Reminiscence & Dementia Blog

While metal detecting and bottle digging for the senior reminiscence program a fairly common find are cast iron toys. Sometimes you will find police cars, at times fire trucks, maybe horses, and quite often guns. A big manufacturer of these cast iron toys was Hubley. Most of the cast iron toys that I have found have HUBLEY stamped somewhere on them. I have found many of these cast iron toys but by far the most common cast iron toys that I find are guns. Some of these toy guns are pretty realistic with quite a bit of detail. 

When I find one of these guns I can’t help but think about the young boy (most likely) that was running around playing Cowboys and Indians. I can imagine that young boy screaming  BANG BANG BANG  and complaining when his friend doesn’t agree that they were shot. I can also imagine the poor acting that was done when they finally admitted to being shot. Playing Cowboys and Indians was a VERY popular game back in the 1940’s -1950’s. 

I can’t imagine however the game of Cowboys and Indians being played today.  

Sadly, I can’t help but think this game might even be dangerous today. Seeing a kid run through your backyard with a gun just may cause a panic in 2021.  At the minimum people may be offended today. First of all, we don’t even call Indians Indians today, they are Native Americans. The bottom line is the times have certainly changed. Kids are not as likely to be playing Cowboys and Indians today.

Many seniors probably played this game a lot during the 40’-50’s. One major reason for the popularity of these toy guns that are found is what was on television during this time. Back in the 40’s and 50’s, TV shows had a lot of guns being fired. Shows like Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Lone Ranger, Hoppalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and the Cisco Kid were all extremely popular. 

There have been so many changes since the 1940’s-1950’s. Some of these changes are societal, political correctness, technological, and indoors vs outdoor play. Changes in television programming has obviously changed a lot as well.  All that being said Seniors will likely have fond memories of this era and the fun they had running around and enjoying their youth. Times have changed and play has changed, but the seniors fond memories I am certain have not.

On yon gray stone, that fronts the chancel-door, (church)

Worn smooth by busy feet now seen no more,

Each eve we shot the marble thro’ the ring,

When the heart danc’d, and life was in its spring,

1729 Samuel Rogers

I dug some old marbles recently while digging for vintage bottles. Some of these marbles  were made of clay and others were made of glass. These are just small, round, simple objects that were very popular with kids. Is there anything more basic as a few kids playing with these tiny round marbles? 

The heyday of marbles was during the late 1800’s and up to the late 1950’s or so. Seniors are likely to have spent many hours playing this popular game. Germany was a big manufacturer of marbles. It is said that the peak interest in the game was during the 1920-1930’s in the United States. No one really knows where  marbles originated,  however the British Museum in London displays marbles that date back to the Roman and Egyptian civilizations. Marbles were actually found in the ashes of Pompeii and native Americans were also known to play. It is kind of amazing to think that this simple activity had lasting memories for so many and for so long. Seniors may enjoy thinking back to the time they and there friends played with marbles.

As a kid growing up in the 70’s marbles were never really our thing. I can’t recall anyone really playing with marbles. One of the things that we did that was somewhat similar was “scale” baseball cards. Scaling cards for “keeps”was high drama and could get very competitive. I had “won” a lot of baseball cards this way. The rules were simple:  line up 10 cards against a wall and stand 6-8 feet away. Now the goal was to knock them down by scaling (flicking your card with your wrist) at the target. The player who knocked down the last card won all the cards that were on the floor. These games are still forever etched in my memory bank. Scaling cards was fun and at times very competitive. I admit I still like to scale a card across a room to show off this well developed childhood skill that still exists!

Playing marbles was also a game that provided kids with a lot of fun and could also be very competitive. The game took on increased intensity when the players agreed to play for “keeps.”  One of the most popular games was to make a large circle and use your “shooter” (the largest marble) to knock the “mibs” (the smallest marbles) out of the circle. The winner was the player that knocked all the other players mibs out of the circle. The term “knuckling down” actually comes from the stance and technique of getting low to the ground and using your shooter to knock a competitors mib out of the circle. I can”t imagine kids today finding playing marbles very exciting,  but who knows maybe they would. Simple times and simple activities can sometimes make the most pleasurable and lasting of memories.