Timeless toys

P Toys can evoke fond memories of younger days

By Laura Johnston

Southeast Missourian

Byron Bonner was a fan of the X-Men action figures, especially Wolverine. It was the one toy he never wanted to part with. Eventually, he did.

Now 16, Byron also has fond memories of his Fisher-Price lawn mower that blew bubbles.

"But I played with Barbies too," he said.

Whether it was stacked Legos, Matchbox cars or the colored pegs of a Lite Brite, it's not hard to remember a favorite toy. Some of the most popular ones -- Barbies, GI Joe and Easy-Bake ovens -- are included in a new exhibit open now at the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis, Tenn. Another exhibit begins Oct. 19 in Cape Girardeau.

The "Kid Stuff: Great Toys from Our Childhood" exhibit will display popular toys that needed no batteries, only imagination.

The exhibit, open through Dec. 31, was created from the "Kid Stuff" book by David Hoffman, which encourages children to use their imagination to make games and toys.

Kevin Davey, 21, remembers his favorite childhood toy, an invention that was wildly popular with boys in the mid-1980s.

His prized possession: The "Optimist Prime" Transformer.

"I was 6 and it was a really cool cartoon," he said. Transformers were small cars or trucks that could be converted into robotic-like figures.

Amanda Benn, 15, was enchanted with her Good Luck Care Bear as a child. Her older brother played with Ninjas and action figures while she stuck to stuffed dolls and Barbies.

Benn had Care Bears of all sizes, but "the littler ones would get lost with the Barbies," she said. And that meant digging through the toy box to find them.

Whatever their design, toys offer opportunities for children to use imaginations and develop skills.

Dr. Marvin Berkowitz, a professor of character education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, is the research director of the Toy Research Institute.

"Play has long been understood to provide diverse growth opportunities for children," he said.

Researches have used it to study thinking and social skills, character and communication in children. The focus is to "promote the positive benefits of toy play," Berkowitz said.

And favorite toys can conjure up great memories. Every generation has a different toy it makes popular, whether it's Hula Hoops and Tinkertoys or Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

Cape toy exhibit

But the toys of days gone by aren't much like today's favorites. An exhibit of antique toys that date from the 1880s to 1918 shows how much toys have changed -- today's plastic pieces replaced traditional tin and cast iron.

The collection includes primarily wind-up toys and includes a World War I toy biplane.

"It's a delightful and mind-boggling exhibit," said Marge Thompson of the museum, which is at Frederick and Independence streets.

Items like dolls and little toy figures are timeless toys that last for many generations. They're the kinds of toys that many of today's parents remember fondly and want to share with their own children, said Maureen Smith, senior director of marketing for the Hasbro creative play division.

Hasbro makes many of today's most-recognized toys, like Lite Brite, Tinkertoys, Easy-Bake ovens, and Star Wars items. Hasbro also is the parent company for the Playskool brand.

One of Hasbro's primary goals is to keep toys modern and geared toward today's kids.

"There's always room for toys that are true to their roots and can still evolve to stay relevant to the consumer," she said.

Smith said she never got to play with an Easy-Bake oven as a youth, so when her own daughter turned 4, Smith bought her one. "I wanted to play too," she said.

Some of the best toys encourage creativity in a child, Smith said.

"They can express themselves and it has an end result," she said. She said many parents enjoy Play-Doh or Lite Brite toys because they can play together with their children.

Barry Pender, 39, remembers his son's affinity for Tonka trucks and Play-Doh.

"His attention wasn't such that he'd stay a long time, but he could spend hours with Play-Doh," Pender said.

Parents who spend time playing with their children can connect on different levels, Smith said.

"They view that as not only constructive but quality time together," she said.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126