Our Family Museum Collections from A to Z – “B” for Baby Toys & other things

This post I was going to write about our albums for the “A” in A to Z, however, since the two albums that are in the museum are from our wedding and honeymoon, I thought it would be more appropriate to write that post in November when it will be our 45^th Wedding Anniversary. Until then, permit me to continue this journey of the A to Z Collection, continuing with “B” for Baby Things.

First Keith’s:

For his first Christmas, Santa gave him a toy police car (it probably had a siren that sounded when the car was pushed) and stuffed vinyl lamb. This type of stuffed animal was very popular because mom could wipe it clean after it was placed in the mouth and thrown on the floor. The car is long gone but he still has his lamby.

Years ago, his mom was in a rarified mood when she opened her cedar chest full of family heirlooms. At that time she decided to start passing on the things she saved and by doing so, enjoyed seeing the wonderful expressions of surprise and delight on her son’s face when she gave him his baby shirt. The face on the shirt is of a bunny rabbit, his ears stitched in yellow and blue buttons for eyes and blue stitching for his nose and bow tie. Keith’s thinks his sister did the sewing. As the shirt’s material was fragile, I put it into a shadow box for preservation. I put cotton stuffing in the shirt and sleeves to give it some shape. Keith was thrilled when I presented it to him as a Christmas gift.

A selection of plastic animals, wooded alphabet blocks, his baby shoes and one knitted sock, along with a tin coffee pot and china cup is quite an eclectic collection. Most of these toys were hand-me-downs from his brother’s and sister. Keith loved his two boy dolls; one with the red jacket and black pants handmade by himself with his sister’s help. The little Indian boy and drum with its leather top was given to him by his uncle who lived out west. The tiny log cabin is ceramic as is the log and ax. With Keith’s birthday being the same as President Lincoln’s, he always had a log cabin chocolate cake for his birthday. Though they were not toys, the drawing of the train and the bunny handkerchief were from his first grade school days proudly displayed on the top shelf. 

One of the oldest toys’ in Keith’s collection is the cowboy on his horse. It is a vintage wood and metal toy, circa 1940s called a "Steven Rock-A-Toy." This toy was also handed down to him by his older brother. In its prime, the horse was attached to a long rod with a weighted foot attached. When you pushed the horse, the cowboy would take a rocking-good ride on his horse, his head and arms swayed along with the horse’s head, moving back and forth as he rocked. The rod is long gone and the horse shows some wear-and-tear, but the cowboy is still riding into the sunset.

These are but a few of Keith’s precious toys from his childhood, and as he grew up his toys changed and I will post about them later. Now for my toys . . .    

Compared to Keith’s, it looks like I didn’t have many toys, at least those that got saved. But what I still have is none-the-less precious.

I think all babies born in 1950 got a stuffed vinyl lamb. Mine is a bright yellow with blue and red triangles printed on the shiny vinyl. My lamby also had curly eyelashes. Putting the two lambs’ side-by-side, mine looks like a girl lamb and his a boy lamb. It is truly amazing that we both had the same toy and still do.

I can’t begin to tell you why many of my baby toys were not saved like Keith’s. I can’t even remember having many toys, but I surely must had a few. I do recall a baby doll, but not until I was older. The first doll I truly cherished was my Barbie doll, and I had already told you that story. So on my side of the museum is but a few of the baby items that were saved. Such as my ceramic baby dish.

Of course, I do not remember eating out of it. But I do recall playing with it. Just like my mom did, I put water (not hot like it is meant to have) and pretended to feed whatever baby doll I had. The dish is in excellent shape and still retains its bright colors. I did some research on the dish and found there are plenty to be had. That’s nice but sad at the same time. I am happy that I still have my baby dish, but wouldn’t the many others who also did would still like to have it, too?  
My baby shoes are still enchanting as is my baby hair brush. If I ever needed my hair for a DNA test, there is plenty of it still on the brush. 
 
This photograph was taken sometime in 1952. My older brother Eddy is next to my mom Dorothy. I am being held by my dad, Bill. My mother use to say she had the perfect family, a boy for you, and a girl for me. Except, Ed was mama’s boy and I was daddy’s little girl. That explains a lot about my childhood. The other picture is of me on Lake Michigan beach. I wish I could remember that day. It looks like I was having a lot of fun!

Finally, my toy kitchen set that miraculously got saved. This vintage 1950s Wolverine Tin Litho Yellow Kitchen Stove, refrigerator and sink is rare, because when I researched this, I never saw the set in yellow. It came mostly in pink. I did see a blue refrigerator and a pale yellow stove, but never a yellow set. This must have been one of the earlier made sets by the Wolverine Supply & Manufacturing Company (1903-1950) founded in Pittsburg, PA by Benjamin Bain and his wife. And I think my dad bought it for me because he was from Pennsylvania and visited his brother who lived in Pittsburg. And it is interesting to read that the company closed in 1950, the year I was born.  

So that’s it for baby toys. I am happy that they were saved and continued to be cherished. Another thing that’s interesting is when I need to research a particular item and when I find it, it is quite thrilling. As they say, part of the fun is the thrill of the hunt. Tally ho and the way I go to the next hunt. Fun awaits!

       

Thursday Toys

I feel I am out of touch with what toys kids play with today. My two have grown up to be stellar adults (no bragging here) and it has been a very long time since I last observed what toys are popular today. So I did some research and this is what I found out.  Kids don’t want toys anymore. They want robots and computers. Here is a few of these tech-based toys that leave imagination at the doorstep.

The Kiddizoom Smart Watch they wear on their wrist that offers games, an alarm, and even a camera that takes and edits photos and records videos. I am sure this watch won’t be worn to school.

You know how kids are always scarred about the monster under their bed? Well, this toy gives a whole new identity for that monster. It is called Xeno, an interactive monster that can display more than 40 different expressions through its animated LCD eyes (scary) has a pull-out snot dripping from its nose (lovely) and can fart to order. (What’s that smell?) I have no words for this one.

Remember when dolls were quit, quite until you made the crying noise. With this new doll, the child needs no imagination at all. She is called My Friend Cayla, and after you read what she can do, I would not want a friend like her. She is an interactive doll that syncs with an Android or iOS device through Bluetooth and understands speech through voice-recognition technology. Questions put to her will be searched online through the paired device’s internet connection, and she will respond by talking the answer. Should a parent worry about what Cayla might say? Oh no! The parent can rest assured that many pre-defined bad words or subjects are blocked through a dedicated app that can unlock different terms as a child ages, such as age-specific sexual educational topics. And what exactly does the child do? Nothing, because Cayla also plays games, tell stories and discusses photos. Discuss photos? I fear what these toys manufacturers will think of next. Oh, they already have. I read that amid huge strides to make toys “non-gender specific,” children simply make up their own minds about what they wanted. What is wrong with gender-specific toys? It must be a generational hang up.

The way we played, our imaginations fired up the toys. We did not need some iOS device or LCD to light up the toy’s eyes. The simplicity of our toys asked or required the child to invest a lot of imagination in playing with them. There was a poignancy in that simplicity. Modern games can be complex and spell out lots of details for children to observe, but toys like a dollhouse, bike, building blocks, and paper dolls, teach instead of merely entertain. A sad point to highlight here is how many toys were meant to be played out in the fresh air while today’s children are very likely to be indoors.

Our family museum is filed with toys. While growing up both my husband and I had only a few toys, but they were well made and played with, and gave us the tools in which develop the skills we have today. What skills are these high-tech toys giving children today? If you know, I would enjoy knowing it.

When next you have a child visit your family museum, take some time to show them what a good toys is. Encourage them to use their imagination. Better yet, give them some paper and a pencil. That is by far still the best toy to play with.

Next Post:  Friday Feature

 

 

Diamonds in the Rough at Yard & Garage Sales

Continuing the new blog section titled, “Diamonds in the Rough,” covering many of the places in the world (maybe not quite all but many) where one finds, buys & sells antiques. Just look at your local and major newspapers in the Classified Sections to find the places that are hosting these events:

èAuctions  èAuction Sales  èIndividual Classified Sales èDownsizing Sales èFlea Markets èEstate Sales èGarage Sales èMoving Sales èYard Sales

Today, I will post about finding antiques at
Yard & Garage Sales   

Pick up any newspaper and there is a section for many weekend yard and garage sales. Some are listed individually, others are listed as Multi-Family Yard Sales, Moving Sales, Flea Markets, and some get fancy and call them Residential Estate Sales. Some will be specific, such as one ad that stated the sale was a Craft & Sportsman Show. How did a “show” get listed among the sales?

I guess it doesn’t matter, so whatever the event is called, you will find a plethora of things, some you need, others you want, and for that main reason you search out these sales, the bargain awaits. Better yet, it’s to find that diamond in the rough. So off you go!

In my local newspaper the yard sale page has a Locator Map. How convenient. Depending on how much time you have, how far you are willing to travel, and of course, how much money you can spend, you map out your routes and locations. To make it easier on yourself, because these excursions can be quite taxing, read what each sale has to offer. For instance, say you are looking for toys. As for a toy to be classified as an antique, the ad may read, vintage toys. 


The first ad in today’s paper offering toys is the moving sale. Not detailed at all and just the address is given. I look for it on the locator map, but the street name is not there. How can I find this place? No phone number either, so I guess I won’t be going there. Check that one off my list. Letting my fingers do the walking, I find an ad that lists antiques, furniture, porcelain dolls, etc. Now this looks promising. But once again, I can’t locate the street on the map and no phone number. This is getting frustrating and I haven’t even left the house. I better get a better map if I am going to find any toys at all.

Continuing my paper search, I find in bold print the word HUGH . . . HUGH Yard Sale with explicit directions, and it lists toys! Though there was still no phone number, the address was clear and I found it on my big map. 

Reading the next ad, I can tell the person who was conducting the multi-family yard sale knew what he/she was doing. It read, “Balloon on mailbox.” Now how clever is that. The ad even gave which entrance to use when entering the sub-division. Smart, indeed.  Found more toys in the next ad and this one, too, gave good directions.

Along with the fancy Residential Estate Sale ad, there was another unusual yard sale. This one said, in bold type, REMODELING SALE. The ad went on to say, NO EARLY BIRDS! Limited Quantity, Cash Only! Immediate Removal Required. Wow! Lots of rules. And no wonder why. It was some sort of resort that was obviously doing some updating. I’m sure there were many bargains there, but I wasn’t interested in beds and furniture, so I continued to read on.

Then the Estate Sale ad caught my eye because it listed “doll collection.” Now here may be a good place to start my scavenger trip.  You got to start somewhere and the sooner you get to where you want to go, there is more opportunity to find the good stuff. I had to laugh when a following ad read, in bold, of course, “The Best is First, Sat. 7am – 2 pm. I like the adage, First come, first serve. Or this one, The Early Bird gets the worm. So when you plan your yard sale search, do so days in advance. That way, as soon as you finish your coffee, the hunt is on.

After reading 29 ads, I found only three that interest me, and wouldn’t you know it, all places were at opposite sides of town. Oh well, as long as I can find at least one toy for my collection, I will be happy. I might even find things I don’t need, shouldn’t want, but will buy any way. So wish me luck and the same to you.

P.S. As I was looking for yard & garage sale signs on Google Images, I came across another moniker for this type of merchandise sale. It is called a Rummage Sale. Now I haven’t heard that word it years and laughed when I saw it. The word rummage means, (slang, U.S.) search, hunt, ransack, scour, look everywhere, look high & low, leave no stone unturned. Also, for all you yard sale buffs, here are two websites for you to investigate:
http://www.127yardsale.com/
August 7-10, 2014.
The 127 Yard Sale covers 690 miles from Addison, MI to Gadsden, AL and boasts thousands of vendors.

http://www.shenandoahcountychamber.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=136
http://youtube/UubWDb9eqqc
Yard Sale Ahead: The Route 11 Yard Crawl - The Movie

Next Post: Auction Sales
 

Diamonds in the Rough at Estate Sales

Beginning today is a new blog section titled, “Diamonds in the Rough,” covering many of the places in the world (maybe not quite all but many) where one finds, buys & sells antiques. Just look at your local and major newspapers in the Classified Section to find the places that are hosting these events:

èAuctions  èAuction Sales  èIndividual Classified Sales èDownsizing Sales    èFlea Markets èEstate Sales èGarage Sales èMoving Sales èYard Sales

Today, I will post about finding antiques at an Estate Sale.

On a misty Friday morning, my daughter and I went to check out an Estate Sale at a home we knew of in town. The home was of a prominent family and the sale was being held in the house itself. The ad in the local paper read: 

First-in-line-First-Thur-the-Door.” Historic Sale in a Historic area!

Items for sale were 18^th & 19^th Century Furniture & Antiques, China, Porcelain, Oriental Rugs, Antique Toys & Christmas ornaments, collectibles, postcards, and much more. As the ad read, we knew parking in the historic area was limited, but we knew where the house was and where to find parking. So off we went, umbrella in hand.

When we got there, about a dozen people were already in line, umbrellas soaked with rain. As we waited, we observed the deteriorating condition of the fairly recently constructed home. In fact, we saw it being built in 1996. So as for the home being historical, it was not, but the neighborhood was.

As we waiting, conversations among the crowd were casual and friendly. My daughter asked the lady standing next to her if she knew the family. “Absolutely,” the neighbor stated. “My family and theirs were friends for many, many years. The owner was a well-known building contractor. He built this house.” I could read my daughter’s mind as we both looked at the peeling paint on the windows, wondering if he was such a fine builder, why was his house in need of repair.” I soon found out the reason.

As she continued to talk about the family and taking much pride in her knowledge of them, I asked her if she knew the reason for the estate sale. Her face became somewhat melancholy when she said the couple were both deceased. With a quick recovery from the brief glum mood, I asked her if she knew why everything in the house was for sale.

Were there not family members that should have been given these antiques? Emphatically she replied, “Oh! There are three children and they had already taken what they wanted!” What was left I guess they didn’t want. And goodness me, the things they left behind made me question not only why, but what were the things they did keep? As we finally gained access into the house . . . two had to leave before two more would be let in, we were directed to go into the formal living room still filled with many pieces of fine furniture. Most of it still nice but worn. You could tell that the residents of the home were wealthy and had exquisite taste. Next room was the formal dining room, paneled from ceiling to floor, and must have been the site of many fancy

dinners. The table had stacks of beautiful china, glassware, and tablecloths. On a small table were a selection of old books. As my daughter is a bibliophile at heart, she was thrilled when she found a child's school book she had to have. I have plenty of dishes and glassware, so off we went into the kitchen. You could tell that it was a serious culinary center, counters and cabinets everywhere. Again, piles of dishes, rows of crystal glasses, many colorful vintage Depression glass, all there for the buying. 

Nothing here for us, so we stepped down on thru the long hall into the family room. Gracious me! There was an entire wall of shelves with more china and porcelain antiques,

knick-knacks, books, statuary, candlesticks, etc. On a large table, silver platters, teapots, and more dishes covered every inch. There was two massive chests, a large glass curio cabinet, two wooden armchairs and a very fine card able. With all that furniture, one would wonder if there was room for people. 

Again, nothing we wanted, so up the long staircase we went, then directed into a large bedroom. Here tables of toys reigned, evidence that there were children in this family and the builder husband/father created dollhouses, cradles and toy furniture. Boxes of Christmas items filled several tables. The children must of love reindeer because there had to be at least eight boxes of them alone. In the dressing room were more boxes

of Christmas tree glass ornaments, many vintage and very collectible. I even looked for one particular ornament I remember has a kid, but have yet to find it. 

The only thing I found that I wanted was a miniature replica of the famous statue of the Three Graces. My daughter bought it for me.

Back downstairs to pay for our finds. While my daughter waited in line, I looked around and felt the sad emptiness and silence that was soon to be in this house once filled with children, dinner parties and life. Sales like these make me sad. Even though the descendants got what they wanted, none of them wanted to keep the house. It was being sold after the sale. If one of them kept the house, that bookcase in the family room would have made a perfect Family Museum. It could have had some of those vintage toys, a few of those gorgeous dishes, photographs and antiques on display. But it was not meant to be. So back out into the misty weather and home to write about my time at an estate sale.

Next time you read about one of these sales, go to it. Do not be intimidated by the hoity-toity and snooty sounding moniker. The estate sale manager hired by the family is there to organize and sell. Many times the things that remain are transferred to another sale called an Estate Auction. This subject I will cover later. All of these sales is to make as much money for the seller as it is for the owner. But you never know when someone missed and you found a diamond in the rough.  Happy Hunting!

FYI: Visit online Estate Sales & Estate Auctions Directory   http://estatesales.org

Next Post: Yard & Garage Sales

Thursday Toys

My husband, Keith, has many of his childhood toys in the museum. There is a pair of Colt 45 play guns, his cowboy and Indian figures, and his uniform from the Awana Pioneers. Space guns and an Oscar Myer Weiner Whistle among many others..

     Keith was the youngest of five children and coming from a big family, gifts were few. But there was this one wealthy relative who gave great Christmas presents. When Keith went to his grandmother's house one Christmas, and after the gifts were passed out, he couldn't believe he got a really big box. A big box usually meant a big expensive gift. Knowing it came from his wealthy uncle, Keith was very excited. He knew it had to be a great gift. Upon its unwrapping, he couldn't believe his eyes.  Big Max Electromagnet, arm-lift, conveyor. Batteries included.

     Big Max was a yellow robot with one red eye and a green light on his head. Three levers made his body, his arms, and one big claw move in all sorts of directions while the conveyor belt moved small objects that Max could pick up. Keith played with Max for years, challenging him to some strenuous maneuvers. Every time he looks at Max, he goes down memory lane.

     Sometimes, as he gazed into the museum, he would get misty eyed when he would look upon the wooden trucks and boats his father made. Marvin was an excellent carpenter. During WWII, toy trucks were not available. So Marvin fulfilled those needs by making toy trucks out of scrap wood for a local hardware store.

                    He also made fabulous remote‑control speed boats and airplanes.

During their summer vacations at Big Stone Lake in Minnesota, Marvin and Keith would race them. His father is gone now, but with nothing more than a light touch upon the toys, Keith can feel his father's presence and keep him in his heart forever.

The happiness Keith feels when he looks at his toys in the family museum is hard to discribe. In today's fast-paced world, it is a challenge to find the time to ponder on past enjoyments. But when you can actually see and touch those precious

toys and other childhood treasures, you are giving yourself a gift of time to enjoy life. So, go find your old toys and put them in your family museum and maybe take a Thursday now and then to enjoy them.

Next Post: Friday Feature