Daily Record

No paint was used in the making of the new Wye Oak lectern.

Crafted by Jim McMartin and Jim Beggins of McMartin & Beggins Furniture Makers in Wittman, the new lectern, which will be placed in the governor’s reception room, features a finely detailed, all-wood, Great Seal of Maryland.

McMartin created the lectern’s inlaid seal with a mixture of some 10 woods, domestics and exotics. The cabinet, all Beggins’ handiwork, features wooden wheels for easy maneuverability and a massive multigrain front veneer.

All the wood came from the 460-year-old Wye Oak, a historic tree felled by a thunderstorm in 2002. The lectern uses the same wood and is a companion piece to a desk created by McMartin & Beggins for the governor’s office in 2004. McMartin said the lectern took approximately two months to complete.

The desk created a bit of controversy as some people felt it wouldn’t be seen by enough Marylanders to warrant the use of such historic wood. Carolyn Watson, chairman of a committee formed to decide what to do with the tree, said a good use of the wood would be something more people would see, such as a table for signing new laws or a lectern for the governor’s news conferences.