Ron Dunkel

(Photos by Christi Mathis)

January 18, 2012

Ten questions with ... Ron Dunkel

Job on campus/department you work in: Coordinator of the Student Center Craft Shop


How long at SIU Carbondale:  I started in 1984 as extra help in the Craft Shop’s wood shop.


Hometown:  Carbondale.  My parents were students here from St. Louis, back when tuition was $15 per quarter and books were $2.  We lived on East Stoker Street behind the Rec Center.  My father would walk the railroad track to find enough coal to keep the house warm.


When you were a youngster, what did you want to be when you grew up?  George Plimpton.  He could do everything. 


What is something you still want to accomplish in life?  Build and play a Hurdy Gurdy.  I saw these in Germany and this has been a goal of mine for years.  Also, I want to etc., etc. 


What was the first “album” you ever bought, and was it an LP, 8-track or CD?  Alvin and the Chipmunks record.


If you could pick an actor/actress to play you in a movie, who would you pick and why?  Everyone tells me I am McGyver, fixing and getting by with whatever I have on hand.  But I think I’m Robert Preston in the Sound of Music; you have to think it first, then you can do it.


Cats or dogs?  I like dogs; cats run away, they are not very loyal.  I am so amazed at how the dog has become such a part of the human society.


What is your favorite food and why?  Tropical (seafood, tropical fruits), strawberries, blueberries.


Who has inspired you, and how?  My mother, who was always home and made lots of art; my father, who introduced me to the outdoors through camping and canoeing; and Jesus Christ, who set the example of how to be a decent human being.


What is your pet peeve?  People who don’t wash out their paint brushes.  It really bothers me to see a wasted paint brush.  So, since I have your attention, “Wash your paint brush after you use it!”


What would you like your gravestone to say about you?  “Death Date TBA.  I’m too busy for this!”  Or, “I carved the stone myself, you too can make one at the Craft Shop.”