By Diane Gasper-O’Brien

University Relations and Marketing

HAYS, Kan. – A community event at Fort Hays State University has long been attended by entire families who volunteer to make wooden toys on the first Saturday in December.

This year’s Dr. Fred P. Ruda Teaming Up for Tots project will have extra special meaning for one Hays family.

Several members of Ruda’s family will be on hand to help sand, glue, nail, assemble – or whatever is needed – at the 30th annual event, now named in honor of its organizer. The toys are delivered to the local TUFT organization, which distributes them to children who otherwise might not receive a Christmas gift.

Troy Ruda, son of Ruda and his wife, Sherrill, participated in several toy building days as a teenager and is really looking forward to this year because his children are old enough to help.

TUFT is one of two opportunities that university personnel have taken to honor the legacy of Fred Ruda, who died in a vehicle accident in 2012. An award at FHSU’s annual technology education fair in the spring also is named after the professor who spent 39 years at his alma mater, the last 33 as chair of the Department of Applied Technology.

To those who never got the chance to meet Ruda, he might seem larger than life. He is – to many who did get the privilege to know Doc, as he was affectionately known. Some claim they still hear the sound of his cowboy boots in the hallway.

Sherrill laughs while describing Doc’s duties at TUFT.

“He mainly walked around and talked to everyone,” she said. “He just really enjoyed visiting with people and loved it when families brought their children along to help.”

He earned that right, Sherrill said, because his work on the project was done long before assembly day. Every year, Doc solicited sponsors from local businesses. That sponsorship continues today, and there is little, if any, cost to the Applied Technology Department.

This year’s toy is an SUV, complete with a family of three permanently glued in their seats.

There will be pizza for the workers, a tradition Doc started the first year when there were only about 20 volunteers. Last year, the number of helpers reached more than 100 when the volunteers bustled around the CAT wood shop with room to spare. It was a stark contrast to the cramped quarters in Davis Hall.

Doc never got to work in the CAT. Construction on the new building began a few years after he died and was completed in 2017. Nonetheless, it’s a piece of progress of which his family says he would be so proud.

“Oh, my, would he be so pleased with that new building,” Sherrill said. “From the industrial arts department when he started, to technology studies to the applied technology of today, Fred always knew you had to keep changing to be successful.”

Troy also said his dad would be pleased with the new building. But Troy still has fond memories of the toy building event in Davis Hall.

“I remember going to work with Dad on Saturdays and running all around that building; it was the coolest building,” he said. “But the toy building day was the best. We looked forward to it every year.”

Troy’s children were preschool age when their grandfather died. But this year, 11-year-old Madison and 9-year-old Ethan will be on hand to help Saturday along with Troy’s wife, Lisa. So, too, will the Rudas’ daughter, Karrie Millershaski, and her grown daughter, Hannah – who will make the trip from Montezuma for the day.

“It will be great to see some of the people who keep coming back year after year, those who knew Dad,” Troy said. “But it will be cool to see so many new people taking part in such a great event, too.”

Kim Stewart, Doc’s successor as chair of the department, is a Fort Hays State grad who returned to his alma mater to work with his mentor in 1997. Stewart is one who still hears Doc’s boots in the hallways.

“Dr. Ruda taught and advised nearly all industrial technology students over his nearly 40 years at Fort Hays State,” Stewart said. “He had such a positive impact on so many of us. He truly was the gateway to technology education.”

Volunteers for Saturday’s event will be treated to donuts and juice upon their arrival, and the assembly work will begin at 9 a.m. in the CAT.

Dr. Duane Renfrow, associate professor of applied technology, and FHSU students design and cut the pieces beforehand, and the assembly lines on Saturday morning are a sight to see.

The scene is heartwarming for Sherrill to watch those at work, especially a handful of participants who have indicated they received a toy when they were young and returned years later in an effort to give back.

There couldn’t be a more touching testament to her husband’s legacy.

“We’re just passing through here on Earth,” Sherrill said. “What pleases me the most is to see that Fred did make his mark in this life.”