Fifty years ago last week, Roland Jones sold his very first handmade cedar souvenir.

He was a young entrepreneur with a gift for creating anything out of wood, from coffee tables, and friendship cups to fish and candle holders.

And the visitors, at that time, loved his work so much that one couple even brought a piece before he had finished it. Back then, for that particular item, he charged a dollar.

His first place of business was on a wall in front of one of the first night clubs in Bermuda, Chrisley Hall in Somerset.

Today, you can still find Mr. Jones in that area, but his hands are a little slow and his sight not so good after suffering from a stroke three years ago.

He says he is still able to make some things, they just take him longer to do now.

According to Mr. Jones, Chrisley Hall was owned by Dr. E.F. Gordon's wife Clara and because she was a neighbour and family friend she told him he could sell his items on the wall.

Visitors were always gathering around Chrisley Hall, which is now nothing but a wooded area, making it the perfect place for Mr. Jones to not only sell his goods but also do some carving so people could watch.

"When I was a boy my father was a shipwright, he built boats and he could see that I had some talent with my hands, that I like to do crafts.

"He introduced me to Mr. James Horton who used to make souvenirs with Bermuda cedar. Mr. Horton had his own shop and got me into wood cuttings.'' Mr. Jones added: "Mr. Horton showed me how to shave the wood and make designs. I started selling my crafts 50 years ago, July 28, sitting right on the wall outside Chrisley Hall.

"Wood carving is a specialty that not many people get into. At that time the tourists were really into having something Bermuda-made and there were not many people doing it.'' He continued: "Fifty years ago a group of us decided to get together and put these products out there for the tourists, they were all made from cedar.

"There was plenty of cedar around in those days and we rarely touched a green tree, if we did it had to be bleached for eight years before we were able to use it.'' Mr. Jones said he makes any and everything but after having a stroke, causing his right side to be partially paralysed and blindness in one eye, things that took him two days to make now take 10 to 15 days or more.

However, luckily he has some movement on his right side. "I used to make cedar doors and all that stuff, lamps and tables some of which has travelled to parts of the US, UK and Germany.

"I used to mail my items all over the world, I was popular because these things were custom-made.

"Tourists would request a table or a lamp and I would make it and send it to them. Many of those people sent me pictures of my furniture in their living rooms. That gave me great pride.'' Mr. Jones said he was also presented with a book from the Canadian Army, when they left Bermuda, for his association with them, selling his crafts.

He also presented them with a plaque with a cedar maple leaf thanking them for allowing him to sell his goods.'' Mr. Jones has also become well known through the Salvation Army as he was featured in the Salvation Army booklet in 1973.

"A lady visited Bermuda and interviewed me about my career and how I got started. She was travelling around the world for the booklet finding interesting people with stories to tell,'' Mr. Jones said.

Asked how long he plans on creating his wooden gifts Mr. Jones said: "I'll keep carving until I die, even though I'm now handicapped -- I'm going to do my best to carry on.''