Grandpa's Tweezers

Tattoos are done in a variety of styles, subjects and colors, and the motivations behind getting them, are as varied as the tattoos themselves. It's not unusual to see a heart, a boyfriend's face, or even an exotic animal - but tweezers?

Approaching the counter at The Hen's Tooth I look toward the young woman behind the counter and notice a tattoo on her arm of a tweezer. The story behind this tattoo connects to a small box on the counter with the label Grandpa's Tweezers.

Photo by Susan Carroll

A tattoo tells a story...

Upon asking, I discover that Fred Westendorf, created Grandpa's Tweezers. His granddaughter Jill tells me that Fred invented the tweezers for all the mill workers whose job hazard was nasty slivers. Fred experienced many mill changes in ownership over the years, from Whittier to Diamond to Brooks Scanlon to Brooks Resources, yet over all the years he was the mill's grinder man.

He would make a special tweezer out of a planer blade. Fred continued making tweezers until his death at 90 on September 25, 2013. He spent his last year mentoring a neighbor in tweezer-making, which has allowed Grandpa's famous tweezers to continue.

Four of Fred and Donna's five children were school teachers (three of the four taught their entire careers in the Redmond School District). Their other son and his wife were retailers who began selling Fred's tweezers in their gift shop, The Hen's Tooth, in Sisters, Oregon. The store, now in its 46th year, is run by Fred and Donna's granddaughter Heather and her husband Brian. Heather grew up in the store, began managing it in 2013 and eventually took over ownership of the family business.

Heather and her cousin Jill (another granddaughter, also employed at the store) talk daily to customers about their Grandpa and his tweezers. Each has such fond memories of Grandpa and treasure their tweezer made by him. In his honor, Jill has a tweezer tattoo on her arm!

She says, "My tattoo, though the smallest of all my tattoos, has the strongest meaning to me. Not only is it a conversation piece to which I get to speak about Grandpa and the man he was, to me it's a reminder that even the smallest and simplest of ideas can become world famous! I carry Grandpa's love with me everywhere I go!"

Grandpa's Tweezers have been the top selling item in the store since the early 1980s when Fred began producing them outside of the mill. Heather, her parents and grandparents, all have treasured serving others through their small retail "mom & pop." The sign above each door at The Hen's Tooth summarizes their primary focus:

"May the moments eggperienced within this nest and the love from our hearts BLESS all who enter here."