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