Chuck La Berge, a former woodshop teacher, has carved a niche for himself at Felicita County Park in Escondido — making and playing flutes in the Native American style.
A volunteer park host, La Berge has been shaping the wooden flutes for almost four year, he told County News Center in a 3 1/2-minute video. He performs for park visitors.
He says he “knocks a flute out in about three days,” and decorates them in local Indian tradition — but uses seagull feathers painted like eagle feathers because of legal restrictions on raptor feathers.
Rusty Rodes, supervising ranger at the park, called volunteers like La Berge “integral” to the experience. “They’re the backbone.”
