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Texas toy maker brings little dreams to lifeBy Jennifer M. Latzke
He doesn't have a snowy white beard or rosy cheeks, and his pulling team doesn't sport antlers. But for the children around Happy, Texas, Jerry Sims could very well be Santa's helper. Sims is the "Happy Toy Maker," and his unique metal creations will be under many of the trees of High Plains cowboys and cowgirls this Christmas season. Sims custom designs and manufactures working, child-sized farming and ranching equipment models out of his home shop near Happy. "It all began when my two boys were little, about two and four years old," Sims said. "They wanted a blue doctoring chute for their toy cows. I couldn't find one, so I made them one." Using his own imagination and some scrap wood, Sims built that first doctoring chute. From there, he tried making other cattle ranching equipment, such as a half tub and snake with a load-out chute, out of scrap metal. "The boys had these toy cattle that were a little bit bigger, so I took them to the barn and just made the equipment so that it was that much taller than the cattle," Sims said. It wasn't too long until he started making portable corrals, round bale trailers, straight deck cattle trailers, and even a scaled version of a Quonset hut complete with swinging doors. If his boys, Wesley and Wyatt, saw it around the ranch, Sims could make it in miniature. Up until recently, though, Sims was a full-time cattle feeder and the toys were a sideline. "I had a starter yard, starting out cattle in the summer," he said. Then, he contracted blood poisoning in his leg and, during his recovery, he started having problems with his heart and lungs. Today, he's recovered from most of his health problems but his doctors have still recommended that he slow down. So, he shut down the starter pens and has switched to making toys and accessories full time. "I have a head full of ideas that I want to see out," Sims said. "Every year I've tried something new." Three years ago, he tried making a set of portable corrals for some neighbor children, and after that the orders started rolling in. He branched out into making pickups and trailers at the request of one parent, and he even offers round bales made from blocks of scrap wood and feedsacks to scale to accompany the bale beds and trailers he makes. One parent requested a model rodeo bucking chute and a roping corral. Another asked for a folding portable feedyard. Sims also gives the option of personalization, laser-cutting names and brands in the metal. "I want them to be as lifelike as possible," Sims said. "There are some places that may pinch little fingers but, you know, you can't shield children from everything forever." He has made some adjustments for safety, though. For example, at the request of parents, he's designed the "bale forks" on his bale beds so that they can be locked in a safe position. He rounds off the sharp edges, but still he advises parents to monitor their children as they play. The sets are all welded individually in his shop in Happy. Sims added that he can build a roping corral in about 50 hours, and a set of wheeled corral panels usually takes him about 40 hours. "I deal with a place in Lubbock for my metal," Sims said. "They're really good at finding the smaller stuff. When I started out years ago, rod was 15 cents, and it jumped to 47 cents this summer. It's not so much the cost of the metal, though, as it is the time involved." The roping box is the toughest thing to build, followed by the processing chute, Sims said. Sims has a few goals when he's designing and building his ranch toys. First, they must be easy enough to store and light enough that a mom can move them from her car without too much help. Because they're made of metal, the toys are designed to last the rough and tumble play of cowgirls and cowboys--from the play room to the tack room, and from the show barn to the rodeo arena. "You can fold up the panels and store them under a bed," he added. Today, The Happy Toy Maker is a family business. Sims and his wife, Patrice, and his in-laws all have their roles to fill. And though the Sims children have grown older, they still enjoy helping their father create toys. At 11 and 13, they're now old enough to learn how to run a band saw to cut out the metal pieces and can run the computerized plasma torch to personalize the toys. They're even designing some of the new toys on the computer, Sims said. Recently, Sims has been approached by cattle working equipment manufacturers to build scale replicas of their equipment that they can take to farm shows. A farm supply retailer in Texas has also asked Sims to make some sets that can be sold in their stores, but he and his family are mulling that offer for now. "We have 110 orders to build right now," Sims said. "We've had to get some help from neighbors, and even then we're welding from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. As for playing Santa's helper, Sims and his family try to give something back to nearby children who are in need. They've given away several sets of their wheeled corrals--just their way of spreading Christmas cheer. And that's something the big guy in the red suit would be proud of happening in his name. For more information about The Happy Toy Maker, visit www.thehappytoymaker.com. Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com. 12/22/08 Date: 12/17/08 Advertisement
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