Tree Houses
Bicycles
Lionel Trains
Cap Guns
K-Pop Guns - shot ping pong balls
Kite Season - Hi Flier kites for a dime. Occasionally you would buy an expensive box kite.
Duncan Yo-Yos
Tops
Spirograph
The
View Master came out in 1939. It came with circular 4" cardboard with
14 slides on a reel. When viewed the images came across as
three-dimensional
Crayolas - in 1958, Crayola introduced the sixty-four crayon box, offering not only more colors, but a new built-in sharpener
Paddle Ball - small rubber ball attached to a wooden paddle by a thin rubber band
Wooden Gliders - you could buy for ten cents to a quarter at M.E. Moses
I had a tricycle, then a
two wheel bike I got while in Virginia. When I arrived in Texas, I got my
first new bike. The next bike had a heavyweight frame and multiple weight
tires. I never got stuck in the mud.
I traded something for an English three-speed bike. I had a Cadet odometer. I tracked all the miles I rode on my bike.
Mr. Potato Head, which came out in 1952, was always fun to play with.
ViewMaster debuted in 1939, but really took off in 1951 when they bought out their competitor TruView. You could pop in a reel,flick the lever and instantaneously have your own 3-D experience.
Tootsie Toys (no longer than three inches long) from the 1920s were replaced in popularity by Matchbox Cars which debuted in 1954. Their packaging of the wide variety of cards and tracks resembled somewhat the boxes of stick matches.
I had plastic army men, which you could buy by the bag at Moses. I also had a set of plastic knights - only about 6 in total.*
* Lots of plastic army sets were advertised in comic books, There were plenty of soldiers, but very small and of poor quality.
I had a microscope which came with various slides. I also had a telescope, but a very good one, for looking at the the stars. I also had a chemistry set, with which I managed to stain the rug in my room a bright Prussian Blue.
I also had a small combination safe: 8”x8”x8” to keep my “valuable” things in. I think I had it mostly to annoy my sister.
I had something similar to the Spirograph by interchanging disks. You could vary a circular design.
Had a Unger Wood Burning set. Why they thought we would not burn and transcribe every single piece of wood in their bedroom and not the small selection of wood which came in the kit, is beyond me.
We had a weaving loom which could weave pot holders for my mom. I have two of the pot holders, which my sister and I made for our mom.
I traded something for an English three-speed bike. I had a Cadet odometer. I tracked all the miles I rode on my bike.
Never had a pogo stick.
We tried to to make one one time, but it was a failure. I did have
a Radio Flyer red wagon.
Mr. Potato Head, which came out in 1952, was always fun to play with.
ViewMaster debuted in 1939, but really took off in 1951 when they bought out their competitor TruView. You could pop in a reel,flick the lever and instantaneously have your own 3-D experience.
Magic Slate - a toy
which consisted of a waxed black cardboard sheet, a sheet of grey plastic
tissue and then a clear sheet. You could write a “message.”
Full-size puppets - in
the 1930s, Edgar Bergen popularized ventriloquism, had Charlie McCarthy -
wise-cracking, monocle-wearing.
Paul Wintchell - had
Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smith.
Howdy Doody Show had a
cast of marionettes in the 1950s: Howdy Doody, Dilly Dally, Phineas T.
Buster, Flub-a-dub (I had).
Tootsie Toys (no longer than three inches long) from the 1920s were replaced in popularity by Matchbox Cars which debuted in 1954. Their packaging of the wide variety of cards and tracks resembled somewhat the boxes of stick matches.
I had plastic army men, which you could buy by the bag at Moses. I also had a set of plastic knights - only about 6 in total.*
I had some kind of
plastic/metal fort stockade.
* Lots of plastic army sets were advertised in comic books, There were plenty of soldiers, but very small and of poor quality.
I had a microscope which came with various slides. I also had a telescope, but a very good one, for looking at the the stars. I also had a chemistry set, with which I managed to stain the rug in my room a bright Prussian Blue.
I also had a small combination safe: 8”x8”x8” to keep my “valuable” things in. I think I had it mostly to annoy my sister.
The Crayola pack of
colors debuted in 1958 - never had one, we were quite content with our 24-pack.
I had something similar to the Spirograph by interchanging disks. You could vary a circular design.
Had a Unger Wood Burning set. Why they thought we would not burn and transcribe every single piece of wood in their bedroom and not the small selection of wood which came in the kit, is beyond me.
We had a weaving loom which could weave pot holders for my mom. I have two of the pot holders, which my sister and I made for our mom.
Pez - the pellet-like
Austrian candy, manufactured since the 1920s, made its first appearance as an
import in 1952. In 1955, the company introduced character dispensers.
One of the first, Santa Claus, made the candy a particular hit at
Christmas. Always got one in my Christmas stocking.
Modeling Clay - Long
since been replaced by Play-Doh. It came in a set of candy-bar sized
slabs, usually with small wooden or rubber molds to make impressions with.
Play-Doh - Developed as
a cleaning produc for wallpaper, Play-Doh was first sold as a toy in 1956, but
didn’t hit it big until 1957, when the original 24-ounce can of off-white was
divided into 4 smaller cans, adding colors red, yellow and blue. I never
liked the texture of Play-Doh, and it was clearly inferior to modeling clay.
Really meant for the younger-younger child.
Other toys - Silly
Putty, Slinky, Whee-lo (1957) gyroscope. Click Clack toy - you turned a
square and it clicked and clacked all the way down.
Game Time Line p. 50
Under the Tree
Pin Wheels – Could be bought for a dime at M.E. Moses. Celluloid in the generations before us, plastic in our generation. For several years, pinwheels were a staple at the State Fair.
Kites – Spring always brought clear and windy afternoons, which sent us to Moses to buy ten cent kites made by Hi-Test. A good kite could last two to three weeks, their life expectancy cut short when they landed in trees or had tail wrapped around an overhead wire. Your mom usually saved an old sheet which could be cut up in strips to form the perfect length and weight.
Bow and Arrow – I always had a bow and arrow set growing up. A small set with suction cup tips would give way to a series of Ben Pearson bow and arrow sets with arrows having real feather fletching. My last set also had an armguard and a shooting glove.
Marbles – Marbles were always sold in packages at Moses. Large “shooting” marbles were either Aggies or Moonies. Swirlies were white creamy colored marbles with one or two additional colors swirled together. Cat’s Eyes were clear marbles with colors swirled inside to form, with some imagination, “cat’s eyes.”
Cap Guns – We always had cap guns. I think at the height of my “Western” phase, I had a double holster set with white plastic handles and raised black stalling.
In the spring we always made grass blade whistles using St. Augustine grass. In the spring also came spear grass, which provided endless hours of fun throwing the little grass spears at each other. Hours later, at the dining table or even getting ready for bed, you would find errant grass spears wedged into the folds of your shirt or pants. Tromping about in the Texas wilderness in my later years, I experienced the same revelation with sand burrs.
We knew about stilts, but never made any. We did make can walkers. Number Ten tin cans attached with cord, so you could “stand” some 10 inches taller. Walking was virtually impossible, tripping and falling where the outcomes. We could hardly “invest” any time and energy without “immediate” gratification.
Spiral Tractors harkened back to Depression-era toys but they were fun to make, with a combination of wooden threading spools, rubber bands, a toothpick and an axle fashioned from a bit of soap. And you created something which actually moved – perfect!
Paper Poppers were another pleasant diversion. You always had surplus papers lying around to create a device, when the folds were creased just so, and you found the right combination of hand and arm coordination, you could illicit a loud pop from a single sheet of paper!
“Clearies” were clear marbles in various colors, yellow, red, green and blue. Visiting a pet store in Casa Linda Shopping Center, I realized you can buy clear marbles a lot cheaper than the small packages at M.E. Moses.
Frisbie - Pie tins from William Russell Frisbie's Connecticut bakery entertained many a Yale graduate after they finished eating the pie. In 1957 Wham-O produces the "Pluto Platters" which they re-name the "Frisbie" and goes on to sell more than 100 million of the flying discs.
Photo Electric Football - You set up two different football teams, offense and defense, on a metal playing field. You flip on the electricity and the players with tin plastic strips on their bottoms vibrated to cause players to move in wild and unexpected ways.
Wham-O Slingshots - You could buy replacement rubber band and steel ball bearing ammunition at C&S Hardware. I shot a small rock and hit a buddy's younger brother right above his eye and I never played with the slingshot again.
Slinkie - everyone had one.
Lincoln Logs - I liked this set the best.
Erector Set - I had a large set with a strong motor and metal parts.
Chemistry Set - Also by A.C. Gilbert who produced the Erector Set.
Hockey Game - large set up, players would rotate when you twisted the rods at the end of the court. The puck was a black marble, you could get a great amount of "English" to send the "puck" all the way to the end of the court. Great fun.
I had a combination safe which set on my chest of drawers next to my goldfish bowl to keep my "secret papers" from the prying eyes of my sister. She could care less.
Matchbox Cars
Wooden Blocks - I had two sets, one with smooth wood green blue and yellow. The other was stained in a light brown stain. I played with them both.
View Master
Moving Robot - with remote control, battery operated.
Army Set - green plastic men which replicated World War II fighting men with riflemen, infantry and signal men. Great play.
Knight Set - plastic knights on horses.
Alamo - pressed tin metal replica of the Alamo.
Marionettes - I had a Flub-A-Dub from the Howdy Doody Show.
Button
Spinner – the bigger button the better.
String is strung through button and wound up so the button would spin
backwards and forwards.
Pin Wheels – Could be bought for a dime at M.E. Moses. Celluloid in the generations before us, plastic in our generation. For several years, pinwheels were a staple at the State Fair.
Kites – Spring always brought clear and windy afternoons, which sent us to Moses to buy ten cent kites made by Hi-Test. A good kite could last two to three weeks, their life expectancy cut short when they landed in trees or had tail wrapped around an overhead wire. Your mom usually saved an old sheet which could be cut up in strips to form the perfect length and weight.
A
solution to not having a tail was the box kite.
They flew well, but still would find trees and wires, and they cost five
times more.
Bow and Arrow – I always had a bow and arrow set growing up. A small set with suction cup tips would give way to a series of Ben Pearson bow and arrow sets with arrows having real feather fletching. My last set also had an armguard and a shooting glove.
Target
arrows could be purchased at C + S Hardware up in Casa View Shopping
Center. They were sold by length. You could only look at awe at hunting arrows
and their razor blade tips. Most times
you have a quiver to hold your arrows. I
don’t think I ever had more than 10 arrows at any one time. Arrows always got lost in the grass. Despite what you see on TV, I never split an
arrow with an arrow.
Even on
vacations to go back East, I carried by bow and arrow set. I would set up targets behind wherever motels
we stayed.
Marbles – Marbles were always sold in packages at Moses. Large “shooting” marbles were either Aggies or Moonies. Swirlies were white creamy colored marbles with one or two additional colors swirled together. Cat’s Eyes were clear marbles with colors swirled inside to form, with some imagination, “cat’s eyes.”
Cap Guns – We always had cap guns. I think at the height of my “Western” phase, I had a double holster set with white plastic handles and raised black stalling.
Tom Mix,
the Western movie star before my time, always pointed his gun at some desperado
and shouted “Reach for the sky!” My
mother would always get amused when I would draw a gun and say “Reach for your
hands.”
In the spring we always made grass blade whistles using St. Augustine grass. In the spring also came spear grass, which provided endless hours of fun throwing the little grass spears at each other. Hours later, at the dining table or even getting ready for bed, you would find errant grass spears wedged into the folds of your shirt or pants. Tromping about in the Texas wilderness in my later years, I experienced the same revelation with sand burrs.
We knew about stilts, but never made any. We did make can walkers. Number Ten tin cans attached with cord, so you could “stand” some 10 inches taller. Walking was virtually impossible, tripping and falling where the outcomes. We could hardly “invest” any time and energy without “immediate” gratification.
The
unequal return on “investment” was also true for tin can telephones. You could never be sure if you were hearing a
voice from the can, or whether the voice came from your friend or brother or
sister, standing six feet away.
Spiral Tractors harkened back to Depression-era toys but they were fun to make, with a combination of wooden threading spools, rubber bands, a toothpick and an axle fashioned from a bit of soap. And you created something which actually moved – perfect!
Paper Poppers were another pleasant diversion. You always had surplus papers lying around to create a device, when the folds were creased just so, and you found the right combination of hand and arm coordination, you could illicit a loud pop from a single sheet of paper!
“Clearies” were clear marbles in various colors, yellow, red, green and blue. Visiting a pet store in Casa Linda Shopping Center, I realized you can buy clear marbles a lot cheaper than the small packages at M.E. Moses.
Frisbie - Pie tins from William Russell Frisbie's Connecticut bakery entertained many a Yale graduate after they finished eating the pie. In 1957 Wham-O produces the "Pluto Platters" which they re-name the "Frisbie" and goes on to sell more than 100 million of the flying discs.
Photo Electric Football - You set up two different football teams, offense and defense, on a metal playing field. You flip on the electricity and the players with tin plastic strips on their bottoms vibrated to cause players to move in wild and unexpected ways.
Wham-O Slingshots - You could buy replacement rubber band and steel ball bearing ammunition at C&S Hardware. I shot a small rock and hit a buddy's younger brother right above his eye and I never played with the slingshot again.
Slinkie - everyone had one.
Lincoln Logs - I liked this set the best.
Erector Set - I had a large set with a strong motor and metal parts.
Chemistry Set - Also by A.C. Gilbert who produced the Erector Set.
Hockey Game - large set up, players would rotate when you twisted the rods at the end of the court. The puck was a black marble, you could get a great amount of "English" to send the "puck" all the way to the end of the court. Great fun.
I had a combination safe which set on my chest of drawers next to my goldfish bowl to keep my "secret papers" from the prying eyes of my sister. She could care less.
Matchbox Cars
Wooden Blocks - I had two sets, one with smooth wood green blue and yellow. The other was stained in a light brown stain. I played with them both.
View Master
Moving Robot - with remote control, battery operated.
Army Set - green plastic men which replicated World War II fighting men with riflemen, infantry and signal men. Great play.
Knight Set - plastic knights on horses.
Alamo - pressed tin metal replica of the Alamo.
Marionettes - I had a Flub-A-Dub from the Howdy Doody Show.
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