By Anne Groebner

I went to talk to a man about some wooden toys. As it turned out, there was so much more to talk about. I met Lee and Lea Fulmer at their home in Eagar — the house that Eric Hamlin built. The last house they will live in after building five houses throughout what they call their “storybook life.” I thought I was going to talk to them about the wooden toys and how they donate all the money that they make from them to the Round Valley Animal Rescue, or as they call it, RVAR (Ar-var). However, once I stepped into their home, I found myself surrounded by amazing historical evidence of an incredible 50-year lifetime they have spent together. From Army Colonel and army wife, to business owners, to island dwellers, to National Park Employees, they have experienced life to its fullest, saving the lives of many, many animals along the way. 

Lee grew up in New Orleans and graduated from Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s in education. He taught at a school for the deaf for five years until he got his commission activated and went into the army. He served over 20 years as an armor officer in tanks, progressing to the M1 Abrams, and now he has partial blindness in one eye and 90 percent loss of hearing. He served in Korea, Vietnam, Germany, Fort Benning, Fort Hood, Fort Leavenworth, Carlisle Barracks, and the Pentagon. During his career he commanded one platoon, three companies and two battalions; and was awarded five Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, one Silver Star, and the Legion of Merit. He worked under and was good friends with General Patton IV.  

Upon graduation from the Army War College, Lee was fortunate to be selected as G1 of the famous First Cavalry Division. G1 is army for human resources. After selection for promotion to Colonel, he was moved up to the corps G1 Position. His staff specialty was personnel management, and the army paid to get him a master’s in business personnel management. His last assignment was G1 of Third Corps at Ft Hood Texas. That included 50,000 men… it was a big job. 

Fulmer is of German descent, and he loves to tell you the history of his family. How they came to America in 1729, landed in Biloxi, Mississippi, and got attacked by the Natchez Indians. The survivors stumbled into New Orleans during Spanish rule, when the governor was Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos. His grandmother named his father Lemos, and his father named him Lemos Jr. Now he goes by “Lee.” Eventually, his ancestors moved up the Mississippi River to a small village, Les Allemands, (the French word for Germans), and built a sugar cane plantation named Trinity. His grandfather oversaw the Whitney Plantation, which a group of New Orleans lawyers has restored to its original condition and is now the world’s only slavery museum.  

Once he retired from the army, Lee and Lea went into the nursery and landscape construction business, building pools, ponds, waterfalls, and residential landscapes. Over the course of 15 years they expanded to two retail garden centers. They had 50 employees, five forklifts, and five tractors and a fleet of 20 trucks. In 2000 they sold the business and moved to Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico and following an avid love of skiing, started careers as Skier Service personnel and EMTs. Their other hobby was scuba diving, and both achieved instructor ratings. They had made several trips to the island of Saba in the Dutch West Indies and decided it would be their new second home.  

Saba is five square miles, and they call it the “Unspoiled Queen.” The airport has the shortest runway in the world at 1,200 feet, and there are no cruise ship docks and few tourists. It is a volcanic island with beautiful rainforest hiking. They bought an old sea captains house, built in 1885, and situated 1,400 feet up into the rainforest. It was badly damaged in Hurricane Kenney, but they restored it to its original condition. It was their biggest adventure. Peter, the original owner, won the US Navy Cross in World War II. The locals called him “a great man” and were happy to have his home restored.  

While living on the island, there was a terrible problem with feral cats. There were a lot of them, and they were everywhere. The locals were drowning and poisoning the cats. The Fulmers had a better idea. They helped form the Saba Island Feral Cat Society and started a spay and neuter program. Once a month, an American veterinarian from St. Martin would come for half the day and spay the female cats. The medical university students would come and neuter the male cats. They set traps throughout the island, caught the cats, and performed 30 to 40 surgeries per day. In all, the Society is credited with reducing the cat population by 3,000 animals. Not to mention, it stopped the locals from killing the cats.

After 10 years, they sold their island property and worked as National Park employees, including three tours at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, a couple of tours in the Tetons, then Bryce Canyon and Zion. At the Tetons, Lea ran the trading post, and Lee was a guide on a cruise boat on Jackson Lake. As they traveled the Northwest, they collected and filled their home with memorabilia, such as their menagerie. Lee quickly told me he isn’t a hunter, and that someone gave them each of the many animals that adorn their shelves including a beaver, a fox, bats, a weasel, and several fur hats, similar to what the mountain men wore. It’s a lesson in a room!

After leaving Taos, they moved to St. George, Utah. On a vacation trip they went to Fort Huachuca Arizona to visit the 10th Cavalry Museum. On their return to St George they passed through Eagar, Arizona, and thought, “This is a neat little town!” They came back again several times, and finally, one morning Lee woke up and said, “Honey, we’re moving to Eagar!” And she replied, “Oh yeah! That’s a great idea! While in Utah, they volunteered at “Best Friends,” a world known animal rescue. It is the largest no-kill animal facility in the country and works with shelters from all over the states. Now that they are living in Eagar, they spend much of their time helping the Round Valley Animal Rescue. Every dollar they make selling wooden toys goes to RVAR and other charities. Not to mention the time they spend raising funds for projects such as the catio they are building so the 100+ cats can spend time outside. They also started “Coffee with a Cop,” a program that works with the Springerville/ Eagar Police Department. Lea and other ladies bake dozens of cookies for the event, which takes place the third Wednesday of every other month at Junk and Java in Springerville. 

When I got to Eagar for the interview, I never expected what I discovered behind the doors of their home. It resembles a history museum. From the music boxes that Lea’s dad brought back to life and that they played for me while I was there, to the replica boats that represented the ones his family sailed across the ocean to America on. Every piece of furniture is carved as were the German clocks. Large beams crossed the ceiling, there’s a stone fireplace, and heavy, medieval-style doors that lead to adjoining rooms. It was just incredible. …And his shop, where he makes toys for four hours, six days a week. He never misses a day even though he will turn 84 this month. And yet, they expect nothing and give everything. And to think, I thought I was going to talk about the toys. It was never about the toys; it was about what the toys bring. These perfectly cut pieces of wood not only bring joy to the child that gets to play with them, but these toys bring life to many other things. They save lives. 

You can find Lee and Lea’s wooden toys at Pinetop Woodworks in Pinetop (across from Charlie Clark’s).