Schmitt, Louisa’s cardboard artist, dies

By Tony Fyffe

BSN Editor

LOUISA — Edward G. “Eddie” Schmitt, known as Louisa’s cardboard artist, died Friday, Dec. 11. He was 79.

A U.S. Army veteran, Schmitt was known throughout the community as the man who made amazing things out of cardboard.

His detailed work has adorned the hallway of the Lawrence County Courthouse, on top of and inside display cases across from County Clerk Chris Jobe’s office.

A biplane and a ship are among the handiwork on top, while musical instruments — acoustic and electric guitars, a fiddle and a banjo — are inside.

All are made of cardboard, and all are feasts for the eyes.

Schmitt and his wife, Christine, were regulars at the Lawrence County Senior Citizens Center, where he took homemade kits and taught others to make cardboard items. It was all just a matter of piecing everything together, he said.

Schmitt made a little bit of everything, from birdhouses to a biplane with an 8-foot wingspan, much bigger than the one on display at the courthouse. Some of his items have lights — electric or solar — and some do not.

Perhaps his most impressive work was a life-size piano, which he displayed for awhile at the senior citizens center.

In addition to his wife, Schmitt is survived by a daughter, Marcella Schmitt; a son, Paul Schmitt; and several grandchildren.

Graveside services will be at 1 p.m. today (Wednesday) at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Northeast in Greenup County.