ORLANDO, Fla. – If you’ve ever wondered where the saying, "handcrafted with love" comes from, look no further than a tiny wood shop, wedged under a parking garage, at Orlando Lutheran Towers.

Among the wood chips and sawdust, pipes and metal fencing, several retirees carve out a special space to create in a place they aptly call, "The Cage."

“I love doing woodwork," said Thomas Easton, who sits among his crafts, like a hand-carved carousel horse and replica stage coach with working doors. Another creation, an intricate ferry with cars that slide onboard and a bar which lowers for the voyage, serves as the centerpiece of his bench.

Easton, who calls himself the "prankster" of the group, is now 92 years old and uses the support of a wheel walker. But, the Towers resident had many previous life chapters, from ten years of service, to working as a heavy machinery mover. He even ran a cattle farm with his wife. 

"As a farm kid, you learn to do everything," he said, with a laugh. 

Decades ago, Frank Bongiorno said he felt great camaraderie and found a sense of purpose working as a facility engineer at Kennedy Space Center. After long, stressful days, he found solace in the backyard wood shop at his home in Seminole County.

"I would decompress from all that pressure," he said. “That’s where I picked up this hobby.”

Now, Bongiorno, a former resident at the Towers, spends most days in the residence wood shop; He toils over intricate bowls and cutting boards of various wood types, like oak and maple.

The 82-year-old also found new kinship and purpose within the cramped quarters, as the men not only help residents at the Towers mend things from time to time, they also aid them in paying bills and making rent: Proceeds from selling their woodwork at local shops and craft shop after craft show benefit the center’s nonprofit, the Orlando Lutheran Towers Foundation.

“Not only are we creating something, we’re helping someone along the way," Bongiorno said. “When you get to our age, you need to keep going physically, challenge yourself mentally. That’s what this shop does."

“I feel like I need to do it. There’s children out there without a Christmas, toys to play with," said Duane Zoller, gesturing around the shop. “I started this and it’s gone from there, 10 years now."

In his younger years, Zoller served in the Air Force. He then went on to serve as a United Methodist pastor for four decades.

And since 1995, he's fashioned thousands of toys, donating them to area churches or to the Toys for Tots campaign over the holidays.

The Towers resident, who turns 91 in April, makes about 200 toy trucks a year. After sketching a design, Zoller "follows the lines" to cut out the cars and windows using a band saw. He then makes his way around the room, utilizing a drill press and scroll saw as he puts together the car, attaching wheels and axels.

“They open the boxes and the children have a great time playing with them out in the street," he said.

A fourth member of the group, Fred Anklam, once served in the Marine Corps. The resident now makes detailed and delicate jewelry boxes.

He, too, takes part in the group's friendly competition to see who sells the most items at each craft show. The last show they attended collectively netted them $1,900, which they then donated to the Foundation.

"We’re creating something … that’s bringing in resources to the Foundation and that’s helping people who need additional help. So it’s a win, win, win for everybody," Bongiorno said. "Your normal life has all these twists and turns. And this is just one of those pleasant twists our lives took."