Treasure Chest Thursday - The Hibben Home Creche

My creche is mostly composed of my wolf figurines with my mother's family's nativity set (which she had in our home while I was growing up). It gives me a peaceful feeling to see the old with the new and know that traditions from my childhood and my mother's live on in my home.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Holiday Books

My Christmas book display - many of these have been in my family for generations. I appreciate that my ancestors hung onto them.

Happy holidays.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Dominoes

We still use this set of dominoes . . . but have transferred them to another container to preserve the box. I love the graphics from this set, which has been in the family for close to 100 years!

Treasure Chest Thursday - Card Carried by Charles Lindbergh

"Miss M. Hollander" was my grand-aunt, Mary (Maria) Eva (AKA Mamie) Hollander.
What the circumstances were behind the acquisition of this card, I have no idea. It was among the Hollander estate items that ended up filtering down to me.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Froggy the Gremlin

Do you remember Froggy Gremlin, and the opening phrase "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!"? My husband and I have argued about whether it is Froggy Gremlin or Froggy THE Gremlin, but, according to what I'm finding on the Internet, my husband is correct with his addition of the article and THE wins out (I hate when that happens).

When we were kids, my brother and I obtained this rubber Froggy toy (located at a rummage sale, where the large abundance of our toys originated). Problem: my mother bought it and gave it to her 2 children, 6 years apart in age (Bob is the older). When we were children living in the same household, this was not a problem, but when we grew up we needed to determine ownership (of this as well as a large number of books, records, and toys). The books were fairly easily "divvied up"; ownership of most of the stuffed animals was also fairly easy to assess (one or the other of us was usually given the animal originally and though we had "traded" stuffed animals throughout our childhood, we decided that original ownership would be the determining factor); most of the records had been purchased for my brother, so he got those, with the understanding that all would be recorded and we would each have recordings of everything; but Froggy was a problem. He had literally been given to both of us. So we decided he would make the journey between Illinois and California on an annual basis, taking the trip each Christmas. We'd each have custody for a year, then he'd get to move to the other household.

In about 1978, my brother sent Froggy to me with a note that he could no longer handle the travel stress and that he was to stay with me. By this time, his rubber body was feeling the wear and tear and was rotting in places, most notably, his left foot. So I got him a little protective "display case" and there he stays, enjoying a spot of honor in our "frog room."

An interesting addition to this story: in 1979, my brother came to California and visited me. We went to a swap meet and there we found, low and behold, a king-sized Froggy Gremlin (at least twice the size of the little rubber guy I had). My husband (who loves to barter) bargained the seller down to $25 to get the toy for my brother. Now we each have a Froggy and many great memories of the TV show and how we used to watch it together.

Were you a member of the Buster Brown Gang (radio & TV) or Andy's Gang (TV)? Well, then, "Hiya, kids; Hiya, Hiya!"

(Note: all links provided above are to different bits and pieces of Froggy the Gremlin history, for those desiring to wallow in nostalgia.)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Iron dogs

Do you have one of these doorstops? I know that no self-respecting door would ever dare to close with one of these standing in the way. How did I end up with two? Well, they may have been separated at birth, but they were reunited out here in California about 15 years ago.

The first one (the one closest to the camera) is the one I grew up with - he stood in the cottage where my mother's family stayed in the summer. It was on the shore of Beaver Lake and I have fond memories of "playing" with this pup (good thing the floor was very solid). He used to have a leather collar but soon after I inherited him, it just rotted off (maybe it couldn't handle the change of climate from the humid midwest to the arid state of California).

Soon after moving to California I found myself spending most holidays with my first cousin, once removed (my dad's cousin) and her family in Riverside. There, at her fireplace hearth, stood an iron dog. I remarked about how similar it was to the one I had inherited from my mother's side of the family and when my cousin moved to Oklahoma, she called me aside and gave me the dog.

So now I have 2 iron dogs (neither one is relegated to door stop duty - they both stand guard on my hearth), one from each side of the family. Two more things to dust. Two more things to remind me of loved ones who have gone on to the next life. Two cherished pups.

Treasure Chest Thursday - the Toy Shelf

Remember any of these? These sit on the shelf in the "frog room" (the kids' room) at our house - nice and high and away from little fingers. Ah, memories.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Insignia for the USS Holland

My husband turns 72 years old today. He designed this for the USS Holland, a submarine tender, back in his Navy days. We have it on our wall (the larger version is somewhere else . . . Butch was part of the commissioning crew for the Holland; his son Quentin was part of the de-commissioning crew for the same vessel so who knows where the plaque would be now!).

Happy birthday, Butch.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Uncle Wiggily

On the road again. I've been rather quiet because of the travel and visiting schedule, but we are spending the night in our newly re-engined RV in a WalMart in Mississippi. Quiet, peaceful. Time to think of a Treasure from my collection back home, to which we are heading after we visit our son in Texas. So here is just such a treasure, a favorite character from my childhood.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Trik-E-Shot

Wireless "video" game.
Hours of fun and no batteries to wear down!

Treasure Chest Thursday - 12 August 2010 - John Brown's Civil Air Patrol Patches

These belonged to my granduncle, John ("Bun") Brown. He kept an active pilot's license until he was in his 90s! (No, he didn't continue to fly then, but he carried that license with pride.)

Treasure Chest Thursday - 5 August 2010 - Mema's watch

Among my grandmother's things was this "travel watch." The watch can be worn on a fob or chain, but also fits nicely in this little case, that then can be closed for easily transport. I haven't taken the time or money to get it running again, but plan to do that one of these days. Meanwhile, it sits on display in my home, a reminder of my grandmother, Pauline Elizabeth Miller Wilcox - we called her "Mema" - and her insistence that things happen in proper order and on time (I dusted her house every Saturday for a quarter, and I dared not be late!).

Treasure Chest Thursday - 29 July 2010 - Amusement Park Tickets

Knotts Berry Farm tickets, ca. 1970s

Disneyland ride tickets (the origin of the term "E ticket ride" - note, none of those are left . . . we used them all!), ca. 1970s

Treasure Chest Thursday - 22 July 2010 - Old Card Games

Crazy 8s with the front of the original box (only part of that remains . . . I played this game to death as a kid!)

One of my favorites from the Johnson family, Wisconsin . . . great birds! A Chantecler is a breed of chicken, but also has other meanings.

"Bourse" - a card game about the stock exchange. The values sure have changed over the years! (The word can mean the "European Stock Exchange," but can also mean "purse.")

"Authors" is still available today, but it dates back to the 1850s. It's a lot like "Go Fish," but the players get a little education about some of classical literature. I confess, much of my knowledge about the classics originated with this game! Now there are alternative versions (American and Children's authors) . . . couldn't find one with some of our current authors, though (but there's likely to be one out there including Dan Brown, Stephen King, Dick Francis, John Grisham, etc.).

In the days of our ancestors, if someone had a deck of cards, the evening's entertainment was assured! Of course, today, kids still pull something about the size of a deck of cards from their pockets to determine their evening's activity, but they seldom play with other people (well, maybe they play with people on line)! Break out the cards & have a fun evening with the family . . . in person!

Treasure Chest Thursday - 15 July 2010 - Carrom

The TRAPSCHUH family of Milwaukee (one son, Gustav, left to make his life in Ohio, then relocated to Spokane, Washington, where some of that part of the family still live) were great game players. They enjoyed such games as Carrom - shown here is their original set which I have stewardship over; it is really many games in one (and the board has 2 sides for more versatility - it hangs on my wall and pulling it down to photograph the opposite side was a bit cumbersome, so only one side is shown here, however, to see the other side, check the board one can still purchase - in a newer version - from Toys R Us). The history behind the game is described on Wikipedia.

Ah, the pre-video-game days did not mean boring evenings . . . and people probably talked to each other more while they played!

Treasure Chest Thursday - 8 July 2010

My first "number" puzzle. As the daughter of a mathematician, I got a lot of these types of games!

Treasure Chest Thursday - Usedit

This is part of a game I inherited from my grandaunt, Mary Louise Wilcox Brown. I suspect she received it from the game's creator as it has (not shown here) score sheets in an obviously home-crafted bag; the graphics all appear to be created as a sample - one copy of each game form - so this might have been the prototype. Here's what I know:

The apparatus works like a roulette wheel - you push a lever on the side and the wheel inside spins, sending a little ball around and around until the spinning stops. Then, depending on which of the many games one is playing, the cards or pieces are played accordingly. This is obviously many games in one. According to the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series: 1964: January-June, the copyright was applied for in 1964 as "the atomic game of the atomic era"; it is called "52 card roulette." As can be seen on the box, this copyright is 1949 with the phrase "the atomic games [plural] . . ." and notation that it is registered in the US patent office. Was this ever actually sold? Googling "Usedit" gets me nowhere (except to sites where someone forgot to put a space between "used" and "it" . . . lots of sites with that!).

As can be seen on the box, the pronunciation would be "U-sed-it" (as in "you said it"), not "usedit" (as in "used it"). But I see no indication of anyone "saying" one thing or another, so its name alone could be confusing (maybe that's why it was changed by 1964 when the Fiedler names - Irving and Marty - are given as you see them listed here . . . maybe one was the creator and the other was the financial backer . . . Marty Fiedler is listed in another source on games as a "California entrepreneur"). The phrase "flying disc of games" is not included in the 1964 explanation of the product. I would love any ideas on what it is I really have . . . something my grandaunt's friend created? something she picked up at a garage sale? She and her husband, John Brown, played many games and often with friends (they lived in Studio City in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, California, from about the 1930s until Mary Louise's death in 1995 when John returned to their home state of Texas), so it stands to reason that, if one of their friends had created or come upon a new game, that they (my relatives) would have gotten their hands on it; but it shows little, if any, actual use.

Is it a treasure? You tell me! It was in their game chest, so it's a treasure to me.

Treasure Chest Thursday - 24 June 2010 - The Singer Sewing Machine

One of Mom's favorite childhood "toys" (see yesterday's Wordless Wednesday) - I have the stewardship now.
Rest in Peace, Mom (gone 16 years today)

Treasure Chest Thursday - 17 June 2010 - Another Wilcox Memento

Dad (L. Roy Wilcox) died in 1999 and lived the last years of his life disgusted with modern technology (he had no use for cable TV, VCRs or video cameras), but he had been on the cutting edge of computers with his work at the Illinois Institute of Technology (he had wanted to build his own computer, but never got around to it). Nevertheless, whenever I would get a new gadget, he would scoff at it, declaring that the "old stuff" was good enough for him (he "preferred" audio recordings to video, perhaps a throw-back to the radio era, and would record on his homemade, mammoth reel-to-reel recorder any television shows that struck his fancy).

But he was not always that way. When my brother was born, it took him only a couple of years (and a hatred of borrowing equipment that belonged to friends of the family) to purchase an 8mm movie camera, projector, and screen. In fact, when a home audio recording system became available - allowing someone to actually make his own records that would play on a standard record player (78 rpm) - he purchased the entire system. I still own blanks of those "vinyl" (not really - these are breakable) records and the metal disc that was used in preparing the final product. I also have all the original recordings made of my brother and me singing songs that need not be reproduced here or anywhere, reciting nursery rhymes, and even creating and performing in our own "radio quiz show" (don't ask). The actual machine that recorded the material and cut the grooves is long gone (discarded when tape recorders became affordable and Dad built his first one from a Heath Kit), but the microphone remains! Here is the microphone from those early recordings (done in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s) and is maybe why I have no problem using a microphone today (hey, I was weaned on one!):


(manufacturer: Turner Crystal)

Treasure Chest Thursday - 3 June 2010

I am thrilled that the article I wrote about my father - L. Roy Wilcox - was printed in Family Chronicle magazine (May/June issue - still available at Barnes & Noble in some places, though Riverside & Corona stores are sold out). The article discusses his experience with bootlegging (he was only 16 and not really aware of the events until it was too late to disconnect himself). Anyway, Dad went on to become a mathematics professor - and very well known in his field - spending some of his post-graduate time at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, working with Einstein and Von Neumann. He played the flute in the Princeton orchestra (I still have that flute . . . maybe I'll blog more about that experience of his at a later date). When we cleared out his things when he sold the family home, I came on many of the tools of his trade. They are now part of our family museum. Dad's love of mathematics and music, and his ability to speak at least three foreign languages, were cause for his being highly respected among his peers. After his passing, I really began to understand all he had done in his life; I wish I'd known while he was still alive! Get to know your living family members . . . you never know what amazing things they did (and are doing) in their lives!