Alpine Village The Alpine Village stretches the length of a long room and is a marvel in both construction and concept. Likely there are few if any pre-school facilities that could match it in intricacy or detail. Started April 7, 1990 and completed July 6, 1993, the Village required 71 sheets of plywood, 3,500 screws, 46 different colors of paint, 1,100 hand-crafted wooden roof shingles, 180 fence pickets, and 13,500 hours of construction, mostly by Tom and his brother, Jerry. Each of the five houses has an educational focus based on one of the activities that are universally interesting to children: science, dolls, cars, food, and movies. The structures are magnificently crafted in fine detail, and they are prettily painted in ascending colors of the spectrum. Note the little "sidewalk" in the carpet and how the window filters make light emissions warmer. Window boxes with flowers, shutters with cutout hearts, and individually constructed cornerstones, are among the realistic details captured in these photos. Click on each image below. 
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