Santa’s Workshop : A Thousand Oaks good Samaritan converts junked parts and tires into workable bicycles for needy children.

It is a familiar story--up to a point. Harry Salisbury is a retired electrical engineer who is clever with his hands. But his wife cannot get him to complete repair projects around the house.

But Salisbury, who turned 88 Wednesday has a good excuse. He is too busy in his modern-day Santa’s workshop rebuilding bicycles for needy children to fix screens or leaky faucets.

“This is my hobby exclusively,” said Salisbury. “I had two children. But one died in the last World War. And I have no grandchildren. But I like to help kids. That’s one of my donations over there,” he said indicating an over-turned tricycle on an adjacent front lawn.

Salisbury scavenges cast-off bicycles and other children’s vehicles at garage sales. And he repairs them at his own expense.

He will probably rest on Thanksgiving. But most days you can find him toiling in his Dickensian garage-workshop amid a pile of spare bicycle parts and flat inner tubes that form an equatorial jungle canopy.

Salisbury wears a red work apron, but he’s a thorny customer--not at all a jovial St. Nick. Looks are deceiving.

Salisbury never turns down a request to supply a needy child with a bicycle. And when the parents bring a child to pick up a bike, Salisbury shows him a good time. He keeps a refrigerator in the garage well-stocked with Milky Way bars and root beer for his guests.

“When you give a bike to a kid, it’s a big responsibility. And I make sure it fits him,” said Salisbury. “The bikes don’t go out unless they have a reflector in the front and back--that’s the law. I put on new brakes and chains.” And he is very particular about the tire pressure.

Surprisingly, the demand for bicycles does not increase during the holidays. Rather, Salisbury said, it remains constant throughout the year. And he estimates he has rebuilt and donated between 200 and 300 bicycles since the late 1970s.

News of Salisbury’s skills spread shortly after he moved to Thousand Oaks in 1974. He had helped install a neighbor’s water heater. Soon children began to consult him about matters bicyclic.

And since 1988 Salisbury has rebuilt and donated bicycles to social service agencies as a member of the Conejo Valley Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

“He is retired but not removed from life. And he’s helping others in an intergenerational way, where seniors are helping children or the young,” said Louise Danielle, RSVP director.

“Because almost every child in our middle-class society has a bike, it means a great deal to a less fortunate child to receive one,” Danielle added. And Salisbury has received awards for outstanding community service from the Foster Parents Program, the YMCA and other social service agencies.

“Sometimes I get thank-you notes written in Spanish and other languages,” he said indicating some dog-eared letters covered with childish scrawl.

And he does not limit his generosity to children. “If anybody can’t afford a bicycle,” said Salisbury, “if there are people who need transportation--then I manage to get them a bike their size.”

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The Ventura County Area Agency on Aging has announced the opening of the biennial election process to select three senior-citizen representatives to the 1993-95 term of the California Senior Legislature.

Any senior age 60 and older who is a registered voter in the county may obtain an official candidate nomination petition at the AAA office, 505 Poli St., Ventura, or may call 652-7560.

Petitions must be filed by 5 p.m. Dec. 23. To qualify for the ballot, seniors must complete the petitions with the signatures of at least 50 registered voters age 60 or older who are permanent residents of Ventura County.

Elections will be held on March 9, 1993, at poll sites throughout the county. The California Senior Legislature convenes annually in October in Sacramento where its representatives present suggestions for priority bills that advance the welfare of the elderly to members of the Legislature for their support.

FYI

The motto of the Conejo Valley Retired Senior Volunteer Program is “Helping Ourselves by Helping Others.” The 20-year-old organization, sponsored by the Conejo Recreation and Park District, has 775 volunteers all age 60 or older who serve about 98 nonprofit agencies in Ventura County. Volunteers work in thrift shops, public libraries, meals-on-wheels programs, English-as-a-second-language and tutoring programs in elementary schools and the Conejo Symphony, and prepare mailings for nonprofit agencies. They are also making teddy bears to be donated to any requesting nonprofit group. For more information about any RSVP service, including bicycle donation, call 497-2663.