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Youth shares talent on Instagram

Boy hooked on crochet

By Holly Neumann


A La Crosse youth with local ties is making a big name for himself.

Jonah Larson is the son of Christopher and Jennifer (Domask) Larson and has two siblings, Leif and Mercy.
Jennifer is a 1987 graduate of Iola-Scandinavia High School.

Jonah has numerous aunts, uncles and cousins who live in the Iola area. His grandmother Rita Durrant is from Waupaca.

At age 11, Jonah has been dubbed a crocheting prodigy, and is stitching his way into the hearts of people around the world.

“This was weird at first, because I did not even know what a prodigy was,” said Jonah. “I looked it up in a dictionary and it means a young person who is very talented at a certain craft. I am a young person and I happen to be very talented at crocheting, so I guess the definition fits me.”

Jonah has been crocheting since he was 5.

“I found a crochet hook in a bag of crafts,” he said. “I asked my mom what it was and she helped me find a tutorial on youtube.com and from there I was hooked.”

Not only does Jonah find the hobby relaxing, but he also enjoys the way it makes other people feel.

“I have a very busy mind,” he said. “It helps me slow all my thinking down, relieve stress and stay focused. It also makes me happy and it makes everyone else happy to see my work.”

He may be found on youtube.com where people can watch to see what he does.

And Jonah has become somewhat of an overnight sensation.

He recently made an appearance on Pickler and Ben, was on a German radio station and has talked to both Steve Harvey and Ellen Degeneres about being on their shows.

He even has an Instagram page called Jonah Hands that is with a growing audience.

“Jonah Hands was started about a year ago,” he said. “Up until three weeks ago, I had about 2,400 followers. Now with all the media coverage I have 66,000. I think it’s really humbling. People from all over the world leave nice comments. They think highly of me. I really enjoy that. But I don’t crochet for that. I crochet because it benefits me and it benefits others.”

His mother Jennifer is surprised by all the attention.

“It blows my mind. I did not realize crocheting was so cool,” she said. “I thought this is something that just the older population did. My favorite part is people are learning a new craft or picking up their hooks again.”

One of the organizations benefiting from what Jonah does is Roots Ethiopia.

Jonah was adopted from the country when he was 6 months old.

“I have given Roots Ethiopia several items that I have made and they have put them up for auction,” he said. “The money raised from there was given to the people in the region of the country where I came from. It goes to help young mothers, widows and people in need and helps children go to school. I am really proud to help this cause.”

According to his mother, giving back has been powerful not only for Jonah, but also for her.

She never thought a young boy could have such a big difference.

“I was there and saw where he came from,” said Jennifer. “It’s a very, very poor area of the county. He decided to do this on his own. This helps the whole community where he was once an orphan. The country of Ethiopia is so proud that one of their countrymen has been successful and is just a child.”

Education is important to Jonah.

He could read at the age of 3, skipped a grade in school and is now doing ninth-grade algebra while in sixth grade.

He has his sights set on attending West Point Academy and becoming a surgeon.

“I think this is possible,” said Jennifer. “When my husband Chris and I talked to our kids about life and their future, Chris told him about military academies and how you have to be so disciplined to go there. Jonah told us that he was going to do that. That this was the highest bar and he was going to go for it. He may change his mind, but right now he is set on that.”

“This is my plan,” Jonah added. “All this crocheting has helped my hand dexterity. It’s like prepping to become a doctor when you’re 11. It never hurts to be prepared. I want to start prepping early, and I will be a surgeon one day.”

For now, Jonah will continue to make afghans, mittens, baskets and scarves or anything else he can come up with.

“Crocheting will stay with me for the rest of my life,” he said. “I hope everyone young and old, male or female, brings out those crochet hooks or tries it for the first time and passes it on to the next generation.”

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