the doors for me to the most challenging and fulfilling career I could have ever imagined,” he said.
This year's jackpot went to Ethan Weed, Juno's first child born on January 3, 2023.
Lindy said she has no plans to sell what she makes. And he plans to get his new boat ready for Chinook salmon season on the Outer Banks.
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