Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2016)
Polk County News 2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 16, 2016 Have you seen this pirate downtown? Toymaker’s ‘treasure hunts’ an attempt to increase traffic on Main Street Independence By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — Thar be pirates in downtown In- dependence, matey, and if you find one, you could get access to Capt. Billy’s treas- ure chest. Ron “Dutch” Smith, man- ager of 2EZ Café, is the clue master for the game, said Billy Wild, toymaker. “Last time, he set his pi- rate down at Ladies of Liber- ty’s shop,” Wild, 70, said. “I walked past it a number of times and didn’t even see it.” About five shops in down- town participate in his pi- rate hunt, including 2EZ and Ovenbird. At those shops, people can find out about the game and get the first clue, Wild said. “If you find the pirate, you open the chest,” he said. “On the lid is the phone number for Capt. Billy and you have to tell me the name of the pirate.” The last one took six weeks to find, Wild said, and then the person who called him tried to tell him the pi- rate was a captain. “It’s not a captain, it’s a pi- rate,” Wild said. Being Capt. Billy himself, all the other pirates would be starting a mutiny if they were captains as well. Wild has lived in Inde- pendence since 2005, and said he loves all the shops in downtown. This pirate treas- ure hunt is his contribution to economic development. “I’m a cheerleader for downtown Independence,” he said. “And, I am the little ol’ toymaker.” Having a game to play will help drive people to down- town and get them to ex- plore the shops there, Wild said. But his antics don’t stop there. Wild plants little toys all over Independence — in the parks, in trees, on benches — to brighten the day of whoever finds them. At Christmastime, Wild EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer Capt. Billy Wild makes toys of all shapes, whittling down pieces of wood he receives or re-using scraps of cloth and wood. was on his way to breakfast and coffee at the Golden Horse Café when he left a toy car wrapped in a toilet paper tube — like a little burrito — on a bench near the Arena Sports Bar and Grill. On his way back, it was gone. He reached in his bag to replace it with another when a man in his 30s stopped him. “He says, ‘you’re the one leaving these toys out. I took the one you left earlier. There was a Hot Wheels car in there that was exactly like the one I had when I was 7 years old,’” Wild recalled. “It was just a few days before Christmas. I said, ‘I’m happy you’re happy, because that’s what my purpose is.’” It wasn’t always like that. Wild went through some tough times and battled with being chronically un- happy and in pain from dia- betic neuropathy. EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer This pirate was found hiding in town among the merchandise at a shop. If you find a pirate, pay close attention to his title — Capt. Billy the Toymaker doesn’t like mutiny. Smith could see his friend struggling and suggested he find something to make himself happy. Wild said he’s been build- ing models and whittling toys since he was a young boy. “One of the things that makes me happy is making toys,” he said. “You give me a piece of wood and I get kind of carried away.” Wild has memories of his grandfather sitting on the front porch, whittling away at a black walnut stick, telling cowboy stories about living in Oklahoma. “I’ve always wanted to be a cowboy,” he said. While sitting at a coffee shop in downtown Inde- pendence, Wild said he’d whittle something into a toy and give it to passing chil- dren. He has been known to put boats by the Independence fountain or tuck toys in downtown trees. “People aren’t finding them,” Wild said about the toys in trees. “I keep check- ing them like a squirrel to see if my stash is still there. When I glue (the packag- ing) together, they look like a burrito. You walk by and there’s this thing in the tree. Nobody’s taking them. I’m still leaving them in trees.” Wild continues to work on pirates, cowboys, wagons and other toys to leave for people to discover or to do- nate to good causes. He is working on some donations for the Relay for Life of Polk County.