WISCASSET

For most, Halloween and Thanksgiving eclipse any thought of Christmas until after the turkey feast is tucked away. But at Two Bridges Regional Jail, inmates are already busy making Christmas toys for local charities.

Workers in the Industries Program handcraft hundreds of wooden toys and novelty items yearly, which program supervisor Lt. Naomi Bonang said are donated to the Sagadahoc and Lincoln County Toys for Tots programs.

The woodshop was humming with activity on a recent Thursday, as inmates operated routers, planers, a drill press and table saw, carefully fashioning common and exotic varieties of wood into items that shortly will be wrapped, ribboned and waiting under trees.

The program is a self-sustaining business that operates inside the jail, and includes commissary services, a garden that supplies fresh produce to local food pantries and a woodshop. Inmates that work in the Industries Program are paid $1.50 per hour, of which 25 percent goes to pay fines and restitution, and another 25 percent pays for room and board at the facility.

This year, the program’s annual toy drive contribution was endangered by an early morning fire in June that put the woodshop temporarily out of commission.

At 5:55 a.m. on June 5, a fire was called in when heavy smoke was spotted pouring from the three-bay garage used as a woodshop after a rag soaked in linseed oil spontaneously combusted. All of the shop’s tools were lost, most of the wood supply was smoke or fire damaged, more than $1,000 worth of stock was destroyed, and the building itself was in need of extensive repairs.

“The inmates pretty much fixed the entire thing,” said Bonang of the shop, where the scent of fresh cut wood and drying finish have replaced the odor of wet smoke and melted plastic that hung in the air months earlier.

“Once the insurance people said we could start deconstructing, they got in there and took everything down that needed to come down,” she said. “We filled up three industrial Dumpsters.”

A correctional instructor from the state began the reconstruction project with the Industries workers, said Bonang, “but once he saw that we were absolutely fine, he just let us use his staging and said he was there for us if we needed him.”

To save money on heating, two of the three bays were enclosed in the shop’s new design, said Bonang, and all of the trusses were replaced and some of the roof.

“They all have different expertise, so everyone was involved in the work,” said Bonang. “Along with a sense of ownership, they also have new skills that they can add to their resumes — they’ve done framing, they’ve done roofing, they’ve put trusses in and done the sheetrocking.”

Though the repairs are not yet completed, further work is on hold as the workers shift gears to making holiday items in preparation for a craft show that takes place at the jail in December, and as donations for Toys for Tots ramp up.

“This is the first full week we’ve been making product since I’ve been here,” said woodshop Officer Casey Walker, who started working with the Industries Program after the June fire.

“When I first came down (the shop) was wide open — we removed a wall and part of the roof,” said Walker. “Now we’re working on doll beds, toy trucks and we’re attempting to make a cribbage table.”

“We have a lot of woodworking books that give us ideas but quite often it’s the inmates’ imagination” that is the source of inspiration for new designs, said Bonang. “They get kind of caught up in the process and ask if they can try making different things. I just let them go with it; it’s a really good outlet.”

The items donated are designed for young children through teenage years, said Bonang, including puzzles, wooden airplanes, cutting boards and handpainted or woodburned jewelry boxes.

“They make an 18-wheeler truck that is a crayon holder,” said Bonang. “We put 24 crayons and a coloring book with each one.”

“I like doing the artwork,” said Roland, who was drilling window holes in the cabs of the crayon-holder trucks. “I’m glad to be a part of this; it’s a good program and it’s nice to be able to give something back to the community.”

Doll beds are made in collaboration with the jail’s Programs Department, which provides handmade flanel mattresses and quilts for the beds. The Programs Department also donates dolls, stuffed animals and crocheted hats and mittens to Toys for Tots and other local charitable organizations.

“I think it’s a great program,” said Industries worker Patrick as he cut headboards for doll beds. “It’s nice to make stuff for the kids who don’t have Christmas and it’s way better than sitting around watching TV all day.

“It’s helped me a lot, too,” he said. “I’ve done carpentry before, but I’ve never done crafts or furniture before — it’s good to know, it puts you in a different category than just building.”

In a June interview with The Times Record, Bonang said the recidivism of inmates who have worked in the Industries Program is “next to none.”

“I’m losing three workers in the next few weeks, but that’s how it goes here,” said Bonang. “They’re all going home, and that’s a good thing.”

The Two Bridges Regional Jail craft fair will take place on from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 6 at the jail, located at 522 Bath Road in Wiscasset.