Exhibit Index: "Toys in the Attic"
HISTORY MUSEUM SHOWS OLD TOYS, ORNAMENTS
The Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Society opened its "Toys in the Attic" exhibit Dec. 8 at the society's museum in the former Northwestern Railroad Depot next to the Sussex Piggly Wiggly. Fred H. Keller, Staff Writer, December 14, 2005
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TOYS
OLD AND DEAR—SLAHS president Betty Mindemann shows off her prized
1910 doll, a 1934 gift from her grandmother, and her 1938 “Shirley
Temple” doll. |
Society President Betty Mindemann loaned many of the items on display, including a doll, named Stella Marie, her grandmother gave her in 1934, when Betty was six years old and recovering from polio in a Milwaukee hospital.
The doll is now 59 years old. Mindemann also loaned the museum another doll, the once popular "Shirley Temple" doll she received as a gift in 1938.
A set of "tin" (really lead) soldiers came from Lisbon resident Peter Sparrow's collection. Nearby are 10 molds for forming new soldiers by pouring molten lead into them, a major hobby of fathers and their young sons going back to the founding of the United States. These more modern molds of the 1930s displayed at the museum have soldiers encased in the open molds so one can see the process.
Public access to the museum is limited during the winter. Groups who want to see the antique Christmas decorations and the "Toys in the Attic" exhibit, may call the curator, Fred Keller, (262) 246-3603, to schedule a show-and-tell tour.
The society has also sent out a series of invitations to area fourth-grade classes for a visit to the display next month. The Sussex Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a visit for their January meeting.
The society's quarterly meeting, held just before the exhibit opening, also attracted enthusiasts interested in Christmas items from the past, whether old-time tree decorations or toys of bygone years.