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is a shelf bulging with toys from past years, everything from wooden turtles to trains.
“Every January I start making toys again and I keep picking away at them all year long,” he said.
This year, Redinger made a total of 437 toys, including 25 little rocking chairs, 174 wooden trucks, 32 bulldozers and 32 block wagons. Redinger burns his name on to the bottom of each toy, and his wife Dorothy helps package them. He said two things have driven him to build thou- sands of toys over the years.
“This community has just been so good to us, so we just want to give back somehow,” he said. “I just want to help folks who don’t have the assets to give their kids a big Christmas.”
“And I want to stay busy,” he added. “If you just stop doing things and just sit and watch television, you’re not going to last long.”
Redinger and Toren said while they both love making toys every year, they’re not sure how much longer they’ll be able to do it. They both hope that other local woodworkers will step up to the plate to help Toys for Tots out in the future. Toren said while they don’t make money from it, the thanks they get from the people they help is priceless.
“If I can make people happy with the toys I make, then I’m happy,” he said.
Toren saw that happiness rsthand a few weeks ago. One of his neighbors was going door-to-door with her young daughter and infant son giving out home- made cookies. Toren invited the woman and her children into his shop and let the boy and girl each pick out a few toys for themselves. He said the little boy, who couldn’t even walk yet, got a wooden car and was so happy with it he wouldn’t let it out of his grip.
“When I see things like that, it just melts my heart,” he said.
After putting the nishing touches on his wooden doll cribs, Toren got them ready to be picked up along with the doz- ens of other toys scattered around his shop oor. Soon the wooden games, cars and airplanes would be replaced with a stack of fresh wood, ready to be turned into next year’s batch of joy.
“Once all the toys are gone, I’ll be back out here tomorrow and every day after that,” Toren said. “Every day except Sunday.”
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
TOP Containers of wheels for wooden toys in Bob Redinger’s shop.
BOTTOM Edwin Toren shows wheels for toys in his workshop.
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DECEMBER 14, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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