This summer, 28 toys out of Shirley’s vast collection will be displayed at the history center. The toys range from 1930’s cap guns to an 1860’s train set. Thrown into the mix is the rare Clockwork Velocipede Toy, a wind-up school boy on a tricycle from the 1880s. 
   Most of the pieces range from 1963 to the 1940’s, said Shirley. Other items on display include dolls, spinning tops, wind-up cars, boats and friction toys, plus an assortment of games.  She’s collected toys for nearly 35 years and last year began talking with fellow south county residents and historical society members Alma and David English about displaying her toys.

   “They came over to our house and saw our jumble, or variety of toys,” said Shirley. “Really it was a pipe dream of mine to incorporate a children’s museum into the history center.” 
   Now that the dream is a reality, Shirley is hoping her exhibit will turn “wrinkles into smiles,” she  said, as folks can step back in time to see the toys of their youth.  Also, the exhibit will give an opportunity for the younger generation to see how toys used to look and work. Incorporated into the exhibit is a display of dolls and antique toy dishes at US Bank in downtown Cannon Beach.

    “I think it will appeal to children if they come in with parents, but they don’t necessarily know anything about antique toys,” said Shirley. “It will appeal to people in their 50s-60s, because that’s the era a lot of the toys are from.”
    Shirley’s fascination with toy collecting began in 1967 while she was organizing an estate sale for her aunt and cousin in Forest Grove. While rummaging through an assortment of personal  effects, toys she played with as a child suddenly reappeared.

   “These little gadgets of play were precious and I realized that they needed to be preserved for future generations of children and the child in us all,” she said.
   Shirley owned an estate sale business, so she had an opportunity to find parts of her collection on the job. One day while Shirley and husband Bill were on the job rummaging through a garage  in Portland, Bill found a wind-up carriage called “Bulky Mule.”

   Particularly desirable by collectors, the wind-up toy made by Lechmann of Germany came with its original, circa-1900 packaging. She points out that original packaging doubles the value of any toy. The “Bulky Mule” is valued at $350-375 with its box.
   “Bill found it in this soggy, wet garage and when he took it out to show me I just about gasped, because I didn’t believe something that old in such a damp, dirty place could be in such good shape,” said Shirley. “If you look at the box, it has a little pull string, so the box could be used as a toy. Also, it still has directions in German and English.”

   Other toys on display include Richter’s Anchor Stone Building Set, which is surely a predecessor to more modern Erector, Lego and Lincoln Log toy building sets.  The blocks remained popular through World War I and Shirley’s set contains its original packaging and instructions. Shirley says toys have changed over the years because of an overall change in society. Toys used to be built to last; the proof is in her display at the history center.
    “We now live in a throw-away, disposable society, so there are toys you buy today that will end up in the garbage a few days later,” said Shirley. “Toys aren’t made as tough these days.  Sometimes they’re made to satisfy a child for only a couple of hours. Then, a majority of them get broken.”

   However, despite the nature of newer toys, Shirley says they are collectible, especially toys  featuring Star Wars figures or others left in their original packaging.  Also, today’s generation of youngsters still enjoy playing with Shirley’s classics. Her grandchildren often relish the opportunity to go to grandma’s and play with her toys.
    “I do let my grandchildren come and play with them under supervision, so at least they’ll know what older toys are like,” said Shirley. “I want them to be enjoyed and played with, not just to be looked at.”

   While the general public won’t get a chance to handle her toys at the exhibit, they’ll be on display at the Cannon Beach History Center, 1387 S. Spruce St., until the third week of September. The center is open 1-5 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday.

© 2002 Cannon Beach Gazette