HER ENERGY IS CONTAGIOUS!: Patsy Trigg of ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’ fame shares her passion for woodworking and having fun at STUDIO 60

Story By Erin Coggins | Photos By Cristie Clark | Living 50 Plus

Fifteen years ago, Patsy Trigg walked into the STUDIO 60 Senior Center on Drake Avenue for some advice on repairing her grandmother’s swing and she has never left.

“The bolt was twisted in the swing, and I couldn’t get it out,” Trigg said. “So, I took it to the woodworking area in the Senior Center and they fixed it. I immediately felt at home, so I just stayed.”

Today, Trigg spends Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon using her creative talents in the Center’s woodworking program where she works on various projects for the community. Before COVID, the program crafted 5,000 writing pens for the Wounded Warrior Project. Lately, the program has handcrafted toys to be sent to underprivileged countries through a partnership with the Redstone Arsenal and have constructed caskets to donate to local churches who pass them on to families who cannot afford to bury their stillborn. According to Trigg, building things to help others is just what the group does.

“The woodworking shop is just full of friendly people. We had a lady come in with a fairly old coffee table and asked if we could redo it,” Trigg said. “One of the guys told her we would help her. She had never touched a sander or a tool, but we taught her, and the coffee table turned out beautifully. Since she has come in and has completed two other projects.”

Besides creating handcrafted items for various projects within the community, Trigg says she and her friends built a few cigar box guitars out of MoonPie boxes and once the MoonPie folks saw them, they took them for their own.

Having been taught how to use all the tools by the late Sieford Shultz, her favorite is the band saw. She says she has mastered making good corners which comes in handy making one of her favorite toys–mini pocket cars with little people.

“I drill holes in the car so the little dolls fit in. I love to draw on the doll faces and really make them fun,” Trigg said. “My favorite is putting the mother in the driver’s seat and the father in the passenger’s seat with him going ‘EEK’.”

Trigg ensures all seniors who want to take advantage of the woodworking shop to know that they follow all safety issues and do not let anyone loose until they are properly trained.

“We have a good team in Willie, Greg, Joe, Larry and Dewayne. You can show up anytime and they will show you how to do it and stay with you,” Trigg said. “Just know that first thing in the morning, we make a big pot of coffee and spend about 30-35 minutes drinking coffee and eating our sweets before we get to work. We just like to sit down and have fun.”

Fun could be Trigg’s last name. She is a self-described military brat. Her father flew bombers during World War II. After graduating from high school, her job as a flight attendant with TWA Airlines took her to San Francisco where she became a member of the bluegrass band, Homestead Act.

“We were playing one night, and we pulled up this man named Randy Brooks. He sang his song, ‘Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer’. We recorded it together in October 1979,” Trigg said. “It went number one in 1982 where it remained for five years. It is still in the Top 10 of Christmas songs to this day.”

If recording one of the most iconic Christmas songs of all time was not enough, the 77-year-old Trigg has also been a radio DJ on AM radio and an auctioneer.

“I was the auctioneer for a gala here in Huntsville and they grossed the most they had ever made that evening,” Trigg said. “We sold a train for $1,500.”

Besides bringing the camaraderie and fun to the woodworking shop, Trigg is always willing to discuss the Center’s other perks and programs.

“If you have a hobby, then you will find something to do here,” Trigg added. “There is a leather class where they make belts, wallets and purses, watercolor paint classes, you can learn to dance, either ballroom or line-dancing and we even have a fishing club. Because it is important to stay active at our age, there is also a gym full of all the equipment anyone could need. And a nurse is usually on staff.”

Seniors can also book travel through the Center. Trigg says a group recently traveled to Europe for a reasonable price and took local trips to places like the Chocolate Factory in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

“The travel coordinator, Claire Wood, does a great job with travel. Seniors who travel with the Center can just sit back and relax because everything is done for them, including the transportation,” Trigg said. “She also runs the gift shop where all the items are homemade, including some of the things we create at the Center. It all looks real professional.”

Trigg credits her energy to her father, who ensured that she was always active and performing with the family band. At 11-years-old, she played the guitar accompanied by her 9-year-old sister on the bass and her 8-year-old brother on the steel guitar.

“When you are creative, you have to find a way to channel that and that’s why I have so much energy,” Trigg said. “If someone has lost that energy, I encourage them to come and see me, us at the Center. We will help you find a place for those creative ideas and get you back up and running. We will find a way for those ideas to be put to use to help others. It’s contagious, too.”