Simple Fun Virtual Tour – For Adults

Our rotating exhibit is “Simple Fun,” a fun showcase of different games, toys, and other forms of entertainment throughout the ages. Keep scrolling for a virtual tour of what we have on display.

Welcome to Simple Fun – A time when social interactions were person-to-person, before technology impacted the way we communicate. This exhibit will take you on a nostalgic journey through a time when families had fun playing and being together.
A stereoscope is an entertainment device intended for viewing a pair of separate images, depicting left-eye and right-eye views of the same scene, creating the visual effect of a single three-dimensional image. This particular model is from 1867.
Below we have the View-Master, which evolved from the stereoscope, which use small cardboard disks of images which can be viewed through the binocular-like machine. The museum’s collection includes two different models of View-Masters from the 1960s. (Click on the images below to enlarge)
Lucky Elephant Pink Candy Popcorn is a Canadian candy that has been around since the 1950s. Charleston Chew was created in 1922, named after the Charleston, a popular early-20th century dance. They were bought by the Tootsie company in 1993. Red Hots Candy were made in the 1930’s under the name “Cinnamon Imperials.” They are made through the “cold-panned candy method:” tossing sugar in a rotating pan while adding other ingredients, including cinnamon, before coating it with a shell.
These are electronic games. The Einstein toy is a memory game made by Castle Toys in 1979.
The doll on the left is an Eaton Beauty Doll. Over its 100-year history, the Eaton Beauty Dolls have been treasured by children and collectors! Every year, a different doll was released.
From https://www.historymuseum.ca/:
In 1900, Eaton’s catalog introduced the first Eaton Beauty doll. The advertisement read: “Eaton Beauty, all jointed, special $1.00; large sizes from $1.50 to $10.00 each.” The smallest dolls (20 inches [50.8 cm] tall) were a dollar, a price that was maintained until 1916.
These are an old pair of Dominion Bob Skates, which can still be purchased today.
Sports are an important part of the community then and now! This is the Bat Boy’s jacket from the Kronau baseball team in 1946, donated by John Schnieder.
Artifact no. 5 is a Slinky Kitten, an example of a “pull toy.” Vintage pull toys are very collectible and valuable today.
Featured in our board games exhibit is a metal Chinese Checkers board, a game played with marbles which sit on top of the little holes you see in the board.
From https://www.britannica.com/:
Chinese checkers, a game for from two to six players, derived from Halma, was introduced in the United States in the 1930s. It is played in the same way as Halma, except that the pieces are usually marbles (each player has 10 or 15) and the board, in the shape of a six-pointed star, has holes instead of squares.
This is a vintage handheld pinball game. Much different than playing Pinball on the computer!
These are Red Rose Tea Ornaments, made by a company called Wade Pottery. In 1967, Red Rose used to have these little collectibles as prizes in their teas.
From redrosetea.com:
When Red Rose Tea began to offer Wade miniatures in 1967, it wasn’t uncommon to promote food and beverage items with free premiums. Even so, the success of Wade figurines for Red Rose was unprecedented, boasting a production run for the first series of miniatures that numbered in the millions. The miniatures soon became a perennial item in boxes of Red Rose Tea. To date, it is estimated that more than 300 million Wade figurines have been given away in packages of Red Rose Tea in America. George Wade came into ownership of Wade & Sons of Burslem, England in 1899, eventually renaming it George Wade Pottery. The style of figurines known as “Wade Whimsies” first appeared in the 1950s, and have been a regular promotion in Red Rose Tea in the United States since 1983.

That’s the end of our tour. Make sure you check out our other virtual exhibit by clicking here.  Click here to read more about the exhibit. Thank you!

Sources:
http://www.luckyelephant.ca/
https://www.tootsie.com/
https://www.oldtimecandy.com/
https://www.historymuseum.ca/
https://redrosetea.com/
https://www.britannica.com/

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