Sam Lewindon and John Magnuson have been good friends for more than 60 years.
So when Lewindon, 90, wanted to make birdhouses to raise money for men’s mental health, Magnuson, 85, was the first to get onboard.
Both men are members of the Alouette Men’s Shed, a group for men where they work on woodworking projects to help the community.
The club had been making birdhouses and bat houses already, but Lewindon wanted to make something different.
At the time, the month of November was approaching and Lewindon thought why not make birdhouses in support of the “Movember” movement – for prostate cancer and testicular cancer research, men’s mental health, and suicide prevention.
He thought the men in his group were of the age where diagnosis of prostate cancer and testicular cancer are more common, and he wanted to support a cause close to his heart.
Lewindon got to work. He made up a prototype of a cedar birdhouse with the face of a man – including a mustache, beard, eyes and a nose – and brought it into the club to show the guys.
They thought it was a great idea.
Initially the pair made 10 birdhouses.
One birdhouse took them about two hours to build, explained Lewindon, who has been working with wood since he was a teenager in 1962 when his family emigrated to Canada from England.
“You have to rip the boards down and then you have to cut them and do the angling and I did the mustache and the beard on the band saw to cut them out and then routed them to give the rounding effects,” he explained about the birdhouse project.
The cedar was donated from a local mill.
Magnuson, whose father was a carpenter, enjoyed the work and the challenge.
They decided to sell the birdhouses for $25 each.
And, the orders started rolling in.
The men enlisted others in their club to create an assembly line to put the birdhouses together.
They made 50 in total and sold out, raising $1,250 for their cause.
Both seniors have been members of the Men’s Shed for a number of years – Lewindon since the club was formed in July 2022, and Magnuson soon after.
At the club Lewindon enjoys making animated animal pull toys for toddlers and Magnuson makes toy trucks, trains, and racing cars, some of which they sell at community markets throughout the year. But, the men, along with the rest of the club, also work on other projects that benefit the community.
In September, the group unveiled a new cedar bench they donated to McKenney Creek Hospice for people to sit on in the courtyard.
They make cedar planters that they sell to make money for the club, and they assist community members who need help with general repairs.
Currently the club is asking residents if they have solid wood furniture that they can’t get rid of, to donate it to them for future projects instead of taking it to the dump.
There are around 70 members of the Alouette Men’s Shed. And they work out of two locations in Maple Ridge – one at Ridge Church and the other on the Albion Fairgrounds.
Men who would like to join do not need any experience in woodworking.
The club is meant to be social, a place where men can make new friendships, learn a new skill, and work on various projects to help the community.
They meet every Friday at 10 a.m. at The Well in Chances Casino, at 22710 Lougheed Hwy., Maple Ridge.
Anyone wanting to join their group is welcome to meet up at Chances or email: alouettemensshed@outlook.com.
For more information about the group go to: https://alouettemensshed.ca/.