147. Building Creative Minds with TINKERTOY

One of the earliest--and best--Christmas presents I received from my parents as a kid was a canister of Tinkertoy-ordered from the commissary of Clark Field, no less! I got this special gift in 1964, at age 7, and I was delighted no end, keeping me occupied for hours constructing figures, pinwheels, watchtowers, vehicles, animated ferris wheels and robots from colored sticks and spools, supplemented with cardboard cut-outs. All I had to do was follow the instruction guide that came with the set. I played with the set until it literally fell apart and until now, I could visualize the fantastic things I could create with this unique toy created in 1914 by Charles H. Pajeau and Robert Pettit of Illinois. Pajeau designed the toy after seeing children play with pencils and empty spools of thread--and thus Tinkertoy was born. Today, Hasbro still makes Tinkertoy, in both plastic and classic wood. This complete and unused example of a Junior Tinkertoy was purchased for a few dollars at the famous Antiques Garage Flea Market in New York.