Two decades in, the Trinity ToyMakers are still bringing joy and nostalgia to local kids in need

The smell of freshly-cut wood fills the air of Joe Stanford’s Fallbrook workshop as a crew of woodworkers cut and sand pieces until they’re smooth.

Just outside, another group dips wooden wheels for small toy cars in shellac to make them shine.

And beyond that, on Stanford’s porch table, dozens of completed, handcrafted toys sit ready to be distributed to children.

If the home didn’t overlook a distinctly Southern California hillside with a noticeable lack of snow, one might think they’re at the North Pole in the weeks leading up to Santa’s big day.

“We do quality work here,” Stanford said on a Saturday morning in late November, his red sweatshirt and white beard lending even more to the vision of Old Saint Nick.

Stanford is the self-proclaimed “chief elf” at the Trinity ToyMakers, a group of North County community members — most of whom attend Escondido’s Trinity Episcopal Church — who build wooden toys to donate to local organizations during Christmastime. All the toys are carefully crafted by hand over about three months.

They’re the classics, with no batteries required: baby cradles, cars, spinning tops and a carefully designed hippopotamus that opens its mouth when it’s pushed along on its wheels. Each is made of hardwood, including alder, oak and Baltic birch, and goes through a several-step process to get to the finish line.

The final touches are a Trinity ToyMakers’ logo printed on the bottom of each toy, and a blessing at the altar at the Trinity Episcopal Church, before the roughly 450 toys are out for delivery.

“It could be simpler, but Joe is not a simple toy builder,” said Jonathan Cartford, one of the toymakers. “We have the equipment and the motivation to make them as good as possible.”

The Trinity ToyMakers, under the wing of the Trinity Episcopal Church, began operations more than 20 years ago. It started as a way to get the men in the congregation more involved but quickly expanded to include anyone who was interested.

The group meets every Saturday morning at Stanford’s house, typically from August through November, and everyone has a task, whether they’re sanding the wood or assembling the toys.

Stanford has designed the process to be accessible for all skill levels and ages, but many of the roughly 20 people who came to work on a recent Saturday were older. Stanford himself is 85.

Since the beginning, the ToyMakers have donated their toys to Interfaith Community Services; Trinity Episcopal Church was one of the North County organization’s founding members. But over the years, the group has expanded to partner with groups like the Salvation Army, Ronald McDonald House and an orphanage in Tijuana.

Interfaith distributes the toys to families through its Holiday Sponsor a Family initiative that gives gifts to Interfaith clients and their children who are homeless or facing housing insecurity, poverty and hunger.

Mitchell Snow, Interfaith’s faith liaison, said that while the toys are for children, he often sees the adults connecting to them, too, for their timelessness.

“There really is a nostalgia element that I think has an emotional resonance for the people who are receiving the toys,” he said.

This year, the ToyMakers faced a challenge. Stanford fell and broke his hip in September and had to have surgery. Still, he says the workshop’s operation is running on time, pointing to the support from the group members who kept up the work while he was recovering.

But it’s clear that Stanford is the heart of it all.

Originally from El Dorado, Texas, and with the accent to prove it, Stanford spent nearly 40 years as a voice and choral professor at Palomar Community College, also serving as its choir conductor. In his free time in the summer and evenings, he would take woodworking classes there, honing his skills and developing a love for the craft.

When he and his family moved into their Fallbrook home in 1997, he set to work converting the parking garage into a woodshop.

Around 2004, just after he retired, Trinity Episcopal Church’s priest asked him to start an activity for the men in the congregation — and the ToyMakers grew from there.

“This guy’s magic,” said Ron Smith, one of the toymakers, pointing to how Stanford’s leadership gave the group something meaningful to be a part of.

Stanford’s years of directing a choir may have made him well-suited for the role as the ToyMaker’s chief elf, but he is also connected to his community and giving to youth. He and his wife, Dana, founded the Escondido Choral Arts’ Center Children’s Chorus and have participated in the local Rotary Club.

“It’s really his heart and his mission to make these toys for children in need,” said Denise Litreal, the former corps officer of the Escondido Salvation Army, which serves the north inland part of San Diego County. “He has a passion for future generations.”

The ToyMakers and Salvation Army Escondido Corps have partnered for more than a decade. During her six-year term in San Diego County, Litreal said the ToyMakers donated at least 600 toys.

This year, the Salvation Army Escondido Corps requested about 100 toys that will be distributed in bags of donated items for about 450 families. The families with 3- and 4-year-old children will get toys from the ToyMakers.

Amber Ohl, the new corps officer of the Escondido Salvation Army, said her family got bags of donated gifts from the Salvation Army when she was growing up in Washington, Santa showing up on their doorstep to deliver them.

While the gifts in North County may not be delivered door-to-door today, Ohl says the personalized, handmade element of the ToyMakers’ toys adds something special to the experience for the kids given them.

But the work also benefits the ToyMakers themselves. Many are older — some are beyond having their shoes off, one woman joked — and the group provides them a focus and communal weekend activity.

“It gives them a sense of purpose and a way to feel like you still have something to contribute,” said toymaker Leila Sackfield.

It’s not all hard work, either. Stanford’s wife, Dana, makes baked goods for the group — this week it was pumpkin muffins, followed by cornbread and chili for lunch — and they typically go out for pizza afterward.

But the friendships are a key part of what makes the ToyMakers work so well.

During their break, Stanford gets emotional talking about the group that he’s spent the past two decades with, through the lows of ill health and the highs of creating joy for kids — all with some wood and a whole lot of love.

“I tell the ToyMakers that we do good things for children. It’s a special time of the year,” Stanford said. “But the real good that happens is what happens to us.”

But that doesn’t stop him from making sure the job gets done.

“Alright, you loafers, break’s over,” Stanford calls out, all in jest. “Time to go to work.”