Tinkertown

Have you ever known someone who owns a lot of “things” and you wonder what on earth that person is going to do with that collection of “things”? I imagine Ross Ward had many who had the exact same question before he came up with Tinkertown museum.

Ross had a vision as many start out with, but with piece by piece and exhibit by exhibit he took his collections and artwork to a whole new level. Small wooden figures mixed with dolls and other figurines from his collection make up different scenarios. You’ll see a western town with saloon, trading post, a circus and so many other intriguing scenes filled to the brim with folk art. These photos are only a minor fraction of what I saw.

Ross’ personal workshop is still on view displaying unfinished wooden figures. The quote taped neatly inside of his window really touched me.

Outside of the exhibits, Ross collected old arcade machines... like the test your strength kind of machines and anything else interactive to take your quarter, or nickel and receive a giggle in return.

Old license plates are used to repair weak spots in the wood boardwalk that leads you throughout the adventure and Ross’ carefully placed metal hand painted signs with his favorite quotes about inspiration and going against the norm. Despite Ross no longer being present on this earth, I felt the connection, the excitement and the playfulness of everything as if he were there telling us the story.

Some of his mechanical figures have been working non stop for 45 years... never taking a break from Ross’ vision.

The staff at Tinkertown were so great and informative. Although we were not able to work on a bottle wall that was planned, because of the high winds in the area, they still explained the process to me.