Master woodworking craftsman Mike Dunbar is trending along with the Presidential election campaign, as he receives credit for launching the first Draft Trump for President effort 28 years ago.

Dunbar, who teaches woodworking and is known for reviving the interest in the hand-built Windsor chair, first invited Donald Trump to address the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Rotary Club luncheon in 1987.

In a USA Today profile, Dunbar says he had planned to get a Ph.D. and teach French, when bought a second-hand Windsor chair, and was smitten by its craftsmanship. He soon found out it had been crafted in 1800 and was an extremely valuable antique. He set about learning to build such chairs by hand, and changed his career plans. He now operates The Windsor Institute, in Hampton, New Hampshire, which teaches fine woodworking and specifically how to make Windsor chairs, settees, and other seating. More than 3,00 students have been trained there. 

Running a woodworking business and active as a neighborhood preservationist in Hampton, he met all the Republican candidates running in the1988 election, but was dissatisfied. Familiar with Trump's business exploits, he launched the Draft Trump campaign and collected 1,000 signatures to put him on the ballot. 

Dunbar's Make a Windsor Chair is available at Taunton Press and from Amazon.