George Lawrence Buhler was born in 1921. George’s father was a baker; his grandfather, great-grandfather and gg-grandfather were all shoemakers. They worked in skilled trades making things by hand. They were artisans. George’s early school and career training and life-long profession was in bookkeeping and accounting. With a large family to support, George supplemented his income as an artisan; making and selling rosaries and gold monogram jewelry. For hobbies, he enjoyed woodworking, composing stained glass and collecting and growing bromeliads. Examples of his work are displayed below.
Prayer Rosary. This is the first rosary George L Buhler ever made. He made countless others for many individuals. George and his wife, Mary Cordelia Buckley, were devout Catholics. The rosary was an important part of prayer to them, not just the physical rosary, but praying the rosary. George was a member of the Holy Name Society in his parish church, St. Christopher, in Metairie Louisiana. “Pray for the living and the dead” has always been an important mission of the HNS.1 Sponsored in part by the Holy Name Society, the New Orleans Rosary Broadcast has been on the air since 1946. It still rotates among several church parishes today.2 George participated in these live rosary broadcasts with the St. Christopher HNS. He often took me, my brothers and our family friend to Canal Street in downtown New Orleans to recite the rosary live from radio station WSMB. WSMB began broadcasting in 1925 from the Maison Blanche Building, now the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Founded by the Saenger Theater Corporation and Maison Blanche department store (hence WSMB), it offered live music, news, and local talk shows.3
Stained Glass. George L Buhler practiced composing stained-glass designs in the garage of his home in Mandeville, Louisiana. He purchased sheet glass, lead cames and necessary tools to create several examples. I recall simple crosses and bird designs which he gave to his grandchildren. The piece below hung in the side entrance of his home. The glass is made of 62 pieces cut from 6 different colors of glass. It is a large example measuring 34-6/8 inches wide by 33 inches high. I had a frame made for it of 2-inch unfinished cherry hardwood to preserve the structural integrity; it is very heavy. The simple geometrical design is similar to glass in the Trinity Lutheran Church in Algiers, Louisiana where George grew up. Wonderful pictures of this church glass, and many others in New Orleans churches, can be found in Dale A. Carlson’s book, Stained Glass New Orleans: A Field Guide, published in 2022. Perhaps George was inspired by the beautiful stained glass of the many New Orleans churches he was familiar with, all included in Carlson’s guide.
Wall Clock and Weather Station. George L Buhler combined his woodworking skills with his interest in clocks. His home had several wall clocks that created a cacophony of chimes, bells and cuckoos every hour. Below are two examples, one of a wall clock and the other a weather station.
Monogram Jewelry. In the 1960s George L Buhler enrolled in Delgado Community College in New Orleans to learn the art of monogram jewelry. This occupied much of his time after working all day and on weekends as well as providing additional income for his large family. George set up a jeweler’s workstation in the corner of the family den. He hobbled it together from an old television cabinet. The two large front doors would open to access his tools, and the top surface was his bench. Some of the tools I recall were jeweler’s headband magnifiers, a double third hand for holding small items while soldering, a jeweler’s hand drill and coping saw, a soldering torch and others. He always kept a small box for scrap gold pieces left-over from his creations to be recycled. Below is a picture of his steel ring mandrel, jeweler’s flat nosed pliers and rawhide leather mallet. Besides monogram jewelry he also made and resized simple rings, and gold pins and pendants such as the once popular “Jesus face”. George made for himself a pair of gold monogram cuff links, GLB. I now have these and wore them to both his and our mother’s funeral. They are beautiful still and a reminder of his skill in this art.
Bird House. George L Buhler lived his young adult years through the Great Depression. The influence of his depression upbringing can be seen in his work. George wasted nothing and reused everything. The birdhouse below was made from items salvaged from his garage; fence boards, crown molding and other scrap wood items.
Bear Puzzle. George L Buhler made this folksy 3-piece bear puzzle for my sons. The simplicity and crudeness of this piece places it in the category of folk-art; functional and utilitarian visual art created by hand.
revised on 30 August 2025
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