Fun Found, Down in the Attic

Yesterday I drove south past Venice and eventually into Naples. No, it wasn’t Italy, but it was lovely. This Naples is on the Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida. My destination within this piece of paradise was a wonderful toy store called…

My gracious host for the day was proprietor George Smith who has created, along with his partner Linda, a wonderful destination filled with fun and nostalgia. George and Linda routinely ship their wooden, lacquered pull toys, music boxes, puppets and marionettes all over the world for their customers. At Attic Toys you’ll find treasures up high, like this set of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls and down low, like this beautiful, old-fashioned pedal car. Ferociously fun animals guard the shelves, like this 1905 replica Steiff teddy bear (with friends) and the Toy Story-inspired Slinky Dog.

I signed copies of The Playmakers and gave away candies from the back of my 1960 baby-blue pickup truck. Yes, it’s a Tonka. I had a great time in one the nicest stores I’ve ever seen. Stop by if you’re ever in Naples, Florida and if you’re in Naples, Italy that’s okay. They ship toys there too! Go to Attic Toys for more details!

The Sweet History of Frisbee Revealed!

The legend begins in 1871 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where a man named William Russell Frisbie founded a pie bakery. The busines grew and by 1905, Frisbies were flying off store shelves all over New England, foreshadowing what was to become of the family name.

With business brisk in 1915, the Frisbies built a new, larger bakery in Bridgeport where factory workers reportedly broke up their workday by having a game of catch with the pie tins. Sure it could be a bit dangerous—flying metal tends to be—but it was undoubtedly fun. The news of flying pie tins spread to nearby Yale University, where one can imagine the typical campus clamor of spring pervaded by a new sound; the noisy clang of metal pie tins hitting the ground. Cries of “Frisbie!” could also be heard, like the warning “Fore!” in golf, as errant throws sailed out of control.

Walter “Fred” Morrison and Warren Franscioni seized the marketing possibility of a plastic flying disk in the mid 1940s. They called their first version The Flyin’ Saucer and used the hot cartoon property of the day (Lil’ Abner) to try and help sell it. It failed and the two entrepreneurs parted ways. Fred Morrison then launched his own updated version in 1955, renaming it the Pluto Platter Flying Saucer. It was this version of the disk that caught the eye of Spud Melin and Dick Knerr at Wham-O, and the rest, as they say, is Frisbee history. Wham-O changed the spelling from Frisbie to Frisbee and went on to make it one of the most popular toys of all time, selling over 200 million of them since 1957.

Summer’s here and The Boston Phoenix.Com is recommending that you get your piece of the pie in this great article.

Media photos

Photos of Timeless Toys (formerly The Playmakers) and author Tim Walsh have been posted for media use.

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Pictures from The Playmakers Launch Party!

Co-inventor of the Twister game and the Nerf ball, Reyn Guyer (left) signs copies of The Playmakers: Amazing Origins of Timeless Toys with me at the launch party for the book last night. Curious toy lovers packed the retaurant Bamboo in Sarasota for the event. We hung posters, decorated and then we played!

The door prizes that were raffled off throughout the evening included autographed books, Twister beach towels, and Nerf hoop sets. But the biggest roar from the crowd came when we awarded one lucky toy lover with an original 1966 Twister game and an original 1969 Nerf ball, both autographed by Guyer himself. The raffle and part of the proceeds from every book sold combined to raise nearly $500 for YoungLife, a non-profit organization that provides mentoring to teenagers in Bradenton and Sarasota. Morgan Gerhart of Florida Family Magazine got Sherry Lowe and I (committee members for Bradenton YoungLife) along with YoungLife student Charise Bloemsma to pose for a picture that will hopefully make the July/August issue of Florida Family.

Other dignitaries included:

* Sam Speers, co-developer of G.I. Joe, who worked for Hasbro from 1960 to 1980.
* Michelle Jordan from ABC Channel 7 who interviewed Reyn for the evening news.
* Mike Eng from the East County Observer, who photographed Reyn and I as we signed a book for an excited Nerf lover.
* Herb Booth (left) and Giles Hoover (right), the photographer and designer on The Playmakers. Giles even signed a few copies himself!
* David Jones from Sarasota’s Oldies 108 radio station acted as master of ceremonies.
* My lovely wife and I broke out the Twister gear, her the T-shirt and I the tie.

Thanks to Reyn Guyer and his lovely wife Mary, for being so generous with their time.

Special thanks to Alex, Michelle, Mike, Lesley, Kyle, Rebecca and the rest of the “Bamboo Crew” for making the night a fun (and delicious) success.

A good time was had by all!

You're Invited to a Launch Party with a Twist!

Contact:
Tim Walsh
Keys Publishing
PMB 180 5370 Clark Road Suite A
Sarasota, FL 34233-3227
(941) 926-8004

Sarasota, Florida (May 4, 2004) Join us May 10th from 6-8pm for a groovy open house and launch party for the The Playmakers! We’ll mix food and fun at Bamboo, a great restuarant right off University Parkway and I-75 in Sarasota.

We’ll have plenty of copies of The Playmakers on hand for your persusal and with 312 pages and over 550 photographs of classic toys, dolls, games, trucks, cars, and playsets, you’ll appreciate the comfy chairs and couches that Bamboo has to offer! The books are $50 and $10 from every one we sell this night will be donated to Young Life, a wonderful, non-profit organization that provides mentoring to teenagers right here in Bradenton and Sarasota. It’s a great book and a great cause… but there’s more!

My very special guest for the evening will be non-other than the co-inventor of the Twister game and the Nerf ball, Reyn Guyer. Reyn will join me in signing copies of The Playmakers, personalizing the Twister and Nerf chapters for you. We will have cool door prizes throughout the evening including autographed books, Twister beach towels, Nerf hoop sets and the Creme de la Creme of the night, an original 1966 Twister game and an original 1969 Nerf ball, both autographed by Reyn! But there’s still more!

David Jones from Oldies 108 will be on hand to pump up the festivities with great tunes from the 1960s (in honor of these two classic ’60s playthings) and the chance to win even more groovy prizes. Don’t miss it!