Abby (left) and Casey Broughton

Emily Flora | SWoCo

Matt Broughton with his labor of love.

While growing up Abby Broughton, 16 and a junior at Hidden Valley High School, and Casey Broughton, 19 and a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University, spent lots of time on what they call the family farm in New Castle. They watched their father, Matt Broughton, who is a pilot, fly planes and fly gliders there many weekends. Over time the place became very memorable and special to the girls.

"We literally grew up there," Abby said. "Everyone kind of looked after us."

In 2007, on one particular occasion, Matt took his two daughters in the barn and showed them some fine wood. Casey and Abby had no idea why their father was so impressed by the wood, so they just said, "Yeah, Dad" and went on their way.

But recently the girls have found out why that wood was so special to him. For over a year, their father has been working that same walnut and cedar wood to create chests for his two girls.

Matt said he came up with the idea about 10 years ago.

"What we are trying to do is start a tradition," Matt said. "About three years ago I got real serious about it."

A few weekends ago Matt unveiled one of the chests to his elder daughter, Casey, in Richmond.

"She loved it. She learned about it a few weeks ago," Matt said.

Abby has not yet received her chest, but she now knows about it.

"I've seen mine a lot. I'm really excited about it. My grandmother had one. I was happy because it's a family thing. My sister and I are really excited about it," Abby said.

"The funny thing was Abby's reaction," Matt, who kept the secret for a year and a half, said. "Abby said, 'Dad, I'm not going to lie to you, I wouldn't have believed you did this.' "

Matt borrowed the idea from back in the day when women would have hope chests, sometimes called a glory box, which were used to collect items of clothing or household linens by single women, anticipating married life.

The chests he made were 45 inches long and 18 inches deep. It took him a year and a half to finish, but he was proud of the outcome. Matt had no prior experience in building chests.

Three dads were involved in Matt's project and did it for their own daughters. One father, who will remain unnamed also made chests for his two daughters, and Sam Shields created one for his daughter, Stephanie Shields.

"I asked them if they wanted to do it and said 'Wouldn't it be cool to make something for our daughters?' I did not have traditions growing up so I wanted them to have one -- an heirloom." Matt said.

Matt and his friends researched their idea and found an 18th-century French chest that they used as a guide.

The chests have no screws or nails in them, are completely book matched and are complete with old skeleton keys. All the hardware used on the chest was ordered from England including the hinges. Every piece is hand-milled, including the molding. Inside each chest, Matt wrote each of his daughters a message.

"I messed up a few boards. Several times I had to start over," he said.

In one he wrote, "Made by Dad. Made from wood in New Castle, Virginia. May your life be full of treasures, some of which you keep in here. Summer 07, Fall 09".

"It was more time than I thought -- four times more time than I thought it was going to be. Every stage you have to hand rub it to make it glass smooth. That tells you how important it is to us."

Matt said that he worked a couple times a week and about once a weekend on the chests, sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning. Even his daughters caught on to how busy their father seemed to be.

"I'm very proud of it. My girls are so top-notch. They were a good incentive to do it the best I could."