By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

dobrien@dailynews.net

Shauna Zweifel said she has fond memories of building toys as a youngster for children less fortunate than herself.

It might be even better now.

Zweifel, now an adult, is president of Teaming Up for Tots, a nonprofit organization in Hays that provides toys and clothing at Christmas to children of families who have signed up through the Community Assistance Center for holiday assistance.

Thursday night, Zweifel and other TUFT members gathered at the Hays Armory to load baskets with items collected from angel trees around down.

In several of those baskets were wooden toys made Saturday at the annual toy-building event at Fort Hays State University.

It marks the 20th year that elves of all ages gather in Davis Hall to make the toys designated for 3- to 7-year-olds.

"I was a little girl when we first started going to those," Zweifel said of accompanying her dad, former FHSU automotive and welding instructor Don Barton, to some of the first toy-building days in the 1990s.

"I've seen a lot of those toys over the years," she added.

So, too, has Fred Ruda, chairman of the technology education department, who was among the first organizers of the event back in 1990.

Ruda was having fun Saturday as he lined up the first 19 toys made alongside this year's toy, a biplane complete with a pilot.

"I forgot that my turtle rolls; isn't that cool," Ruda said as he picked up the toy with a bobbing head made in 2003.

"I've got a lot of those little people around my house," Dar Cole said in reference to the wooden "people" who are made along with toys such as vehicles.

Once, in 2005, there were several little people on a school bus.

Cole is Ruda's administrative assistant at FHSU who helps with the project and gets to keep one of the toys each year.

"My grandchildren really like playing with them," added Cole, who also has grandchildren help build them.

On Saturday, teenager Dani Winters from Plainville accompanied her grandmother along with her younger twin sisters, Ashley and Bailey, to the event.

"I took the oldest when she was in second grade," Cole said of Dani Winters, now a junior in high school. "And every year she doesn't have some school function going, she wants to be here."

Dani was flanked at the sanding table by Ashley and Bailey, eighth-graders at Plainville Middle School.

Dani said she likes to sand and picks that station every time she helps.

All around them, there were people scurrying about, assembling the various parts into a completed toy.

This year, Cole chose the final job, dipping the toys into Danish oil.

"There's something for everyone," Cole said, adding youngsters always are welcome along with the adults. "There are some jobs that are just suited to younger people."

One of those is being a runner, taking parts to different tables.

Being useful had 8-year-old Sheldon Weber smiling Saturday while helping.

Sheldon -- who had come with his dad, Bill Weber, an instructor in the math department at Fort Hays -- was in his third year of helping with the project.

Ruda, in his 38th year at Fort Hays, gets donations from local businesses, some who have helped all 20 years.

He said he never tires of the project and enjoys seeing repeat volunteers as well as newcomers.

He also likes the chance to reminisce about the different toys.

"I really like the race car, and I think my very favorite is the airplane with crayons," Ruda said of the first and second toys ever built in the project. "But I like them all."

Toy list

A different wooden toy has been made each year at Fort Hays State University for Teaming Up for Tots program. The 20th anniversary model this year was a biplane.

1990 -- Race car

1991 -- Airplane

1992 -- Tractor with trailer

1993 -- Piggy bank with pennies

1994 -- Helicopter

1995 -- Bulldozer

1996 -- Semi tractor trailer

1997 -- Train engine

1998 -- Pickup truck

1999 -- Jeep

2000 -- Tugboat

2001 -- Semi truck with open trailer

2002 -- Bug bus

2003 -- Turtle with bobbing head

2004 -- Pull snake

2005 -- School bus

2006 -- Front-end loader

2007 -- Pickup truck with camper

2008 -- Rolling puppy

2009 -- Biplane