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812-Lmcastar Fuming, Saturday, March 28,1998
Pennsylvania’s Slinky
Continues To Deli hi
LINDA WILLIAMS
Bedford Ca Correspondent
HOLLIDAYSBURG (Blair
Co.) - Slinky, the fun toy for all
ages, was created, made, and is
still manufactured in
Pennsylvania.
In 1945, Richard James was
a Marine architect and a
mechanical engineer. He was
taking a ship out for a trial run
for the U.S. Navy when a torsion
spring fell off and "walked"
across the floor.
Jim was so fascinated, he
took the spring home and per
fected it into a toy. His wife,
Betty, who still runs the Slinky
plant, was given the task of find
ing a name.
"I got out the dictionary," said
Betty, and came up with
"Slinky," the name which has
stuck for 53 years.
The "Slinky" plant which is
known as "James Industries." is
located in Hollidaysburg, the
capital seat of Blair County m
Pennsylvania
A petite grandmother, Betty
James still remembers the diffi
culty she and her then young
husband had in getting the
Slinky on the market. "No one
would buy it," she recalls. "No
one wanted to take a chance.
Then, Gimbles in Philadelphia
said we could have the end of a
counter in the store for one
night. We took 400 Slinkys and
sold them all in 90 minutes.
"After that successful
evening, everyone wanted them.
We had no money, so at the end
of each day, we put a few dollars
aside to buy more material from
the Wilkening Company located
nearby."
Richard James designed the
machine which made the
"Slinkys." Betty did the packag
ing and marketing. In between,
she looked after their two young
children. Four more children
were soon born to the James
family.
In 1946, Betty and Richard
went to the New York Toy Show
Soy-Based Cookie
NEWARK, Del. - University
of Delaware senior Daniel
McDowell carefully fills three
baskets, marked A, B and C,
each with a different type of
chocolate chip cookie.
"We've got a winner this
time," says the animal and food
sciences major as he places a
pile of surveys in front of the
baskets.
Lucky passersby are invited
to taste the cookies and record
their preferences on the survey.
Packed with chocolate chips,
each type of cookie has a distinct
texture and taste.
But these are no ordinary
chocolate chip cookies, made
with 100 percent soy flour, they
have been meticulously
researched by Dr. Y. Martin Lo,
an assistant professor of food
processing and engineering, to
provide the benefits of soy in an
appealing form.
"Some Americans are unwill
ing to try soy products," says Lo.
"Soybeans are used mainly to
produce oil, and most of what's
left is used for animal feed. You
don't find soy flour on many
supermarket shelves."
Nathan Smouse of Bedford plays with a Slinky, a popular toy
for more than 50 years.
and found a good "sales rep."
The first "Slinky" factory was
located near Philadelphia.
It was in 1964 that Betty
moved the plant to
Hollidaysburg and began man
aging it on her own. Richard
died in 1970.
Today, Betty has 100 employ
ees and is proud to say that their
average length of employment is
from 20 to 25 years. The plant
manufactures other small toys,
but Slinky remains at the top of
the list.
The original cost of $1 has
still not doubled. Other coun
tries have tried to compete but
have never been successful.
But Lo hopes to lift the lowly
legume's public image. With an
$B,OOO grant from the Delaware
and Maryland Soybean Boards
and the collaboration of UD fac
ulty and Cooperative Extension
staff, he is developing a
microwave-ready, soy flour cook
ie dough that will appeal to the
American consumer.
"Soy flour has three advan
tages over its wheat counter
part," says Lo. "First, it is more
nutritional, providing a broader
range of essential amino acids.
Second, it provides a safe alter
native for people with gluten
intolerance - allergic reactions
to wheat products. Third, it con
tains phytoestergen, a group of
compounds that may help
reduce the risk of cancer."
Recognizing his cookie dough
won't sell solely on the merit of
its healthfulness, Lo is aiming
for sensory appeal and conve
nience. His most successful
recipe has the crispy, golden
brown texture of an oven-baked
product but takes only 75 second
to cook in a microwave oven.
Under Lo's direction,
McDowell has baked about 100
Slinkys are appealing for
children from 1 1/2 years to
adults. They are used in nurs
ing homes for therapy. The orig
inal 1945 Slinky has been
altered only slightly for safety
standards.
Betty James is proud that
Slinky is one of the oldest toys
on the market. It has been used
in cartoons, in movies, and took
a ride on the Discovery Space
Ship.
"But, it wouldn't defy gravi
ty," Betty said with a laugh. "It
went straight out."
Slinkys are still available at
any department store for about
$1.98.
Dough
batches of cookies in the past
year.
"We've come a long way since
we started this project,"
remarks McDowell. "One of the
things we've discovered is that
the appeal is all in the texture.
Whether the cookies are made
with white flour, whole wheat
flour or soy flour, people like
them if they like the texture.
Some people like chewy, others
like crispy."
His recipe nearly perfected,
Lo is ready to move on to the
next phase of the project. In col
laboration with Dr. Sue Snider,
cooperative Extension specialist
for food and nutrition, and Dr.
Cheng-Shun Fang, assistant
professor in the department of
nutrition and dietetics, he will
seek funding to analyze the
nutritional content and deter
mine the shelf life of the cookie
dough. After conducting a
patent search, he will approach
the food industry to find a spon
sor who will take his product to
supermarket shelves.
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