The items that come out of Rufus Kain’s crew’s toy shop might make Santa jealous.
The careful woodworking and intricate details on the toys and furniture delight the organizations that receive them as donations, Kain said.
His crew of three to five men are prisoners at Olympic Corrections Center, a state Department of Corrections minimum security facility about 25 miles south of Forks.
Minimum security facilities accept offenders that will be released within 48 months. Offenders receive vocational training, job seeking aid, life skills training, chemical dependency treatment and other services.
OCC work programs include kitchen, janitorial, camp maintenance, recreation, community service crews and waste treatment operation.
The prisoners who work at the toy shop crank out about 350 toys or pieces of furniture per year — more than the number of days they work.
The best job
“This is the best job here,” said Kain, the sergeant in charge.
“Everyone knows that it is the best place to work.”
The toy shop opened 25 years ago. Kain — a woodworker in his own right — took over 14 years ago.
“I’m always working on finding some materials or something, or if there is a piece of wood that I can’t sell on my own, I’ll bring it up here for the guys to work on,” Kain said.
“My wife is always telling me that I spend too much time that is not paid doing stuff for the DOC, but I just love doing this.”
At most, Kain said, there might be five men at a time working in the shop.
“That is the biggest misconception — that I might have 14 guys working here,” he said.
Large demand
“But we cannot fulfill all of the demand. People see our stuff at an auction or on sale somewhere and call me up and ask, but we’ve had to narrow it down to local organizations.”
Charitable works
And many of the items cranked out at the shop are donated to local organizations.
The Quillayute Valley School District Scholarship Auction is the biggest recipient of the shop’s toys and furniture.
The auction, which runs each March and is in its 46th year this year, provides scholarships to any student who graduated from any Forks school, home school or alternative school to attend any sort of higher education.
So far more than $1 million in scholarships has been doled out, said auction organizer Marcia Bingham.
“Rufus Kain and his shop is so invaluable to our auction,” Bingham said.
“We added it up a couple years ago, and ultimately about $10,000 each year comes from OCC.
“Everyone is always so impressed with the items that come from there. And there are many people who come to the auction specifically because of that.”
Kain said that beyond the financial benefits for the local charities — donations also go to the Cherish our Children Auction and toys are donated to Toys for Tots each year as well — there is also an intangible value for him and the prisoners who work at the shop.
Giving back
“The guys really like that the items they make go to charity,” he said.
“Obviously, to get here, they have some things they’ve done, and they like the idea that they are able to give something back to the community.”
The men working at the shop make from 20 cents per hour to 45 cents per hour. The shop leader makes an additional $5 per month.
“That’s pretty significant for here,” Kain said.
“But no one comes to prison to get rich.”
Talent essential
Just like any employer, Kain is thrilled when he gets talented guys in the shop.
“To work here, it isn’t just about being some of the best-behaved. You also have to have a certain talent for working with wood,” he said.
The current shop leader, Robert Quaring, recently approached Kain with a new idea.
“He came up and asked me if he could try and make a lock out of wood,” Kain said.
“Sure enough, he made a lock and key — and the only piece of metal in the whole thing is a little spring that pops it open after the key turns.”
Kain said he likes to encourage creativity.
“Sometimes the result is astounding,” he said.
A prized piece
Indeed, the lock is Quaring’s most prized piece.
“I was pretty proud the first time I made a lock,” he said. “It was a lot of work to figure out how to do it, and now I’ve made three or four.”
Kain said that the prisoners always want to know how much their goods brought in.
“It is good for them to know that the stuff they make is valued and it makes a difference,” he said. “It is also important to them to realize they are helping out kids at Christmas, or someone wanting to go to college, by the things they produce.”
Robert Knowles, who worked in furniture design before he went to prison, has cranked out a host of pieces in the few months he has worked at the shop.
Some have delicate wood inlays, some have side leafs that fold down, others are delicate and simple.
“Right now I’m working on a clock,” he said.
Kain said that although he doesn’t know when he might retire, he is already contemplating who might take over management of the shop.
“This isn’t just any job, to supervise the toy shop,” he said.
“You have to love working with wood, and have a good knowledge yourself, or else the program could fall apart real easy.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
