WELCOME TO SANTA'S WORKSHOP

LEBANON, OREGON He cuts.  She paints.  Together they have made nearly 5,000 toys in the past 15 years.  Toys that have gone to children who otherwise would not have had much for Christmas. Their shop is "Santa's Workshop" but their names are Ed and Anita Harriman and they live in Lebanon, Oregon. The couple make all kinds of wooden toys:  Rocking horses, trucks, doll houses and furniture for doll houses.  This year they added a wooden purple dinosaur in response to the Barney craze! "But the very most favorite are the rocking horses", Anita said.  The couple began making toys years ago. It was both a pleasure and a way of keeping busy, especially after Ed retired as a millworker. "We're both workaholics", said Anita, 71. "The first year we took 10 or 11 toys down to the fire station.  Then Ed retired and we have been at it ever since". They have been known to make 500 toys in a year, a task that Ed, 73, estimates took 1,500 hours between them. "This year we're down a bit and took 350 toys to the center", he said. The toys are distributed through the Lebanon Consortium.  Plywood Components donates cabinet quality plywood scraps and Hosking Supply gives the Harrimans metal items. The couple like playing Santa and Mrs. Claus so much that they dress up in costumes for the neighborhood kids at Christmas. But spreading Christmas cheer means more to them than keeping busy or making a few children happy.  It's a way of paying back the community which has given them a wonderful place to live and raise their children. "The community has been very good to us", Ed said.

	Recently Ed celebrated his 80th Birthday!  Many friends and family were there to show he and Anita that they appreciated the many years of treasured freindship.  HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY, Ed.

Home

e-mail

web design