‘Men’s Shed’ Brings Older Local Craftsmen Joy, Togetherness
By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
COOPERSTOWN
Every Tuesday morning, several to a dozen older men enter the garage of Walt (Jim) Hogan of Cooperstown. Above tool-lined walls lay retro beer cans and model cars and trucks. Snacks sit on a table a few feet from weather vanes in need of new life and a work table where an outdoor bench will soon come into being. The sound of three men outside working a buzzsaw floats inward, followed by two halves of a wooden board. Others, inside, fix a scuffed-up 19th century table of Cherry Valley origin with cherry wood. Or, they just talk.
Men’s Shed, an international movement started in Australia, aims to create social spaces for older men. With dozens of chapters across the world, the group’s motto is “Men don’t talk face to face, we talk shoulder to shoulder.”
It’s a “safe place for men to be able to get together, because there’s issues as one ages,” said member Bud Zaengle. A retired support staffer for cancer treatment, Zaengle said “the need is huge” for older people to have social engagements like the shed.
Many older men—and older people in general—suffer from social isolation, which carries higher risks of cardiovascular issues and dementia. A 2023 University of Michigan study found that more than one in three people between 50 and 80 years old experience loneliness. Often out of the workforce, children gone into the world, and without regular community activities, many older men are hungry for social opportunities.
“We really wanted to make sure that it was embedded in the community in a grassroots effort,” said Tamie Reed, director of Otsego County’s Office for the Aging. “At the end of the day, our goal was to – and our goal always is – to build community,” she said.
Women “have often been the Founders of successful local Sheds,” according to the U.S. Men’s Shed site. “Their ability to get Sheds launched and their dedication to helping men find meaning and purpose – especially after retirement – is an inspiring part of the U.S. movement’s growth,” the site reads.
The Cooperstown shed is no exception. Reed, and Carole Lachance, director of the Connections at Clark Sports Center program, began talking about the idea in late 2024, not long after three older men in Otsego County died by suicide in a short period. When it came time to find a suitable location, Walt Hogan shared, it was his wife who volunteered their two-door garage.
Initially just four men, the group has grown to about a dozen since their first gathering in February. Sometimes, men will arrange to come over outside of the scheduled hours to work on their projects.
The men want to keep improving their shed. First and foremost in his ideal world, Hogan said, is “the health and safety of the workers,” something which would be improved by better ventilation in the garage. But the second part is making sure the men “feel like they have a purpose.”
“They’re here, they’re being functional, creating, repairing, fixing for people. Mostly things that are important to people, like an heirloom,” Hogan said. The group recently took in another chair and two tables, and invites community members to bring items to see if they can fix them.
A recent project included making wooden charcuterie boards, which were then painted by a separate group of older folks at the Connections program. Lachance hopes to sew a broader social fabric with these kinds of activities.
“We’re starting to get them involved in some community things, too,” said Lachance.
Though the shed has so far been a low-key gathering growing only by word of mouth, it has still generated donor interest. During the Mohawk Valley Gives drive, $6,335 was raised to support the project, according to Lachance.
Many participants and organizers hope the shed will help reverse the trend of reduced social occasions, especially as a result of the pandemic.
“They know they don’t have to sit at home and watch TV all day,” Hogan said. “They can actually go out and do something.”
