Some artists start with paint or clay. For St. Charles native Bill Bergeson, it started with an engineer’s eye, a love of history, and a piece of weathered wood that felt too beautiful to ignore.

The woodworker extraordinaire grew up in a house on Randall Road when it was still a gravel road ending in Ferson Creek. He spent his childhood playing in what is now Wild Rose subdivision, and he used to sneak off to the Leroy Oakes Forest Preserve to try—mostly unsuccessfully—to ride horses.

Here’s what Bill had to say about his creative journey, his process, and the community that’s helped shape his work.

After retiring from 25 years as an engineer at IYC-St. Charles out on Route 38, Bill found that he enjoyed rebuilding his kitchen. When it was done, though, he found himself at a loss for what to do next. 

When his youngest son was working on his master’s degree in Biology at Ball State in Indiana, he asked if Bill could build some bat houses for his project. Together, they designed a bat house — and now have over 50 spread around southern Indiana.

That experience stirred up a passion, setting the stage for a new adventure.