Al La Pelusa has been the head elf for the Toy Makers group, making and delivering toys for eighteen years.
La Pelusa said, “We started the initiative in 2008, but we were making toys before that. The shop was there, but there was no charter club. A lot of work had to go into starting the club. Safety was the first consideration and still is.”
Now, in its nineteenth year, the club began creating wooden puzzles and other toys distributed to five organizations.
La Pelusa fondly recalls, “We had no funds or wood supplies in the early days. But we were resourceful. Del Webb’s construction of homes left behind discarded remnants of two-by-fours and other wood materials. We would collect these scraps and transform them into the toys we made.”
This resourcefulness and determination set the tone for the club’s future endeavors.
While the club now has funds to purchase wood (even exotic wood pieces), it is always in need of donations, both monetary and supplies.
La Pelusa reflects, “As the club expanded, our members established connections with suppliers who saved their discards for us. We still need to purchase some wood, but we’ve come a long way. John Sterling and Ed Cuttle have been with us since the beginning, serving as team leaders and consistently contributing new toy ideas.”
There have been as many as eight teams working on different toys. This year, five teams made 300 toys that were donated to the Grafton Food Pantry. The leaders this year were Tom Rout, who worked on step stools that turned into chairs; Ed Cuttle’s team made planes; Andy Jone’s group made Hockey Games; Bob Olsen’s group produced Bag games; and Co-Leaders Mike Mulroe and Doug Nagel’s team made cradles. The Sew’ n Sews made quilts for the cradle.
Each team works to ensure the toys are of the highest quality and meet safety standards.
Mike Shortridge, Vice President of the Woodchucks, said, “Al has kept this program going for 18 years. I cannot say enough how much his leadership and dedication to the program have won the admiration of the Woodchucks. We old Woodchucks love playing Santa’s elves and making good wooden toys so Harriet and her elves can help make Christmas better for girls and boys. It is heartwarming. We start building in the summer to complete all the toys by December.”
The team begins planning early in the year.
La Pelusa said, “We meet in May or June to start planning. The leaders explain what toy they are making. Each team makes at least sixty of their toys. All toys need to be completed by Thanksgiving, and they are distributed in early December.”
The Grafton Food Pantry allows families to choose one toy for each child.
La Pelusa said, “We do include a warning for toys that are not for younger children.” Each toy is placed on a table, and the parents pick one for their child.
When asked if there is a favorite toy, La Pelusa responded, “How can I pick a favorite? They are all great.”
In an email to the team leader, La Pelusa wrote, “As most of you know, Italians like to hug and kiss; the reason for this is that an Italian hug or kiss only lasts until the next time you meet, so you have to renew that love, same thing with the enjoyment of toy making. It only lasts one year; that is why we do it all over again.”
