Believe It Or Not ... Toothpick Stagecoach Sold To Ripley's
Posted
Daniel Riordan-driordan@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw's Terry Woodling wanted a place where people could see and enjoy the project that took him nearly 15 years to complete.
His toothpick stagecoach, made of 1.5 million toothpicks, was featured in the Times-Union Oct. 22.After it ran, Woodling sent a letter, photos and the newspaper article to Ripley's Believe It Or Not.
"Once we saw it we knew it was something we had to have," said Ripley's Vice President of Art and Exhibits Edward Meyer.
Meyer said he buys a 1,000 exhibits a year and Woodling's stagecoach ranks as one of the best he's ever bought.
"This is teh best thing I've bought in 2009," said Meyer who has worked for Ripley's for 32 years.
The stagecoach will be shipped to Ripley's world headquarters in Orlando, Fla. where it will be stored until its decided which of Ripley's more than 30 museums it will go to.
Meyer said it will also be featured in a book Ripley's releases annually.
Woodling said no matter where the stagecoach ends up he and his wife Sharon will travel to see it.
"I'd like to go there and get people's opinoins on it," said Woodling.
Woodling's stagecoach has gained a lot of attention as television stations have descended upon his Warsaw home.
The coverage has caused Woodling to be contacted by people all across the county and he even got contacted by a radio station in London to do an interview.
Meyer or Woodling didn't give the figure of how much Woodling got for his stagecoach but its appraised value is $135,000.
Woodling, known as Mr. Toothpick, said he expected the stagecoach to ship out after Thanksgiving.
