BY CHERYL PATRICK LEADER STAFF WRITER
NORTH JUDSON — Thurman Hopkins, of North Judson, has a very unique hobby — he builds ornate lamps and decorative pieces of furniture out of wooden matchsticks.
“My matchstick pieces made ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not,’” Hopkins said.
However, the ever popular TV show, which showcases oddities and unusual happenings across the globe, selected Hopkins story for more reasons than his choice of building material.

“I sent ‘Ripleys’ the story about my work and that I’m legally blind and they bought it,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins vision is 20/400 without glasses, a defect he’s lived with since birth.
“I was born that way, along with four brothers — we were all legally blind from birth,” He said.
Working with his hands is something Hopkins has always enjoyed at work and in his craft.
“I’ve always liked wood — I like handling it and I like the smell and feel. I used to work with wood at a saw mill,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins matchstick pieces just sort of evolved.
“Well I started to make an hour glass; and I made it out of Popsicle sticks. But then I said I’d try to make one out of matchsticks,” he said.
Boxes, dressers, lamps and banks which appear to have intricate carvings etched into them are made with a lot of time, patience and of course matchsticks.
“The smallest piece I made took 9,991 sticks, another took 18, 000.  My largest lamps took 32, 000 matchsticks and a chest of drawers took 60,000 matchsticks to complete. It takes about 80 hours to make a lamp,” Hopkins said.
Even though making something out of an item as small as a matchstick is time consuming and tedious work, Hopkins likes the look of the finished project.
“The sanded wood piece would be the most enjoyable to make because it’s easier. But the matchstick piece is the most attractive — like my big lamp,” Hopkins said referring to a piece he has in his living room.
Hopkins used the same source for supplies but due to price, he almost had to look elsewhere.
“I always buy my matchsticks at Kroger. But they kept going up on me. I told them I was going to go somewhere else if they kept raising the price,” he said.
Hopkins doesn’t build pieces for gifts because he said it’s too time consuming. However, if anyone was truly interested, he would be more than willing to give them a hand.
“I’d help them get started — then they could just sit down and make them one,” he said.
As far as the items Hopkins has built over the years are concerned, he has some very special plans for those.
“I have COPD — it’s a lung disease... The pieces I have aren’t for sale. I will be leaving them to my grandchild,” he said.