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Gary Stenger of Monrovia needed a new hobby about 10 years ago, when he became bored with a "pitiful television schedule."

Stenger, 70, said woodcarving filled the void left by his favorite television program.

"TV drove me to it," he said. "I joke that if ‘Gunsmoke' would have stayed on the air, I probably wouldn't have done it." Since taking up the hobby, Stenger has won five out of the last six the World Wildfowl Woodcarving Championships, held annually in Ocean City.

And some of his work is being displayed on the second floor of the Urbana Regional Library.

Sydney McCoy, branch administrator of the Urbana Regional Library, said the display was the first of its type at the library. She said they accept art work to display at the library, "as long as it's got merit," which she felt Stenger's work did.

His favorite, an owl perched on a branch, may not have won as much recognition as some of his other pieces, but it was personally rewarding to him. He spent 800 hours on it — his pieces typically average four or five hours of work — and "it gave [him] a headache" getting it right, but he says he still considers it among his best.

Stenger frequently visits the Smithsonian Institution Naturalist Center in Leesburg, Va., for reference work on his waterfowl carvings. He also uses books from the Urbana Regional Library.

But he also likes to share his love of woodcarving, and has taught a class for five years at the Fountain Rock Nature Center in Walkersville, as a volunteer for Frederick County Parks and Recreation. Stenger also teaches at the Howard County Senior Center, which he has been doing for two years.

Stenger gives back to the community by making wooden trucks for the Marine Corps annual Toys for Tots drive. Last year he made 50 trucks, all unpainted due to concerns about lead paint stemming from the recall of toys made in China in recent years. This year, he is only able to make 25 toys, which are due by Dec. 5.