In his retirement, Seeley Lake resident Ted Lockwood has made more than 200 wooden birdhouses and bird feeders with animal and people faces. These functional creations add character to anyone's property.
Ted Lockwood working in his shop cutting out parts on his band saw.
When visiting the Lockwood's property you can't help but feel watched by all his wooden creations. "Wilson" is peeking over the fence in the left corner, the donkey bird feeder makes easy pickings for the birds that live in the surrounding birdhouses and the bear family is just passing through. Along his other fence there is a "peeping Tom."
While Ted Lockwood works with all kinds of wood, his favorite is juniper because of the color. He has made several serving trays, napkin holders and condiment holders (pictured) out of juniper. He made a set of condiment holders that are used at the Seeley Lake Chicken Coop during the summer to serve patio patrons.
Ted Lockwood makes wooden trash cans using the pattern his father learned from a neighbor. The trash cans are very popular and he can personalize them with a router.
"Who wants a boring, green metal hose holder when you can have a cute little bear do it for you?" said Ted Lockwood's wife Kay.
SEELEY LAKE – You can't help but notice all the characters hanging out around Ted Lockwood's yard behind the Chicken Coop. From donkeys and bears to old men and even a peeping Tom, there are wooden characters in every corner. While some feed and house the birds, others hold the hose and still others are just for looks, they all are unique and handmade by Lockwood in his little "Man Shop." He hopes each piece brings as much joy to others as it has to him.
Lockwood's father Marvin was a finish carpenter. He started making wooden trash cans with their neighbor Nolan Anderson in Ronan, Montana. After Nolan passed away, he continued making them and tried to get Lockwood interested in the trade.
"I was into cars and women and stuff at that age," Lockwood said. "I had no interest in it."
When his father passed away in 1994, Lockwood inherited all his tools. While he started taking more of an interest in wood working, it wasn't until he inherited a small shed from his mother that he finally had a workshop.
Lockwood started making coasters and cutting boards with different kinds of wood. He learned how to use the router and make different signs. He also figured out how to make the trash cans that Nolan and his father used to make and started selling those.
After he retired in 2016 from NAPA, Lockwood had more time to work in his woodshop. He got the idea to start making birdhouses after seeing a birdhouse with a face on it at a friend's property on the Clearwater River. He took a photo and figured out how to cut and mount the pieces to make a face.
Lockwood turned to the Internet, specifically Pinterest, to get more ideas. He printed off designs that caught his eye, drew a pattern on cardboard and cuts out the pieces from a variety of different woods. He has many friends that donate end cuts to him for his projects. He loves working with juniper because it is such a pretty wood.
After the pieces are cut out, Lockwood sands them, assembles and uses a torch to burn the wood. This helps treat them and adds the rustic look that he likes. He said he averages one birdhouse a day when he is feeling good.
The birdhouses each have a one-and-a-half-inch hole, a standard bluebird house. Then Lockwood adds the face – an assortment of animals and people characters. No two birdhouses are exactly the same. He started selling them and taking custom orders.
"It is just a hobby for fun," Lockwood said. "I go out there and work and it keeps my mind off what is going on with me."
In addition to birdhouses, he builds bird feeders, hose holders, trash cans, cell phone holders, napkin holders, serving patters, cutting boards, condiment holders and custom signs.
In October 2020, Lockwood was in the hospital with breathing problems. He was given a few months to live. He had been diagnosed with COPD and emphysema after smoking for more than 50 years and was told his lungs were shutting down. His family set up hospice in the spring but Lockwood kept going out to his shop and trying different medications.
"I'm still here. That is why I like going out in my shop rather than laying in that bed all day," Lockwood said. "I think I would be gone by now if it wasn't for that. I like to go out there and it keeps me doing something."
All of the money he makes from selling his birdhouses goes into an account to help support his wife Kay after he is gone. To help fundraise, his friend Brian Larabee started offering Lockwood's birdhouses at the Sunflower Gallery in Thompson Falls, Montana. Lockwood had more orders than he could handle himself. He recruited his neighbor Ray McKinney and his son Jason to help keep up with the orders.
The Lockwoods' "adopted daughter" Wendy Dalrymple has also learned how to make the birdhouses.
"She loves to come over here," Lockwood said. "She just goes out there and has a blast."
Wendy was best friends with the Lockwoods' daughter Jolene through grade school. She also worked with him at NAPA for many years and they have been family friends.
When she found out Lockwood was sick, Wendy said she wanted to spend more time with him.
"I thought it would be cool to learn to build the birdhouses as well as a good way to get some quality time with him," Dalrymple wrote in an email. "I consider Ted to be family, so I just wanted to spend as much time with him as possible and I figured we might as well do something he loved while I was there."
In addition to everything Dalrymple learned from Lockwood at NAPA, he taught her how to use the woodworking tools and all the steps that go into making a birdhouse.
"Ted is very patient. He's a great teacher," Dalrymple wrote. "Ted has been like a second dad to me since I was in grade school. He became a mentor when I worked for him at NAPA and again when he taught me to build these birdhouses. Ted and his family were and are my 'second family.' I'm glad I was able to learn from him and spend time with him and his family."
Lockwood estimates he has made over 50 trash cans and 200 birdhouses. Even though he has been able to figure it out, he wishes he would have taken more of an interest in woodworking when his father tried to teach him.
Lockwood said, "I'd like to think that he would be proud of me."
Lockwood has around 20 birdhouses for sale. They are $50 each and include old men, a hippie, an Indian, a cowboy and various animals including bears, moose, donkey, frog and a wolf. He also takes custom orders. To order or set up an appointment to look at his inventory call or text Lockwood at 406-210-4485.
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