Thurs., March 7, 1974 (Sec 1) SANDY (Ore.) POST - 17
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WOOD FACTORY iNC
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I
/J E T T > i
♦
• ...
IT STARTED in his basement, and “ little” John McVeety
is pretty pleased with the finished product.
(Post Photo)
F IN IS H E D MODELS show what a little imagination and
patience can do. AH necessary ingredients (except
those) are in kits, even real logs for log trucks.
(Post Photo)
at Wood Factory
FOUR PARTNERS, Linda and John
McVeety. and Judy and Ken Nelson, are all
set for customers at Wood Factory
( Post Photo)
They get it together, you put it together!
It looks like a bunch of blocks
in a small, neat package.
But it isn't.
In the last four months since
buying the church, the four
owners have spent much time
remodeling and redecorating
it.
I t ’s a toy; one you can make
yourself There are explicit
instructions included in the pre-
“ We’ ve
learned
fro m
cut vehicle kits. There is also a scratch,” Mrs. McVeety ad­
piece of advice:
mitted. “ We’ve had such an
education, i t ’s been something
“ This kit is recommended for
e ise i"
the age of eight and older. We
suggest having the following:
Nelson and McVeety, both of
white wood glue, hammer, Portland, feel that their new
sandpaper, scissors, and location w ill be quite an im ­
patience.”
provement over the previous
While the last item might be ones. “ We’ve been working
hard to come by for some here for the last two months,”
pedple, almost anyone could M cVeety explained, "b u t
make one of these do-it-yourself before that, we'd been working
toys, claim the owners of the in both Ken's and my garage.”
Wood Factory in Sandy.
It all started in a basement.
They are Ken and Judy
“ John and our son went down
Nelson, and John and Linda in the basement one day,”
M cVeety, p artne rs in th is recalled Mrs. McVeety, “ and
unusual enterprise. It sprang came up w ith a crude vehicle
fro m th e ir co nviction th a t that looked like something out
quality and imagination are of the Flintstones
missing in many of today’s
toys.
“ John took it over to show
Ken, and the whole thing
“ There’s so much plastic blossomed,” she continued.
around now ,” comm ented
McVeety, “ We wanted to offer
Soon,
the
p a ir
were
something different.”
producing wooden model kits.
Nelson, an architect, designs
The Nelsons and McVeetys
them , w h ile M cVeety, a
along w ith a handful of em­
m achinery d ealer, handles
ployees, are turning out their
production details.
wooden model kits in the first
Immanuel Lutheran Church
“ Ken spent all his boyhood
building on west Main Street,
years
p u ttin g
models
b uilt in 1902.
together,” related Mrs. Mc­
“ When we saw this church, Veety. “ He's quite artistic. He
we knew we had to have it,” and John share ideas, and
there’s never been a conflict.”
exclaimed M rs McVeety.
i m.
■ - - - - - j ------------
O ir i., Ken. Brent, and Judy N e l.« ,, take
People often comment on the
marked resemblance between
the two, who have been friends
for about four years. This
resemblance was in fact the
basis for starting the friend­
ship.
“ The way they met was kind
of funny,” laughed Mrs Me-
ic c tj.
«»t-e—
n c ii
—
j
auu
▼—
duuy
w c ie
heading for Portland on the
same plane with John. Judy
spoke to John because he
looked so much lik e her
husband.”
Novice toymakers McVeety
and Nelson firs t tried out their
products on their children. The
McVeety offspring, John, 13,
and Amy, 10, and the Nelsons,
Chris 10, and Brent, 9, all liked
the models, and so did their
friends.
“ We’ve been judging the
c h ild r e n ’ s
r e a c tio n s ,”
remarked Mrs. McVeety. “ The
girls like the toys finished, and
the boys are ready to grab a
hammer and sandpaper ”
Buyers in P o rtla n d area
stores seem to like the idea too.
“ They say i t ’s u niqu e,”
com m ented M cVeety. "W e
haven’t heard a discouraging
word.
“ We’re probably not the first
with the idea, but I think we’re
the only ones in the business
now,” he added.
Business at the Wood Factory
w ill include retailing the toy
u ir . v r
display
( Outlook Photo )
kits produced there. A small
room complete with loft in the
front of the building w ill serve
as the “ store.”
Handtied patchwork quilts
hang over the railing of the loft.
U nderneath it is an old
fashioned p layroom , w ith
antique rockers, tables and
phairc
an iHoal pinna for the
handmade rag dolls. Both
quilts and dolls are for sale.
And the enthusiastic young
owners of the Wood Factory
obviously get a kick out of what
they’re doing. They like the
idea of g ettin g som ething
together for other people to put
together.
" I t seems lik e th e re ’s
something to do all the tim e,”
smiled McVeety, a person who
likes to be busy.
To the McVeetys and the
Nelsons, the possibilities of
their products are limitless.
"E v e ry th in g we sell is
handm ade,” M rs. M cVeety
remarked.
“ We're quite sure our toys
w ill appeal to a ll ages,”
declared Mrs. McVeety. “ You
In the larger back room, 13 just start w ith the package, and
kinds of wooden vehicles are go from there.”
A bunch of blocks?
produced, w ith ju s t basic
No, an original creation.
machines. No heavy machinery
Maybe yours.
is used.
“ What we do here is really
make a piece at a tim e,” ex­
plained McVeety. “ Eventually,
the toys w ill be produced
faster, at less cost here.”
Why sell unfinished toys?
“ To make something like this j
from scratch would take a good :
hour to put together,” s a id '
McVeety. “ You can’t mass
produce a toy like that.”
Besides, the fun is in putting
the toys together, according to
Mrs. McVeety.
“ There’s definitely a trend
toward crea tivity,” she ob­
served. We have a lot of friends
who make them for their kids
“ They really get a kick out of
doing something with their
hands!”
S to ry & P h o to s
"
£
1
N a n c y B a rk e r
Wood factory
now open
The Wood Factory w ill be
open for reta il business on
weekends from 1 to S p.m. It is
available for field trips and
tours at other times. For more
information, call 668-5523.
TOM BARKER oí the Wood Factory makes wooden parte
for model kite.
(Paot Photo)
STAIR STEPS in reverse are the Mc-
Vettys, Amy, “ little" John. Linda and John
W HAT’S B E H IN D the door? Lost of good
things, claim John. Brent. Chris, and Amy,
on stairs to loft of Wood Factory.
< Post Photo)
who think It’s fun to come to the Wood
Factory.
(Post Photo)
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