Stratham craftsman seriously injured after helping neighbor cut down tree: How to help

STRATHAM — A local craftsman and musician, known for his generosity, has been showered with nearly $100,000 in donations following a serious accident while assisting an elderly neighbor with cutting down a tree.

Joel Paul is known throughout the Seacoast for his woodworking business at 13 Stars Farm in Stratham, for his decades on the local music scene, and for being a kind friend and loving son and father. Those who know him say they were not surprised he was trying to help his neighbor by cutting down a tree on April 1 when it fell on him and crushed his body.

Paul was brought to the intensive care unit at Portsmouth Regional Hospital with serious injuries throughout his body, according to a GoFundMe page posted to help raise money for his family. He has since been designated stable and brought out of that unit to a regular hospital room, according to the page.

The GoFundMe campaign has brought in more than $82,000in donations to help Paul and his family cover expenses. Paul will need the help as he prepares for several surgeries. Also of concern is his 93-year-old mother, Ruth, who relies on Paul for a place to live in their family home.

“Joel’s personal power and beauty pours from him like a waterfall,” read a post on the GoFundMe page by organizer Rachel Paul Nelson. “This injury is a brutal stoppage of all that light, color and humanity.”

Joel Paul was well-known on the Seacoast

Paul’s place in the Seacoast music scene goes back decades. Rodger Shosa, a local musician and his best friend for years, first met Paul in 1984.

Paul was a little older, Shosa recalled, so he served as the leader of their group of friends as they enjoyed the local music scene.

Paul, who has played guitar, keyboard, bass and other instruments over the years, eventually started his own band, VFW, according to Shosa.

He also spent time performing in reggae bands before leaving for New Mexico in the early 1990s.

A few years later, Shosa said he reconnected with Paul when he returned to New Hampshire.

This time, Paul had picked up a new interest – Shaker-style furniture. Shosa said Paul had a woodworking shop in the 1800s barn on his family’s Stratham farm property and eventually moved his space to the Mills in Rollinsford.

Shosa said his passion includes hand-crafted items like carved spoons, cutting boards and rolling pins.

“What made him kind of get into wood crafting is, he was just really good with it,” Shosa said. “He just found he loved working with the different grains and textures as he kind of evolved into what he’s doing now.”

Sosa said Paul moved back home about four years ago to take care of his mother and work on the farm, which has been transformed from a dairy farm to Paul’s green woodworking center. In addition to producing wooden pieces, he also teaches classes there.

From the craft world to the music scene, Shosa said Paul’s generosity and love of people showed through.

“He’s the first one to give a hand,” Shosa said. “He’s been there for me.”

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Shosa said he does not know exactly how the accident occurred, but he said Paul was working on his farm when an elderly neighbor approached him to help him cut down a tree.

“He just stopped what he was doing, walked up, and started cutting the tree down for the guy,” Shosa said.

Shosa said he does not know exactly how a good deed by Paul turned into a crippling accident. He said Paul was wearing a helmet, which, although it shattered into pieces, ultimately saved his life.

His head and his left arm are uninjured, but the rest of the body is badly damaged, according to Shosa. He said Paul’s right arm is of significant concern as he relies on his hands for income.

The GoFundMe page so far has allowed his mother, Ruth, to have her taxes paid, as well as the completion of some renovations to the apartments at the farm. Finishing that renovation will allow Ruth to have reliable income while Paul is healing, according to the GoFundMe.

Shosa said the outreach has been “amazing.”

Initially, he was not sure if the GoFundMe page could reach its goal of $100,000.

“I saw a five-dollar donation from someone that I know doesn’t have $5 to give,” Shosa said. “That’s the sort of generosity that I saw that just floored me. It’s really incredible.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Joel Paul badly injured helping neighbor cut down tree: How to help