Santa’s woodshop a winner!

Some folks don’t waste energy thinking about what they will do with their free time when they retire. They have comfortably established a hobby long beforehand.

Larre Manlove has been turning pine and walnut planks into toys and fine furniture since he signed up for wood shop at Seaford High School. “My girlfriend Sue’s dad had a whole shop where he constructed boats and he wasn’t using it, so I asked him if I could go over and use his machines,” he said.

Manlove remembers, “When Sue and I got married, we couldn’t afford real antiques, so I decided to make them. I measured my father’s corner cupboard and made a reproduction of one. In the ‘70s, I began to buy more and more machinery, and I would make jelly and corner cupboards, and sell them at craft shows. Later we had a small retail shop, and I would sell out of everything I made.”

After years in the automotive and landscaping business (which he still owns), he has been able to afford to purchase the right tools: a drill press, band saw, scroll saw, table saw, radial saw, belt sander and disc sander. He recently added a planer to smooth out his collection.

Last week, several local residents in the community signed up to make toy dump trucks or airplanes in Larre’s basement shop. This was the second workshop he has held. Last year, several residents made toy trains, another one of Larre’s passions. He has more than 10 sets running circles around a scenic cityscape in the adjacent room.

Ann Meledandri and Bonny Butler attended both sessions. “It was really fun, so I’m on my second round,” beams Ann as she sands the sides of the pine blocks before she begins to assemble them.

“Last year, I made a train for my nieces and nephews to play with, and this year I am making the dump truck to give to the latest addition in my family. It will be his first baby toy!” Bonny says proudly.

I observed my husband Ray using the band saw to cut out the notches of the wing, the cockpit and the tail section of the airplane he wanted to make. Neighbors Janet Mory and Mary Murphy were helping one another align the drill press so the holes were the correct depth for the dowel rods for their trucks. “It’s not easy, but the teacher is right here to guide us,” grins Murphy.

This recent class was made up of mostly women. Like me, they probably had no choice when they were growing up. In the 1960s, girls took home economics and baked cakes and embroidered dish towels. Only boys were allowed to take wood shop.

One look around Larre’s home and you can see a lifetime of beautiful furniture. Two walnut Hepplewhite-style card tables which he copied from Williamsburg’s Dewitt Wallace Museum flank his fireplace. His Duncan Phyfe sofa graces the parlor, and his dining room table which took over a year to finish can seat 12 guests. He also made eight chairs to match it.

One of the most rewarding aspects of retirement living is learning something new - attempting to create or to do something you have never tried to do before. And when people like Larre take the time to teach others a little about what they have learned in their lifetime, that’s called generosity. And when others are granted an opportunity they were not given before, it becomes an important lesson. They in turn pass on a gift to another loved one.

Tell me how you are spending your retirement days. Have you learned a new craft or are you perfecting a passion?

To see photos of some of the creative wood works go to capegazette.com.