MUSKEGON, Mich. — An old man with a long, white beard in a workshop. Sound familiar?
Unlike Santa, this toy technician doesn't live at the North Pole.
Wayne Oudsema prefers to think of himself as “a redneck from Wolf Lake."
FOX 17 Unfiltered recently took a trip to Wayne's World, or as he likes to call it, "my hideaway."
That hideaway is a garage he built on his property about 50 years ago. It's a secluded sanctuary that now functions as a space for his wood carving collection — something he's been at for three decades.
"If I'm not hunting or fishing, I'm here every night," Oudsema said.
This is what retirement looks like for the 84-year-old. Although, he's still very much hard at work.
“It just gives me something to do," he said. "When I come down here, I don't have no phone, don't have nothing. I just come down here and do what I want to do.”
Oudsema has spent thousands of hours creating hundreds of pieces, all carved out of wood.
He's not doing it for the money, even though the opportunities have been there.
"I was offered $3,000 for that one," Oudsema said, referring to one of his signature wooden bicycles.
He's not doing it for the recognition, even though he finished Top 25 in the 3-D category in ArtPrize a few years ago.
Oudsema does it just to put a smile on someone's face.
“Most of [the pieces], I just give them away," he said.
That includes the canes he carved for veterans.
"I appreciate what they did and I don't think they get enough recognition," Oudsema said. "They sacrificed a lot for us, and some of us don't realize why we're here — why we're where we're at.”
It also includes fish, butterflies and other smaller items for the kids.
The only transaction Oudsema cares about is one that won't show up on a receipt.
"Just the look on their face when I give it to them, and they appreciate it," he said. "I mean, that's the biggest thing.”
FOX 17 Unfiltered's Max Goldwasser asked Oudsema if there's anything he wouldn't make.
"No," he replied. "I'll try just about anything. Just give it a whirl. If it comes out good? Good. If it comes out bad? Burn it.”
No need for milk and cookies. No elves in sight.
Just a modest man with his not-so-modest collection.
Still, the last thing Oudsema would call himself is an artist.
So, Max Goldwasser inquired, “If you don’t consider yourself to be an artist, what do you consider yourself to be?”
“A loser," he joked.
“You’re a pretty successful loser, let me tell you," Goldwasser said.
“I really don’t know. I don’t think much about that," Oudsema replied.
He just hopes this hobby can deliver happiness until the creaky door at the entrance to Wayne's World closes for the final time.
“As long as I can go," Oudsema said.
