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<p>PLYMOUTH &#8212; Mike Klimchok didn&#8217;t want anyone to be left out.</p><p>The 85-year-old retired carpenter from Plymouth was determined that every resident of several area nursing homes should receive a holiday gift, so he took out his bandsaw and sander and carved hundreds of wooden snowmen, reindeer and sleds.</p><p>&#8220;It was tedious,&#8221; he said, admitting the self-appointed task made his hands hurt. But he persevered from late summer through the next several months.</p><p>&#8220;I told them (the activities directors) to give them out by Dec. 1 so the residents would be able to enjoy them,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Enjoy them they did.</p><p>&#8220;They love them,&#8221; said Dave Kaminski, marketing director at St. Mary&#8217;s Villa in Elmhurst. &#8220;They have them in their rooms. They were thrilled and excited to get them, and they&#8217;ve very grateful.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It is so nice of him, it really is,&#8221; said Carla Krakowski, activities director at Birchwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Nanticoke. Quoting resident Mary Wolfe, she added, &#8220;Mr. Klimchok has a heart of gold.&#8221;</p><p>Klimchok, a Korean War veteran who lost his wife, Ann Carole, to breast cancer several years ago, was inspired to make nursing home gifts after watching a television spot in which Lauretta Phillips, a resident of St. Mary&#8217;s Villa, celebrated her 104th birthday by attending a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton RailRiders game.</p><p>He wanted the elderly baseball fan to have another special present so he dropped off some carved wooden tulips at the Villa, suggesting she pick her favorite color and other residents could have the rest.</p><p>&#8220;Lauretta picked a red one,&#8221; Kaminski said, &#8220;and the rest of them are decorating other people&#8217;s rooms.&#8221;</p><p>Then Klimchok proceeded to carve winter-themed items as Christmas gifts, and while he said he &#8220;didn&#8217;t keep a tally&#8221; of how many he made altogether, his granddaughter, Lisa Rule-Peterson, said several hundred went to the nursing homes.</p><p>&#8220;This is not new for him,&#8221; Rule-Peterson, who lives in the Washington, D.C. area, wrote in an email. &#8220;In the past, he has utilized his expertise with woodworking to make and donate crafts to cancer patients at Candy&#8217;s Place and other local organizations. He has even donated wooden snowmen to various schools for students to paint as holiday gifts for their parents and passed along donations for me to give the doctors and nurses in the area where I live when my own son was hospitalized.&#8221;</p><p>Klimchok enjoys woodworking &#8212; and will start a new project after he gives his hands a rest &#8212; but said he would appreciate some help with painting the little figurines he gives away.</p><p>Anyone who would like to pitch in and paint is welcome to let him know through an email account, mkgrampy@aol.com, that his granddaughter and daughter set up for him.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Mike Klimchok puts finishing touches on a snowman, one of many handmade wooden ornaments the retired carpenter has made and given away </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_mike.crafts1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Mike Klimchok puts finishing touches on a snowman, one of many handmade wooden ornaments the retired carpenter has made and given away </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photos </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_mike.crafts2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mike Klimchok worked diligently on his woodwork project in order to have presents ready for nursing home residents in time for Dec. 1. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_mike.crafts2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Mike Klimchok worked diligently on his woodwork project in order to have presents ready for nursing home residents in time for Dec. 1. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photos </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_carver.lady_-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Doris Bartleson, a resident of St. Mary&#8217;s Villa in Elmhurst, holds a Christmas stocking that Mike Klimchok carved from wood. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_carver.lady_-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Doris Bartleson, a resident of St. Mary&#8217;s Villa in Elmhurst, holds a Christmas stocking that Mike Klimchok carved from wood. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photos </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_carver.sled_-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ron Callanan, a resident of St. Mary&#8217;s Villa in Elmhurst, appreciated the gift of a wooden sled carved by Mike Klimchok of Plymouth. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_carver.sled_-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Ron Callanan, a resident of St. Mary&#8217;s Villa in Elmhurst, appreciated the gift of a wooden sled carved by Mike Klimchok of Plymouth. </caption3><photoCredit3>Submitted photos </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_carver.snowman-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nancy Davis and her husband, Warren, show off their snowman that was carved by Mike Klimchok of Plymouth. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_carver.snowman-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Nancy Davis and her husband, Warren, show off their snowman that was carved by Mike Klimchok of Plymouth. </caption4><photoCredit4>Submitted photos </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Retired carpenter carves handmade gifts for nursing home residents</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Retired carpenter crafts handmade gifts