The land of forgotten toys: New Frisco Heritage Museum exhibit showcases childhood treasures

Growing up, most children have a favorite toy. Sometimes those toys don't stand the test of time, however. A new exhibit at the Frisco Heritage Museum hopes to save the forgotten toys for new generations to experience.

"Toys! Toys! Toys!," which opened Tuesday and runs until Jan. 28, 2013, features toys from several generations for adults to reminisce while children will almost certainly make those adults feel old by asking when those toys were popular.

Donna Anderson, a member of the Heritage Association of Frisco, said getting the community involved was a major part of the reason for the exhibit.

"All of the items came from local people, who have been gracious enough to let us play with their toys," she said. "Of particular note is the 1957 scale model Jeep that was built by S.W. Christie for his boys."

The Heritage Association didn't rely solely on contributions from other community members, however. Many of the association's members donated some of their own childhood toys for use in the exhibit.

Anderson contributed a "walking doll" from the 1960s that her grandmother bought her when she was just 6 years old.

"My grandmother brought me to Korvettes department store to help her find a gift for a 'poor little girl' about my age," Anderson said. "I fell in love with the walking doll, which at about 24 inches tall, was almost as big as me. My grandmother bought the doll, and I was disappointed because it was going to go to some other little girl because, we were pretty poor and I didn't really have any dolls."

Despite Anderson's immediate disappointment, however, things turned out just fine.

"My grandmother told me it would be okay and, on Christmas Day, I got to unwrap that doll," she said. "I loved that doll! Over the years she's lost her shoes, some of her clothes, and she doesn't walk too well. She went to college with me and sat in a place of honor on my dorm room bed. My doll is one of the few childhood treasures I have."

Linda Sutton, another association board member, also donated a toy from her childhood for the exhibit -- a Madam Alexander doll she received for Christmas when she was 8.

"She came in a trunk with a few clothes and accessories," Sutton explained. "It had been years since I had opened the trunk, and when I did I was delighted to find doll clothes my grandmother had made along with my crude attempts at sewing. It brought back sweet memories of sitting on the floor by my grandmother's treadle sewing machine watching her make doll clothes and instruct me in cutting out patterns and hand stitching."

Sutton's experience with that doll actually helped her in her professional life, too. About 30 years after receiving the doll, she started her own business and began publishing Frisco Style Magazine, which she later sold in 2003.

In addition to Anderson's doll and the other old toys, there's also a couple of more modern entertainment experiences for children: video game consoles.

The exhibit features original Nintendo and Atari game consoles that are in working condition. In fact, exhibit attendees can play the consoles on 1970s televisions.

For Anderson, part of the fun is seeing the reactions of children when they discover what toys their parents and grandparents grew up with.

"I think this is a fun exhibit for all ages -- it's definitely a trip through your childhood if you are a baby boomer," Anderson said. "It's fun to see grandparents and parents come through with little ones and show them toys that they played with and to see that there are certain toys that have endured for multiple generations, like Barbie, G.I. Joe and Monopoly."

For more information about the museum or exhibit, visit www.friscomuseum.com.

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