A TOY STORY
By Carla Medlenka
This Christmas, some of the hottest toys under the tree will be battery operated, wireless, robotic, interactive, downloadable and digitally configured accoutrements to enhance American children's play experience.
Not so long ago, children amused themselves the "old fashioned way" - with imaginative make-believe fueled by long stretches of time to do nothing else. Toys were simple and were often a rarity during the limited wealth of the Great Depression era.
To gain insight into the playthings of yesteryear, I visited a group of grown-up girls and asked them to share memories of their favorite toys from Christmases past.
As you read their sharings, imagine a slower, simpler time when plastic, computers, satellite television, jet airplanes and Toys R Us were non-existent. Schools were small and lessons contained mostly the three "R's." Homework meant helping Mom with the chores - sweeping the floor, caring for siblings and assisting with mealtime.
Most of these ladies were born in the 1920s and 1930s and were delighted to spend time reliving the holidays of their youth.
Born in a suburb of New York in 1920, Ethel Gibson says she never liked dolls. "My father was a very strict college professor and all my toys had to have a purpose and teach me something," she recalls.
One Christmas Day, Ethel awoke to a huge, fancy rocking chair with a pile of books stacked on one side. "On the other side was a table full of goodies for me to eat while I was reading in the rocking chair."
Some of those goodies included pretzels and crackers coated with cream cheese, butter, and some kind of delicious spread that Ethel couldn't quite describe, but its memory brought a sparkle to her eyes.
"We set up a table with cookies and milk for Santa Claus on our front porch," Ethel remembers. "Because we didn't have a chimney, my mother always told me Santa came through our front door."
When she woke up on Christmas morning, the cookies and milk were always gone. Some things haven't changed!
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Anita Hanson was born in 1921 in Highland Park, New Jersey (near Trenton). She recalls a splendid Christmas celebration each year at her grandparent's dairy farm.
"Everyone in the family would drive to my grandparent's farm - there were about 25 or 30 of us total," Anita remembers. "Their parlor room doors were closed until everyone was there. Then the doors were opened and the Christmas tree stood with presents beneath it."
Anita remembers the china doll that her grandmother made for her one year. "She bought the head, and made the body out of muslin cloth she stuffed," Anita says. She described the doll perfectly, and says she still has her packed away somewhere.
