POCATELLO — Among a small group of local youths who have had tough childhoods, a 29-year-old Salvation Army employee is known as “Uncle.”

When birthdays are forgotten, Robert Wallace makes sure they get a party at his Old Town Pocatello home. When their cupboards are bare, Wallace sometimes drops by with goods from Salvation Army’s food pantry. He leads the kids on neighborhood cleanups, and buys them pizza as a reward for participating. He insists that they live sober and stay out of trouble.

But mostly, he and members of his informal youth group, Big Brother Lowriding, build bikes. The business card for his cause reads: “Get the youth off of the streets, and on a bike.”

Together, he and the kids re-purpose random junk, spare parts and old bicycle frames, giving their unique creations to locals in need. They’ve given away 75 bikes since 2013, not counting the slew of bikes Wallace has personally rebuilt for Salvation Army.

He serves as Salvation Army’s driver, janitor, cook and bike mechanic. Throughout the past month, about 15 of his refurbished bikes have found owners through the nonprofit’s thrift store.

“He built a bike for this man who needed to get to work at Amy’s Kitchen,” said Alonzo Lemus, social services coordinator at Salvation Army.

“One day the man comes back and tells Robert he’s saved up enough money to buy a car and returned the bike. It’s impactful.”

Some of Wallace’s bikes also help fill Salvation Army’s Secret Santa requests.

Wallace usually spends his free time searching for parts at yard sales or thrift stores, or tinkering on bikes in his back yard, typically assisted by a kid or two.

Wallace — who is 6-foot-2, lanky, has a shaved head and is covered from head to toe with tattoos, many of which he inked himself — has a soft place in his heart for children who are troubled and neglected.

“I was that kid,” he said.

Wallace explained his father went to prison when he was very young, and a while later, the state was forced to remove him from his mother’s care. Most of his childhood was spent with foster families, until his grandmother moved to Pocatello from Washington in 2004.

But he continued running with gangs, abusing drugs and alcohol and finding trouble with the law. For a time, he was homeless. And he too often found shelter in jail.

Wallace said he was finally motivated to do better after Juvenile Judge Bryan K. Murray visited his jail cell. Wallace recalls Murray asking him, “Is this where you want to be in your life?” The judge vowed he’d give Wallace a clean slate if he managed to graduate from high school. Wallace did.

“Nobody else gave me a chance,” Wallace said.

Unable to establish meaningful friendships growing up, Wallace found refuge in drawing pictures and building bikes, a hobby he started when he was 10.

He’s especially fond of “low-rider” cruisers, which are elongated, have a low seat and typically have tall handle bars. He’s creative in finding sources of bike parts, assuring that no two finished bikes are the same.

If Dr. Seuss designed a bike, it might well look like one of Wallace’s.

His favorite low-rider, which he named Locally Hated, has special rims, each laced with 144 spokes, felt covering its banana seat and chain guard and chrome motorcycle grips extending from the handle bars. A horn and rear-view mirror are attached to the front fork. Dangling dream catchers decorate it, as does a raccoon’s tail hanging from a wire extending from the rear. He added a headlight and speedometer from an antique tricycle, and the hollow tip of an old curtain rod serves as a valve stem cover.

Wallace gave away his first bike to a young boy named Fabian in 2013. While waiting for his school bus, the child took notice of Wallace’s crazy cruiser, shouting, “Hey, can I have that bike?”

It became a morning routine. Wallace would coast by and the child would beg for the bike. Finally, he decided to surprise Fabian with his own set of wheels. He went on to make bikes for the boy’s siblings — one of whom bore adult-like responsibilities at home and was on the verge of dropping out of school — and several friends who hung out at their home.

His brother-in-law, Michael Miller, and his fiancee, Anisha Miller, have helped him run his youth group.

Anisha Miller explained the children all sign an agreement to stay out of trouble and to get good grades. If they meet expectations, they’re entitled to keep a bike, and to help build new bikes.

But if they fall short, Wallace comes to reclaim their handlebars or seat — or their entire bike for major offenses.

“Respect is a big thing,” Anisha Miller added, noting the children are expected to treat others as they would like to be treated.

She serves as the “brains” of the organization, planning events and maintaining a website, big-brother-lowriding-28.webself.net, as well as a Facebook page.

In 2017, the youth group hosted a bike show, featuring the children’s bikes, at the POWMIA Awareness Rally in Idaho Falls. One of the bikes was auctioned off, and attendees voted for their favorite bikes.

“That guy is on the up and up,” Heidi Young, a special liaison to the POWMIA Awareness Association, said of Wallace. “He’s a good guy, and I have a lot of admiration for what he’s trying to do for the youth in our community.”

Lemus said the young bike group members occasionally stop by Salvation Army, where Wallace has worked for the past five years.

“They do come from bad situations they can’t help or change,” Lemus said. “It’s really nice for youngsters to look up to somebody like that.”