From His Workshop to Ours

Over at Turner Hall, Homer McCollum, of Paris, Mo., will display a nice selection of wooden toys and whirligigs that he has been making for the past seven or eight years. All the toys are of old, traditional patterns, some of which he has found, created or embellished. "When I retired people told me I was supposed to have something to do," the former wildlife agent says, "besides hunt and fish." Having some interest in wood working, Homer and his wife, Mary, went to some local crafts festivals to see what people were doing. "I decided then that the world did not need more knick-knack shelves with little hearts in them, but I didn't see anybody doing much of this." Homer doesn't work with any single type of wood, mostly whatever he can get his hands on, such as wooden crates from grocery stores. "Mary has accused me of dumpster diving, sometimes," he says.