The lines on the old woodworker’s hands lead to his heart.
For 25 years, Bill Chalmers has toiled in a Santa’s Workshop of sorts attached to his house high in the hills above Caulfeild. Blocks of wood are piled in the corner, waiting for Chalmers, a retired butcher, to turn them into special presents for extraordinary kids.
The 200 wheeled wooden toys – mostly trucks, race cars, Scottie dogs, and the occasional whale – are each handcrafted with love and precise detail. In this age of electronics, Chalmers’s gifts are rare and made to last.
He will soon deliver the fruits of his labour to the North Shore Christmas Bureau, which provides food, toys and other presents for local, low-income families.
“It’s a great feeling to wake up on Christmas morning and know that children across the (North Shore) are waking up to a present,” says Chalmers, who was particularly inspired to take on the role of toymaker after learning many single mothers couldn’t afford Christmas.
Two hundred handmade toys times 25 years equals about 5,000 delighted children on Christmas morning – thanks to Chalmers and his charitable craftsmanship. Affixed to each wooden toy is a package of candy, for an extra special treat.
Of course, the toymaker has a little help from Mrs. Claus, a.k.a. Bill’s wife of 57 years, Margaret, who is by her husband’s side in the workshop.
For Chalmers, this is more than a hobby – it’s a way for him to pay it forward. You see, the toymaker understands the feeling of emptiness at Christmas.
As a child growing up in the repressive culture of 1930s Scotland, Chalmers faced much adversity. The young lad was six when his father was killed in a car accident, leaving his pregnant mother to raise ten children.
Times were tough, not only around the holidays, but every day for Chalmers and his siblings. On Christmas Day he would reach into his stocking only to pull out a shiny penny, an apple and an orange.
At nine years of age, Chalmers started working to support the family. He took a job in a butcher shop, running errands, sweeping up and learning to be a meat cutter.
Fast-forward to 2018 and Chalmers says he’s been very blessed in his long life.
Chalmers embodies the spirit of Christmas, as he turns his attention to another toy that will soon light up a child’s face. By all accounts, the 88-year-old altruist is showing no signs of slowing down, which is a good thing.
Christmas morning wouldn’t be the same without Bill Chalmers.
