Category: Memoirs

While I had many toys growing up a few remain clearly in my memory. Perhaps you have some childhood toys that you remember?

My mother had an antique, cardboard doll house from her own childhood. It came with amazing wood furniture. The kitchen featured a dry sink like the one shown here. There was also an ice box – not a refrigerator. In the bedrooms, small wooden lamps that sat on each side of a wooden vanity with a real mirror. My sister and I enjoyed playing with it for hours.

Of course we had our own “modern” doll houses from the sixties. They had more furniture, people and accessories. My doll house was given to me by my childhood friend K. It was metal like the one below, but pink with white trim and the furniture and people were plastic. It even had a baby grand piano for the living room.

There was a crib, playpen and stroller. Plastic yellow stairs attached so you could move the people to the upstairs. Except for the baby – all the family members could stand up on their plastic bases.

My father used to bring home discontinued wallpaper sample books from work. We used the patterns to create our own doll houses from shoes boxes. Stacked on one another they created a doll house with wallpaper, curtains, draperies and even patterned carpets!

If you grew up when I did perhaps you or one of your friends had a Barbie Townhouse? I had one just like the one in this picture. The furniture was cardboard. There were tiny hangers for the clothes. Two drawers for clothes under the closet. The vanity in the center actually had small curlers, a comb and a hand mirror. The entire house and contents folded up into its own suitcase with a carrying handle. I could take it to friends’ houses. We also had an aqua, plastic Barbie Corvette. These dolls really had the life. But today I wonder, what values were being taught?

One of the most memorable and more creative toys I ever got was from my Aunt. She gave me a toy showboat theatre. Almost like a doll house, it came with a stage curtain, plays with scenery, characters and dialogue scripts. If I can recall the plays were Pinocchio, Wizard of Oz, Heidi and Cinderella. We used this for hours. I kept it for many years and my own daughters played with it too. Wherever it is today, I hope someone is enjoying it as much as we did.

I think it’s interesting the toys we remember and what they taught us.

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It is a hot, dry day in Jerusalem. Afternoon light pours in through the curtains and spills onto the terrazzo floor. There is a thick layer of dust on the sofa, chairs, tables and bookshelves. Artwork hangs from every wall. The chest holds beautiful linens and a drawer full of silver, serving bowls and carvings.

The room seems to echo. An entire life happened here. But now everything must be moved out. The house has been sold. We can only take what will fit in the two large suitcases.

Silently we take the art out of their frames. I am tired from packing. Thirsty, too, from the heat and the dust. Finally the last serving pieces and silverware are placed in a leather duffel. It will be left with friends. Picking up the eight, tiny silver spoons, I wrap them in a linen napkin and place them in my purse.

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