Tag: toys

Mr. Potato Head and Friends Spark Nostalgia

Charlie and his friend Cammie had a great afternoon with the Mr.Potato Head set Laura got on Buy, Sell, Trade.

She washed all of the pieces.

The kids put them together and named them. Lots of characters with big personalities. Charlie (10) took the pics and added the text

And speaking of pieces, when I was a kid in the 50s that’s what you got with Mr Potato Head–(click for history). little plastic pieces to stick into a real potato.

Charlie’s photos reminded me of this blog post

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Ten years ago I went to an exhibit of toys from the ‘50s ‘60s and ‘70s at the Heinz History Center- downtown Pittsburgh 

  A sampling of the exhibit.

I went with the Retired Teachers after a luncheon at Lidia’s. Memories of childhood in America.  Here are a few-Erector sets and Tinker Toys. Lincoln Logs. Slinky and Etch-a-Sketch, Pac Man and Star Wars. Barbie dolls and GI Joe. Mr. Potato Head and trolls. Spirograph and Cootie.  Howdy Doody, Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers.  Maybe you’ll recognize one of your toys from your childhood. 

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I still didn’t throw them out

I used to have a blog called Keep or Pitch. I’d put up a photo of an item in my house and take a vote. Keep or Pitch? The idea was to move items out the door, to the curb, downsize, discard. A few blog readers received a ceramic squirrel, a book. I only regret mailing off some quilt pieces.

But here are the farmyard animals in a cloth, smoked ham bag from yesteryear.

They have been with me for 48 years so far

I’ve blogged these rubbery farm animals twice before in 2010 and 2018 with the title What I couldn’t throw out.

Well here we are in 2025.

And they resurfaced.

Again.

From 2010 and 2018 – the picture

TAG: FARM ANIMALS

WHAT I COULDN’T THROW OUT

First posted almost 8 years ago. Mark is now 42.

The kids all grown up and gone now, I’m still going through stuff in my house. Trying to clean it all out.

These animals with their faces, ugh.

Do you find it easy to throw things out?

From 2010.

WHAT I COULDN’T THROW OUT

Purchased in 1977 in New York City at Creative Playthings. Rubbery farm animals.  Nice to clutch and carry around when you’re almost two. I bought them for baby Mark who’s 34 now.  Maybe the paint is unsafe for the grandchildren, plus they have a hole in their stomach so whatever dirt and mold in the basement the past 20 years is living inside them.  I put them in the contractor bag to drag to the curb and I swear the cow’s eyes looked at me.

I took them out.

Photographed them.

Editors note: 2025. Mark is 49’now

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Wordless Wednesday

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Toy Hall of Fame Additions-Guest Blog

I received this nostalgic photo with two wonderful toys to the Toy Hall of Fame post from yesterday . Thank you blog follower Mary Kay M for the addition of these two noteworthy toys-Radio Flyer Wagon created by Antonio Pasin in 1917 and Lincoln Logs inducted in 1999 but created by John Lloyd Wright in 1916 the second son of Frank Lloyd Wright. –

There are a lot more toys to be documented but we’ve got a pretty good sampling now .

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Hall of Fame Toys

A few inductees from the list. Every year more toys are nominated and inducted. I asked if there were a Slinky in the house. (No there was not? But they did find….

My grandson Charlie snd his friend and neighbor Cammie were a big help gathering the items for the photo in this post.

A kind of scavenger hunt for some of the toys that are on the list of the Toy Hall of Fame. Yes, there’s an actual museum in Rochester New York. The Strong National Museum of Play states “The National Toy Hall of Fame recognizes toys that have inspired creative play and enjoyed popularity over a sustained period. Each year, the hall inducts new honorees and displays examples in the Toy Halls of Fame gallery.”

One of the items is a Cardboard Box.

A bicycle and kite weren’t readily available and there was no Barbie on the premises.

Here’s what Charlie and Cammie helped. collect for the pic.

Etch-a-Sketch,a Puppet, LEGO, checkers and chess, glass marbles, Yo-Yo, top, ball, Teddy Bear,Crayola crayons, baseball cards, wooden building blocks with letters on them. Play-Doh, sidewalk chalk, UNO, Clue , Scrabble, a Rubik’s Cube, Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, Star Wars Action figures ,and a Transformer. No Little ponies in their house, either.

A partial list we were working from to find examples in the house

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While Cleaning Toys in a Bin

I was in the backyard, sorting through a bin of old forgotten toys, dipping some in a dustpan of sudsy water. Wiping some of them off with a damp rag. Since my granddaughter (8) is visiting, I thought I’d see if there was anything interesting she might enjoy playing with,

The little faces just asked to be photographed after being stored away for so long.

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A Found Dollhouse

Sunday afternoon I drove to pick up my 8+ year old granddaughter to come and spend the summer at Grandma’s house. It was a long drive and we were almost home. I had just photographed some patio furniture left on the curb for pick up and in the next block I saw a big dollhouse.And I mean big!
I parked and went to the door and knocked. Is this for the garbage? Yes, you can have it. Oh my, Well we hauled it across the street and it was sooo big (which I didn’t realize before we carried it, that it would not fit into the back of my Subarau Outback which can hold a twin mattress!


So we put it back on the curb, disappointed for sure. I told Steve, after we unloaded the car with suitcases, that we saw the most amazing dollhouse but we couldn’t get it in the car.

Then he disappeared.

In about a half hour he returned with the dollhouse, He dragged it on a big cardboard until a lovely neighbor saw him struggling and assisted with a wheeled scooter.

And what a doll house it is A luxury mansion. Two hours of dusting cleaning cleaning cleaning and my finding some furniture and Laura’s dolls from her childhood and we have a terrific play place for the summer.

I brought out the little rug playmat for cars so she can sit on the porch without touching the chilly tile floor.

Hours of summer play
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Throwback Thursday Childhood Favorites

My grown up children have families of their own now. This little grouping of their special childhood toys is one I took using a Polaroid transfer process. If you’ve been a follower for a time you might remember this picture. That was the first sock monkey I ever made, about 47 years ago. You know I have trouble disposing of anything with a face looking at me. I actually matted and framed it. Was dusting it today and felt nostalgic. Thought it was a good Throwback Thursday from the archives.

Ned, the Cabbage Patch premie, came with a different name when Laura received it for her 4th birthday in 1987. Fessie the Pound Puppy is in Ohio these days. And little green doggie resides in Zagreb now.

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AKA Knucklebones

Jacks.

That’s how I know the game’s name. Saw this display at the Artist and Craftsman store.

IScatter the metal pieces. Throw the little rubber ball up. Quick! Pick up the right number of jacks. Onesies Twosies. Threesies……..hand eye coordination a must. I didn’t purchase the box and try to play. I remember my dad playing jacks with us. For the rules and list of tips and fouls and how to play correctly click here on The Genius of Play site Yes, there are rules.

Did you ever play Jacks? What name did you call them? Stepping on a stray game piece, when your feet are bare,would be as painful as a piece of Lego.

“Knucklebones, also known as scatter jacks, snobs, astragalus, tali, dibs, fivestones, jacks, or jackstones, among many other names, is a game of dexterity played with a number of small objects that are thrown up, caught, and manipulated in various manners.” Wikipedia

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A Tidy Life

Tidy-(adjective)- neat and orderly in appearance or habits : well ordered and cared for”

It’s the word that came to me as I peered into the bedroom of the dollhouse. The lights on the nightstand shut off automatically, so as to not waste battery.

No slippers, dirty laundry, not even a pile of books on the nightstand.

Tidy

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