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1908 John Krubsack

John Krubsack Growing Chair

John Krubsack Harvested Chair

The chair that lived’ is the only known grown chair that John Krubsack did. If this is true, it should never be underestimated just how much John had achieved with this example. One of the truly amazing things about this person was his ability to successfully grow an even and balanced chair with his first experiment. 

Quote from the Shawano Leader Newspaper in 19th October of 1922

What is believed to be the only natural growing chair in the United States now rests in the home of John Krusback, president of Embarrass State bank.

In the fall of 1903. Mr Krusback conceived the idea of a chair made of box elder, but instead of cutting the trees and nailing together, a rustie chair, Mr Krusback had the patience to sow the seed and weaved together, the joints of a chair while the trees were growing started from seed in the fall of 1903 32 little John sitting in harvested chair saplings were selected in 1907, and in 1914 the chair was completed.

“After I had planted 32 trees all box elders, in the spring of 1907,” said Mr Krusback, “I left them to grow in their new home for a year until they were six feet tall, before beginning the chair. In the spring of 1908 I gradually began the work of training the young and pliable stems to grow gradually in the shape of a chair. Most of this work consisted in bending the stems of these trees and tying and grafting them together so as to grow, if possible with all the joints cemented by nature. This was largely an experiment with me and it was with a great deal of interest that I watched and assisted nature in growing piece of furniture.

The first summer’s growth found all the joints I had made by tying and grafting grown firmly together. Some of the trees I found, however, grew much faster than others. To overcome this, I began to cut the stems of those trees that to my notion had grown large enough. This did not kill these trees but simply retarded their growth so as to give the weaker trees a chance to catch up.

In this manner I let these trees grow for seven years. During the last two years I had only four trees growing from the root. These were the four that consisted the legs of the chair and all the other stems kept alive from these four stems because they were grafted to them. After the seventh year all the trees were cut, making in all eleven years from the time the seed was sown until the chair was finally completed”

John Krubsack on Wikipeida Link
Last known location of the chair, was at Noritage Furniture run by Steve and Dennis Krubsack.

John Krubsack

John Krubsack in chair