After the Bell with CCHS Staffulty Member Tom Trease
Have you ever wondered what teachers and staff do when they are not at school? We decided to find out!
This is one in a series of stories about some of Central Catholic’s faculty and staff members and what they like to do after the bell rings at the end of the day. Some have surprising hobbies, others have creative talents. With this series, we hope to shine a spotlight on the special people who work with our students every day!
Crafting a Community
Tom has been working as Central Catholic’s director of technology since 2020. He previously worked in a similar position at Cardinal Stritch. He attended Cardinal Stritch High School and Bowling Green State University, where he earned a degree in telecommunications and broadcast engineering. Tom is dedicated to helping students, faculty, and staff understand and work with technology and to make the most of the tools that it offers.
Although he has a passion for technology, his passion outside of work involves a different set of tools. He enjoys woodworking, and he loves to create pieces from raw materials and see them come to life. “From Legos and Lincoln Logs as a kid to Curly Maple and Walnut now, I have always enjoyed turning one thing into another,” he explained. “I take great pride in each and every piece I create. I’ve been ‘making’ for as long as I can remember. For me, the best gift someone can give me is something that was handmade, one of a kind, a piece NOT made in a factory. Where the gift is not only a thing, but it shows the hard work of someone sharing their talents. So for me it was a no-brainer to start offering my pieces for others to share that same gift-giving fun!”
Tom has turned his passion into a business with TSquared WoodWorks, which he started when he was in college mainly as a way to fund the craft. Wood and tools can be expensive, and he thought if he could create a business and have customers to help pay for the materials, he could make more. He never sought to have a full business, but the blessings of customers and family and friends in need of custom furniture took off. He enjoyed crafting and making for about three years, and then when he and his wife Samantha’s twins, Wyatt and Emerson, came along, woodworking and making had to move to the backburner for a while. Now with the kids starting school and getting a little bit more independent, he is really enjoying starting TSquared back up again.
Tom’s shop has changed many times over the years. From a basement shop in his mother-in-law's house, to a garage shop forcing his wife to park outside, to a massive 40x30-foot pole barn, he has worked in them all. Right now, in addition to his own shop, Tom enjoys using a shared woodshop called the Inspired Lumber Workshop in Toledo. This is a “makerspace” woodshop that houses classes and is an open shop, meaning members can come and work out of the shop without having to buy any tools.
“Sharing this craft with other members has been a piece of woodworking I didn't even know I missed,” Tom said. “Woodworking can be very isolating, but when you get to work in a shared shop, the community and skill sharing aspects cannot be beat. I am now enjoying being one of the volunteer leaders in the shop, helping those just starting out to grow their craft and making sure that everyone who leaves the shop does so with all the fingers they came in with!”
Over the years, Tom has made almost anything you can think of, including bookshelves, beds, tables, benches, keychains, pens, cutting boards, name signs, set pieces, chairs, stools, and many things in between. One of the most challenging pieces he crafted was for Central Catholic’s new lobby area. Our new digital displays are mounted, and Tom had a vision of encasing them in a frame to match the woodworking throughout our building. Getting those made to fit and to hang stably, but to still be able to come down when necessary, was quite the challenge. It seemed simple enough, but once he started, he quickly realized the difficulty of meeting all of the requirements and having it still look like it belongs.
Most recently Tom has been building his digital fabrication skills using the laser and CNC machine. He has enjoyed growing this side of the craft, as there are endless opportunities with custom engraving, sign making, holiday decorations, and so much more. “With this side of my business, I have really loved creating things for Central Catholic,” he said. “Whether it is CCHS Christmas ornaments, athletic keychains, or wall signs for our beloved building, it is really special to be able to create something that shows our Irish pride or that I get to see hanging in our hallways and classrooms.
“I was able to make some commemorative pieces for Central Catholic during the football team’s back-to-back state titles. The players loved the Back-2-Back Christmas ornaments, and I have had a blast celebrating all of our clubs and athletics programs over the years with items like this. One of the most memorable for me was our girls’ soccer team’s Senior Night game when I made CCHS soccer ball keychains with each of the seniors' names on them. The girls and their families loved them, and they were not expecting something like that from their school’s tech guy.“
Tom receives requests to make things all the time, which is one of the best parts of woodworking for him. He has always loved getting handmade gifts, and now he gets to help others share that. His wife is pretty tired of Tom asking what else they need for their home, so when someone contacts him to make something, he always tries to take that on. Time is the only enemy and sometimes he can’t fit it all in, but he keeps himself pretty busy with client work.
Tom gives all the credit for his skills to his dad. “I found my passion for woodworking after making a simple desk organizer in my dad’s shop, and the rest is history!” he recalled. “Spending time with my dad, whether it was in his shop or on his job sites, was the best way for me to learn the craft, and now I cannot wait to do the same with my kids! Growing up and seeing the furniture, fixtures, and even homes he built gave me the drive to learn how to do these things myself. ‘Why pay someone to do it when you can learn it for yourself?’ has always been our philosophy, and furniture making is the same thing. Growing older and having kids of my own, I look back on these times as such a blessed time to share with my dad. I hope to give my kids half of what my dad has given me! So thank you dad for everything, even when I didn’t want it!”
If you’re interested in having Tom create something special for you, please email him at tom@tsquaredwoodworks.com.
Previous Editions of “After the Bell”
Tye Turner (September)
Elaine Gabalac (October)
Randall Pryor (November)
