Katy Lifestyles & Homes December 2009
Experts say that classic toys will make a comeback this year. But can they
compete with Christmas top sellers like digital cameras for children,
educational toys, remote control toys and frozen snack machines?
The Katy Heritage Society has a collection of vintage toys, and we’re wondering how classic the comeback will be. Early toys were pretty simple and
children had to rely heavily on their own imagination to entertain themselves.
Marbles, spinning tops and smaller versions of the tools used by their parents
were popular.
Some toys are classic. Pogo Sticks have been around since the 1920s; so have
yo-yos. Parker Brother
’s Monopoly and Sorry games were first distributed in the 1930s.
Guns were very popular toys during WWII. Cap guns were made mostly of cast iron
until after the end of that war. Making a sound very similar to a gunshot with
a small burst of smoke, the popular toys were manufactured to look like real
guns. Toys like this could get you arrested today.
Silly Putty is a classic toy that was invented by accident during WWII when
scientists were researching synthetic rubber. Since then, the putty has been
used in stress-reduction and physical therapy and was used by Apollo astronauts
to secure their tools in zero-gravity.
Favorite toys in our collection are the ones our visitors remember playing with.
A few toys that seem to make folks get sentimental are the Betsy Wetsy doll, an
Ideal Toy Co. creation released in the late 1950s; Betsy
’s open mouth accepted a liquid filled bottle, and whatever went in quickly came
out the other end. Children gained valuable diaper-changing experience, and we
hear stories about various liquid experiments. Mr. Potato Head was also
released in the 1950s. The toy originally came with only the face pieces,
children were actually supposed to use a real potato. This was the first toy
ever advertised on television. The hula-hoop and Frisbee also debuted in the
1950s.
In our collection we have a circa 1960s Vac-U-Form. This toy was manufactured by
ToyMax and
used a 110 volt hot plate to allow children to melt sheets of styrene plastic to
make a mold of many items. Accessory kits were available so you could pour a
slimy goo into molds and make Creepy Crawlers. More than a few fingers were
burned on the toy, and we doubt you
’ll see it back in stores. Folks who remember this usually recall the original
sizzling metal Easy Bake Ovens.
Toys are safer now; many classic toys would be considered dangerous today. Lead
figures, lead paint, sharp metal, small parts and more would keep them off the
shelves of present day toy stores.
l
the retro trend: can classic toys make a comback?
The Milton Bradley Company was founded in 1860 in Springfield, Mass. and was
independent until acquired by Hasbro in 1984. Their most famous game was 1949
’s Candyland, but in 1958 they introduced the educational Fractions are Fun. • This real steam engine was manufactured in the 1930s. Accessories could be
attached to operate working grinders and other tools.
• Vac-U-Form, a plastic mold machine. • This army toy is WWI Manoil lead soldiers with a big spotlight. • Betsy Wetsy, the first doll to take a real drink of water from her own bottle.
Some toys are classic. Pogo Sticks have been around since the 1920s;
so have yo-yos. Parker Brother’s
Monopoly and Sorry games were first distributed in the 1930s.
Katy Lifestyles and Homes Magazine features
Katy Homes, Upscale Living, Health and Well-Being,
Shopping, and Entertainment in Katy Texas.
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