Do kids even play in the backyard today? They seem to prefer playing computer games?
I don't remember my grandmother ever talking about toys. In her writing she does not talk about her childhood, except her 6 years at school and when she writes "You weren't allowed to kill roos in those days, but no one said you couldn't chase them and it was great fun". It seems that most of Gran's "play" time was with the animals on the farm. Gran had to grow up quickly as she left school young to help out her mother around the home.
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| June 1919 Eva Pilgrim (age 8) on the farm |
Many of you would have seen the photo below previously, but it is a wonderful example of the toys of days gone by.
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| Christmas Day 1928 Margaret Mayberry and Lorna Pilgrim (Grand Aunt) |
Notice below the ripped pants on the boy on the left and the short pants of the other two boys. My grandmother wrote; "In Horsham, Thursday was pay day and also remnant day and I nearly dressed the nips on remnants. I could manage the lining and pop hole on the boys pants, but hanged if I could manage the fly. Those day boys wore shorts pants till about 13 or 14. It saved mending"
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| 1940 - Horsham John Clark, Don Scott (Uncle), Gwenda Clark, Des Malone, Jean Scott (Aunt) |
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| 1947 Mum |
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| 1944 Dad |
This got me thinking about the toys that I liked to play with. I had a Sindy doll, but was secretly disappointed that "Santa" did not bring me a Barbie. My favourite doll was "Lisa", It was a big thing that her eyes blinked. I made her so many clothes. I remember that I made her a Guide Uniform and received a badge for my efforts. I think that I still have Lisa and some of her clothes including her Guide Uniform packed away in a box.
The Swing set below was made by a friend of my fathers. The seat was wooden, with metal edges. It hurt if you stepped in front of it when someone was swinging! You only walked close to someone swinging once and were very careful thereafter!
My father repainted the swing set and and replaced the seat with a plastic one for my kids when they were little. They loved it as much as I did. It then went to my sisters kids.
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| 1971 - Kyneton My sister and I with a family friend in the backyard |
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| 1974 - Stratford My sisters, brother & I playing in the backyard. I am the taller one with my back turned |
My daughters loved her Barbies. My husband made the dolls house below from a kids wardrobe. Danielle spent hours playing with it.
My son loved his Toy Story toys and Lego. Then his Uncle introduced him to Super Mario and as a 19 year old, he is still playing computer games (Xbox)! Unfortunately, I can't locate a photo quickly.
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| 1997 My daughter |
What was your favourite toy?
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| This post was inspired by Sepia Saturday. Please click for more posts. |
And here I thought boys wore shorts only because it was summer. "Saves mending" -- well there you go!
ReplyDeleteI loved my Barbie too. Barbie clothes were expensive, so my mother made quite a few of her outfits for me. She even had a pattern for them but often complained about how tiny the parts were making it difficult to sew, actually. On the other hand, my daughters never played with Barbie. Where did I go wrong???
Mum made the clothes for our dolls but soon taught us to make them!
DeleteI had a lot of different dolls growing up, but my favorite was a life-sized baby doll that could wear real newborn size baby clothes. Barbies were before my time, but I had storybook dolls - the ones that came in those polka-dot boxes. My Mom let me play with them, however, & being made of bisque, they eventually got broken. For a while in my adult years, I collected Barbies found in thrift shops, but eventually gave them to my granddaughters. Now I have a collection of plastic storybook dolls from Blue Bonnet Margarine, gas & oil company, & Tastee-Freez days when one could earn them by buying margarine, gas and oil, or ice cream years ago. They're antiques now & I buy them from a friendly antique dealer once in a while.
ReplyDeleteYou have reminded me of another photo that I should have included.....my Aunt with a life size doll.
DeleteI do enjoy reading about toys and games of the past. I too had Barbie, sent by my great aunt in the States, and she had made lots of clothes for her. Your daughter looks happy to be a cover star. That’s one to treasure.
ReplyDeleteShe certainly loved all things Barbie and everyone knew it! I think every gift that she received was something to do with Barbie for a few years!
DeleteI don't think children ever go outside anymore, even to play. I never see them outside playing. Most of the time you don't even know they are there unless you see them on their way to school.
ReplyDeleteYou are right! Unfortunately I think that TV and computer games have become an easy "baby sitter".
DeleteI live in a neighborhood where kids still go outside to play; I love hearing them! I'm too old for Barbie Dolls, too (thank goodness); we suffered through Betsy Wetsy. Don't ask what THAT was all about!
ReplyDeleteBetsy Wetsy???? I had to Google it! What a name for a doll!
DeleteOnce again great post and wonderful photos Sharon. I had lots of dolls including Barbie and remember my first doll was a large walking bride doll with beautiful black hair.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kerryn. I look forward to seeing a post about your dolls :)
DeleteThe photo of your grandmother Eva with her dog is a real delight. She probably didn't miss having lot of 'indoor' toys if she was out on the farm.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lorraine. I really like it too. There are only a couple of photos of gran as a young girl and I treasure them.
DeleteI too was disappointed when I got the Cindy instead of a barbie doll. I was also disappointed that my brother got a tonka toy truck to play outside with in the dirt. I played in the dirt anyway and Barbie would've liked that.
ReplyDeleteI was probably with you and went outside and climbed a tree or built a cubby. I do remember that I cut Sindy's hair short and got into trouble!
DeleteShort trousers were the only ones I had before I was 12 (in 1949) - seemed normal to me.
ReplyDeleteMust have been cold in Winter? My uncles always seemed to wear shorts no matter what the weather, probably as they work short trousers as children?
Deletewe promote lots of outdoor play in our family! We even started grass-sledding for our grandchildren this year! Pulled by our golf cart! Totally fun! I still have my one and only Barbie, all dressed up behind glass in my living room. My mother use to knit for her, even pairs of slacks. Very clever mother I had! I especially enjoyed your lovely photos too.
ReplyDeleteSound like the grandchildren have a lot of fun at your home! That is they type of grandmother that I would like to me too!
DeletePlaying in the backyard was the thing to do when I was a child. There were a lot of kids in the neighborhood about the same age.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't limit ourselves to the backyard. We played all over town.....as long as we were home by dark!
DeleteI love that photo of the kids on their various vintage style tricycles, and the first photo too. Great!
ReplyDeleteAnd the mud! It would have been rare to have mud like that in Horsham as it was/is such a dry place.
DeleteI particularly liked the first photo, but then I can never resist a photo where hats are worn. Eva looks just lovely. Re Barbies - my daughter has never forgiven me because I never gave her one when she was growing up but at the time I thought they were horrible !!
ReplyDeleteI like it too so was glad to get a chance to show it. It is not very good quality when it is enlarged but I suppose it is nearly 100 years old!
DeleteMy favorite toy was my train set. Oh what I would give to have that back and play as a boy today! Very nice post :)
ReplyDeleteI loved train set (or building train sets) more than my dolls!
DeleteAnd now I long for so many of my toys that are long gone. I'm always fascinated when I'm in an antique store and I spy a toy I had completely forgotten about. Or get a gut reaction to something and I'm not sure why. I'm fortunate I still have some of them. These were all grand photos of kids with their toys. Always a fun category to collect.
ReplyDeleteI spend hours in antique shops.............my kids try to distract me so I don't see them :)
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