Farm Toys Are On This Woman’s Wish List JOYCE BURP York Co. Correspondent GLEN ROCK (York Co.)— While children around the world are busy making “wish” lists for Santa, Hazel Walker keeps a “have” list of her toys. Hazel, an enthusiastic collector of toy farm equipment, maintains a careful record of her machinery lineup in a small notebook. With each new - or old -- piece she acquires, the Glen Rock farm woman swells her “black book” list with pertinent details of the transaction. Though she began collecting less than 10 years ago, Hazel has put together an impressive array of farm machinery toys in all sizes, colors, makes and models. They range from the 1/64-scale size, so small a combine easily fits into a child’s palm, to the 1/16-scale loved by farm young sters for imitating dad’s field chores. While many farm - and non farm - men collect toy farm equipment and trucks, Hazel is one of a far fewer number of women who enjoy this hobby. Years ago. Hazel admired a plastic Farmall Model M toy trac tor owned by a neighbor. After the neighbor’s death, his son gave her the old toy as a gift. It became part of the impetus to add another, and another - and the collection hasn’t stopped growing. Unlike junior farmers across the country with toy equipment on their Christmas lists, Hazel doesn’t wait for the holiday sea son to expand her collection. “If I sec something, I’m going to get it,” she grins. “I don’t wail for a special occasion.” Her enthu siasm has gotten Hazel well acquainted with area equipment dealerships, where she makes fre quent contacts about new toy introductions. Some of Hazel’s farm toys arc several decades old. A large, tin, toy tractor, missing only some paint on the top where little hands probably maneuvered it through imaginary fields, is a favorite of the more vintage lineup. A small er, plastic model, bearing the molded-in name of the Hubley company, also dates back at least a generation. Christmas Tree Success COLLEGE PARK, Md. Your gift list is complete, right down to the last stocking stuffer. Christmas lights and ornaments have been retrieved from the attic, waiting to be hung on that true holiday symbol, the Christmas tree. But before you purchase your tree, consider these helpful hints from Ray Bosmans, a horticulture specialist with the Home and Gar den Information Center of the Cooperative Extension Service, Maryland Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources. MIANR is one of three research and public service institutions of the Univer sity of Maryland System. If you’re like most Marylanders 64 percent, in fact you’ll probably pick up a Scotch Pine as your Yuletide symbol. These trees arc generally 5 to 8 feet tall. About 10 percent of Marylanders choose a White Pine, with the remainder selecting a Douglas Fir, Colorado Blue Spruce or other variety. Christmas trees are an agricul tural crop, requiring careful spe cies selection and 8 to 15 years of ongoing care as they grow. Prices tend to reflect the time-consuming nature of their production. Five years ago, she purchased a box of assorted old toys from a young acquaintance. In it were treasures that included a to-scalc corn picker implement which has been fitted to an appropriate trac tor, and a three-bottom plow com plete with a toothpick for a hitch pin. Holding a special place in the collection are two toy tractors which belonged to the Walkers’ youngest son, Larry, 24. The Allis-Chalmers 190 and Interna tional 1026 have been painstak ingly restored by an acquaintance of the Walkers. “Restoring toys is like restoring regular equipment. They have to be tom apart and repainted. Some times parts have to be replaced,” Hazel explains of the like-new pair of tractors, shielded from dust by plastic covers over cardboard frames. A feather duster helps keep the tiny equipment that isn’t kept plastic-covered or in boxes clean and shiny. Because her toy collecting interest is fairly recent, Hazel laments the loss of equipment toys played with and loved by her hus band, Norman, and her older children. Leroy, 35, had a variety of farm equipment toys, passed down and added to over the years for younger siblings Dale, Jerry, Penny and Larry. Now the toy tractors and imple ments purchased by Hazel go. not under Christmas trees or behind birthday wrapping paper, but on special shelves built by Norman and their sons for the collection. Some of Hazel’s newer acquisi tions are limited-edition reproduc tions issued in commemoration of certain farm events, like the shiny, miniature Ford Powermaster made for sale at the 1991 Pennsyl vania Farm Show. Special issues are also made by some equipment firms, saluting various years o other, large larm equipment shows Ha/d’s commemorative traemrs includes some from the Louisville, Kentucky, equipment exposition For several years, Norman par ticipated in farm-tractor pulls around the region. Special com memoratives from national tractor pulling competitions also dot Hazel’s collection, as well as You can expect to pay any where from $2O to $35 for your tree, with a possible savings if you go to one of Maryland’s "choose and cut” Christmas tree farms. For more information on these farm?, consult the "Maryland Christmas Tree Directory” published by the Maryland Christmas Tree Associ ation in cooperation with Exten sion and the Maryland Depart ment of Agriculture. This helpful guide is generally published in Maryland newspapers the first week of December, and is avail able at public libraries, county Extension offices and the Home and Garden Information Center. If you’re going to buy a pre-cut tree, go early in the season and look for the “Maryland Grown Christmas Tree Green, Fresh, Fragrant” sign and for the “Mary land with Pride” logo. This indi cates freshness; none of these trees is cut before November. Go to a Christmas tree lot dur ing the day, when there is ample light to properly inspect the trees. Then follow these simple guidelines; * Check the tree’s color; a gray-green or yellow shade indi cates a dry tree. Among Hazel Walker’s favorites In her toy farm equipment collection are a vintage tin tractor and a mounted corn-picker Implement. assorted pieces she found at toy market-driven prices have equipment shows held in eonjunc- climbed appreciably. Even the tion with such events. boxes are in demand. Along with the toy fam equip- “If you have the original boxes ment, Hazel has a convoy of farm- with the toys, it makes them worth related commemorative trucks, that much more,” explains Hazel. Several arc issues of farm equip- Thus, even when she removes ment firms, tiny truck rigs hitched equipment pieces from their pack lo miniature flatbeds, hauling aging for display, the boxes are diminutive tractors in appropriate carefully stored, styles and colors. “Prices are getting expensive, Added yearly to her collection especially for some of the real old are the annual Hess fuel company models, like the International 460 commemorative trucks, ranging in and 560,” this toy enthusiast style from reproductions of stale- notes. And, it is not unusual for of-the-art tankers to early models special commemorative items, of fuel delivery trucks. like tractors, to double in value Though not a farm imcplcment, overnight, due to the limited num a large Tonka toy fire engine holds her produced, a place of honor among “Mom’s As her collection has grown, toys,” as her children tcasingly Hazel is becoming very selective describe Hazel’s collection. Itpre- about additions to her toy equip viously belonged to Norman’s mcn t and truck lineup, uncle, whose collecting interest “I started out collecting the focused solely on toy fire engines, implements, 100, but I’m going Another special item is a vin tage toy “western ranch set,” with . a log cabin fashioned of tin, and SVEF plastic accessories that include animals, cowboys and fence pieces, all of plastic. In like-new condition, the set was a gift from a friend As interest in toy farm equip ment and trucks has escalated in the past few years, the hobby- * Bend and pull the needles at the ends of the branches; if they snap or pull off easily, the tree is sure to drop its needles when installed in your home’s warm interior. * Finally, bang the base of your prospective purchase on concrete. If the exterior, new-growth nee dles plummet, the tree is a poten tial linderbox. Okay, so you’ve picked the per fect tree and brought your prize home. Now what? Bosnians recommends culling two inches off the bottom of the tree’s trunk (just one inch if you cut your own tree) and then imme diately plunging the cut end into 80- to 100*degree F water. This is important because the tree won’t absorb cold water. If you’re not taking the tree inside immediately, store it on the north side of your house (so it gets shade) and completely replace the warm water periodically. When you’re ready to bring it inside, cut another half inch off the trunk, and repeat the warm water treatment. Place the tree away from radia tors or other sources of heat. A plain, galvanized tree stand is best because it rcalcascs zinc, a bacterial inhibitor. If you don’t have a galvanized stand, add a Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 21, 1991-B; i m teaspoon of baclcria-killing household bleach to each gallon of warm water. Unctrollcd bacterial growth can clog a tree’s pores, preventing it from absorbing water. Avoid gimmicks such as adding sugar, molasses, honey, aspirin or pennies to the water. They do nothing to extend a tree’s indoor life. In fact, the sugars may encourage bacterial and fungal growth, producing an unpleasant odor. Properly watered, there is no reason a tree won’t keep indoors for three weeks, according to Bos nians. When the lime comes for disposal, think about using the A now to just the tractors, because of the volume and the storage room it requires,” she says. While not in the business of dealing toys. Hazel has, on occasion, sold a few of the limited number of duplicates on her shelves. Hazel’s toy enthusiasm is start ing to spill over to other family members. Both grandsons, .Malt, one of the Walkers’ six grandchil dren, and their son Jerry have an interest in collecting farm-related toy trucks. The Walkers have farmed this rural section of southern York County for 37 years, on land that previously was owned by Nor man’s uncle. Since dispersing their dairy herd seven years ago, the Walkers now concentrate on grain cropping, feeding steers and heifers, and raising pheasants for private hunting preserve use. wfes limbs as winter cover for > our out door plants. You can bum stamps in the fireplace, or even sunt' the Ircc up in your backyard and string it with popcorn for the birds. For more information on Christmas trees and other hohda\ plants, call your local Coopciativo Extension Service 01 lice; phono numbers arc listed under county (and Baltimore City) headings m the blue pages of the telephone directory. Residents ol central Maryland should call the Home and Garden Information Center at 1-800-342-2507. Specialists are available to answer questions between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., Mon day through Friday. 13
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers