GOOD WOOD OXNARD MAN'S CARVINGS DELIGHT ALL AGES.Byline: Krystn Shrieve Staff Writer OXNARD - After building weapons systems for the Naval Surface Warfare That portion of maritime warfare in which operations are conducted to destroy or neutralize enemy naval surface forces and merchant vessels. Also called SUW. Systems in Port Hueneme Port Hueneme (wī'nē`mē), city (1990 pop. 20,319), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast; founded 1870, inc. 1948. It has an artificial deep-sea harbor and is the site of a huge naval construction-battalion (Seabee) center. for 22 years, Gene West has spent the last six making things of a more merry nature. The retired engineer now spends hours in the garage of his Oxnard home transforming scraps of wood into carousels, drums, hobbyhorses and mechanical toys, many of which are taken to disabled and handicapped youngsters throughout Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . ``I love seeing the children's faces when they play with the toys,'' said West, 69. ``Children never see these kinds of toys anymore, and they're so fascinated. Today, everything is made out of plastic and is battery-operated.'' West's hobby got its start when he began making toys for his 12 grandchildren. The bottom shelf of a bookcase bookcase Piece of furniture fitted with shelves, formerly often enclosed by doors. In early times the ambry, or wall cupboard, was used to hold books. Bookcases were included in the medieval fittings of college libraries in Britain. in his kitchen still displays some of the early treasures - many of them characters from age-old nursery rhymes nursery rhymes, verses, generally brief and usually anonymous, for children. The best-known examples are in English and date mostly from the 17th cent. A popular type of rhyme is used in "counting-out" games, e.g., "Eenie, meenie, minie, mo. . ``I went to the library and got a Mother Goose Mother Goose, name associated with nursery rhymes. Most English nursery rhymes have been ascribed to Mother Goose. The origin of the name is still a matter of dispute. book to inspire me,'' West said, holding up one of his favorites, the paint worn thin after years of play by chubby little hands. ``This one is the little old lady who lives in a shoe. And if you open it up, here are all the children with whom she didn't know what to do.'' One grandson, 7-year-old Gabriel Bagdazian of Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. , said he loves playing with all the homemade toys. ``Once he made a Ferris wheel Ferris wheel, amusement park ride. It consists of a power-operated wheel that is about 50 ft (15 m) in diameter. It has two rims that are parallel to and equidistant from the shaft about which the wheel rotates. out of wood, and he put pictures of my cousins and my brothers and me on it,'' Gabriel said. ``It's my favorite because it's got my picture on it.'' For the last six years, West has been showing off his creations to visitors at the Creative Living Building at the Ventura County Fair. This year, he's carved a wooden tower with a spiraling track. As a steel marble makes its way down the track, it trips triggers that ring bells, turn on flashing lights, tilt scaffolding and make musical notes on a xylophone xylophone (zī`ləfōn) [Gr.,=wood sound], musical instrument having graduated wooden slabs that are struck by the player with small, hard mallets. The slabs are usually arranged like a keyboard, and the range varies from two to four octaves. . ``He is locally famous for his mechanical toys,'' said Stephen Case-Pall, president of the Conejo Valley Woodworkers Association, who along with West is also a member of a group called the Channel Islands Carvers. ``The enjoyment people get from them is what motivates him. Gene's a very giving person, it's just his way of life. ``The greatest value in what he does is inspiring someone along the way to take up a piece of wood, work with their hands and accomplish something.'' West has taken his toys to more than 300 toy shows and hands-on demonstrations for schools, libraries, senior centers, Boys & Girls Clubs and Scout troops. West also makes stops with his toys at the Greater Los Angeles Association for the Deaf and the Association for Retarded Citizens - groups that are close to his heart because he has three children who are deaf, one of whom is also severely developmentally disabled. He also goes to the Braille Institute, where he teaches people how to make TV trays. ``I started volunteering about five years ago by just bringing them puppet toys,'' West said. ``And then we started making these TV trays that they can cut, drill and assemble. They do all the work themselves - it's amazing.'' In between these activities, West has also spent the last four months doing construction on houses in Ojai and Oxnard as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity, nonprofit ecumenical Christian organization that enables low-income people to own affordable, livable housing. Headquartered in Americus, Ga., it was founded in 1976 by businessman Millard Fuller and his wife. . It is his involvement in so many activities that recently earned him the Community Craftsman Award and a $5,000 prize from Minwax, a manufacturer of wood finishes and wood-care products. Despite his unending generosity, West said he'll never sell his creations, because it would make his hobby feel too much like work. But his work can be seen throughout Ventura County. In 1998, he built a large musical chime chime, in music: see bell. for the Early Childhood Development Center at Moorpark College. He has also built items for a historical farm house in Ventura and myriad projects such as reptile cages, optical illusions, musical instruments and mechanical toys for the Gull Wings Children's Museum in Oxnard. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what we'd do without Gene,'' said Leana Bowman, executive director of the Gull Wings Children's Museum. ``Even though he's retired, he's probably busier now than ever, but he always manages to fit us in. ``It's amazing the variety of organizations he's involved in. Any one of those in itself is a great accomplishment, but he's able to do so much for all of us. We love him.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Retired engineer Gene West of Oxnard is an accomplished wood carver who specializes in toys for families and disadvantaged youths. Lexey Swall/Special to the Daily News |
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