FREDERICKTOWN, MO (KFVS) -
As you toss your next pizza box into the can, you never know when that cardboard could've been used for a keepsake. After all, a Fredericktown man turns pizza boxes into cardboard tractors, trucks and more, and the idea came on a whim.
"I needed something to do. I got to where I can't run around, so I said I'll start making stuff," said James Cole.
The 83 year old's apartment is covered in model tractors, trucks, farmhouses and more. He bends, twists and turns regular household items into unique keepsakes.
James likes making things that remind him of his childhood and years spent working on his farm. He doesn't miss a detail. He puts tread on the tractors, the make and model, and even the foot pedals---all hand-crafted perfectly out of cardboard food boxes.
"It takes a couple of weeks to make tractors."
He also made two replicas of the farmhouse he spent most of his life in, not leaving out anything, like the landscape.
He likes playing the guitar and fiddle. So, he made one of those, too.
He's pretty modest about his work, but others are impressed. His grandson can't get enough trucks from his Grandpa.
His nurse, Amanda Callaway, often watches him work and continues to be blown away.
"He's very unique. Half of the time, he goes off memory."
His nurse says there's a bigger lesson here for the rest of us about the importance of having a hobby like this in our "golden" years.
"To not just sit here and watch TV. Put your time to use. Make others happy, and they are when they see what's he made."
"It's not hard to do. You just gotta know how," said James.
So many people have marveled at his work, the local Domino's Pizza chain now donates new cardboard boxes to him. Others give James wood glue and the cardboard to have him make the items for them.
James said he has plans to roll out even more creations.
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James Cole, 83, turns pizza boxes into cardboard tractors, trucks and more.
James likes making things that remind him of his childhood and years spent working on his farm.
He also made two replicas of the farmhouse he spent most of his life in, not leaving out anything, like the landscape.
So many people have marveled at his work, the local Domino's Pizza chain now donates new cardboard boxes to him. Others give him wood glue and the cardboard to have him make the items for them.
James said he has plans to roll out even more creations.
FOX19-WXIX
