APPLETON — Howie Wood served in the Army. He’s farmed and shoed horses. And he’s always been pretty creative.
So, one day, when he saw a cornhole board, Wood thought to himself, “I can make one of those.”
The hobby — and dust — soon took over the house, as Howard, 88, and his wife, Nancy Wood, 81, put together boards in their garage and kitchen, trying to keep up with the demand from interested people.
“Next thing you know,” he said, “we kept selling more and more and more.”
That was about eight years ago. Today, the “retired” couple run the business, Skilled Cornhole, out of an Appleton building at 1500 Rogers Ave. with their daughter and son-in-law, Stephanie and Tony Bishell, both 41.
It’s truly a family-owned business. Not only do they work together — Stephanie does the designing, Tony handles production, Nancy manages the books and Howie makes the bags — but the four of them also live together in Appleton. Even Stephanie’s brother, Scott Wood, previously helped out.
None of them thought, though, they’d wind up making handcrafted, custom cornhole boards — “not in the least,” said Stephanie.