Christmas Presents Chronology?

When I grew older as a child, mom and I stopped giving presents on Christmas. If we wanted something we usually got it as soon as we could afford it. We? As soon as mom could afford to buy it, whatever it was. But I want to try to remember some of the special Christmas presents I received and put them in order, if I can. I am guessing that the more cerebral presents came later.

One story I was told was that when I was very young, they (my mom or someone) had asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I had told them I wanted a “Turden Tation.” They didn’t understand what I was saying and kept asking me, and I kept repeating “a Turden Tation” and becoming more frustrated each time. I don’t know how they figured it out, but at some point they came to understand that I was asking for a “Service Station.” I’m not sure if I got a Service Station for Christmas, but I don’t recall it.

We had a long staircase in the old house which went straight upstairs from just inside the front door along the right hallway wall. The Slinky did work as far as walking down the stairs, but not as well as you would see on TV.

I recall getting a football at least once, and probably a Slinky, a couple of Duncan tops and probably a checkerboard. I had the Duncan tops in the 4th Grade because someone stole one of them, but they may not have been Christmas presents. *I just googled for “Christmas toys for children during the 1960s” and was reminded of several toys that I had forgotten.

An interesting aside regarding the stolen Duncan top (I think it was wooden & purple.) was that 30 years later, the person who stole the top admitted it to me at one of our class reunions. His act had worried him for all those years until he finally got it off his chest. I admired him for this admission, and said to myself that if I needed to trust anyone I would choose him because if that one dishonest act worried him for that long, he surely wouldn’t do anything worse. An honest man learns from his mistakes, and does not repeat them.

WIND UP TIN TOY BOAT

This may be the earliest toy I remember having and I was living at 204 Johnson Blvd., in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

The only memory I have of this boat was that I was playing on the porch and mom was out there also doing something else. I wound the boat up and then went over to her and said something like, “Let me show you something.” She bent over and I stuck the boat, aft first, in her hair and turned the propeller on. Her hair immediately wound around the propeller and she was caught fast. She jumped back but the boat went with her and was hanging beside her face dangling from her tangled hair. At some point I think she said something like, “I’m going to have to cut it out of my hair.” I don’t recall if she did have to cut it out, but that might have been the case.

TONKA CEMENT MIXER

The Tonka Cement Mixer was one of the earliest toys I remember getting for Christmas. I think my mom bought it at the store at Palo Alto, which was on the road between Belgrade and Swansboro.

Palo Alto was the name of the plantation owned by David W. Sanders, the maternal grandfather of Daniel L. Russell, later a Governor of the State of North Carolina. Governor Russell and his wife are both buried a few miles further up the Swansboro-Belgrade Road from the Palo Alto Plantation house shown here.

TINKER TOYS

I loved building things with Tinker Toys. I never had Lincoln Logs, nor wanted them.

HOWITZER CANNON

I think my little cast iron Howitzer toy was a cheaper version of the one shown here. I think it was painted army green. But, like the one shown, it originally had little projectiles that actually could be shot out of the cannon. I remember the projectiles as being red and wooden, but the ones here are yellow and look like plastic. I recall playing with this toy, on the floor, in the upstairs junk room.

The cannon had a little trigger that you pulled back, put a projectile in the barrel and then tripped the trigger, shooting the projectile out. *I remember taking a straight pin and sticking it in the barrel so that I could stick it in a plastic Army soldier. He looked like he had been hit by an arrow as I spun him around.

LARGE PLASTIC GREEN TOY SOLDIER

I had one of these large plastic soldiers. Perhaps they came in a set of two or three. It was probably five or six times larger than most other little green plastic soldiers. I don’t recall if my soldier had this same pose, but I do recall that the jagged base of the soldier was the same.

BALSA WOOD GLIDER & RUBBERBAND PROPELLER PLANE

These toy airplanes were made of the extremely lite balsa wood. They flew, but broke easily. The glider had a metal nose because they often flew into things, or hit the ground hard, nose down.

The propellered version had a rubber band that you tensioned by turning the propeller in one direction, letting go and as the rubber band lost it’s tension, the propeller turned causing the plane to fly. I don’t recall which parts of these toy airplanes lasted the shortest time, but wings and rubber bands were high on that list.

I just realized that I needed to add some non-present items to this posting in order to get a better feel for Christmas. This is a Christmas tree stand like the one we used for several years. With the live tree, we had the fancy glass ornaments, the colorful electric lights (old style), and loads of tinsel. I’m not sure we ever had the fancy glass tree topper, but I think we probably had a frilly angel to sit askew the top of our tree.

I liked eating the Claxton fruit cake, and drinking the seasonal egg nog from Maola Milk. And, there was plenty of Christmas candy. I liked those pure sugar candy canes, and if we could get some peanut brittle and orange slices, that would be good too.

Watching the story of Rudolph on a black & white TV, with his red nose, and listening to Burl Ives sing, “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas,” while Charlie Brown and his friends were running around, and then settling into the story of “A Christmas Carol.”

MARX MYSTERY SPACESHIP

This was a fascinating toy because at the heart of the spaceship was a gyroscope. You would crank the gyro up and hear it hum. You could then do tricks with the spaceship, like balance the red top knob or bottom know on a string and the toy would stay without falling, until the gyro ran down. There were two control seats on the top of the spaceship that had clear plastic domes. You could sit one or both pilots in their seats and then close the clear dome above each. There were small plastic astronauts, like plastic soldiers, and space aliens along with rockets that could be fired.

I no longer have the original toy I got for Christmas, but I bought two of them online several years ago. Neither toy that I bought had a gyro that worked, and one had a broken dome. I would imagine that if you could cut the top from the bottom and reach the gyro mechanism, it would be simple to fix, but I don’t have a schematic of how it is supposed to work, nor do I know of a good way to cut the yellow plastic and then glue it back together.

I said it was fascinating. I remember thinking that you could actually build a full sized spaceship and send it into space with a similar but larger gyro motor.

ETCH A SKETCH

I did enjoy playing with an Etch A Sketch.

AMF ROADMASTER JR. BICYCLE

I’m not sure if the Roadmaster bicycle was a Christmas or birthday present, but I think mom bought it down at the Western Auto Store in Swansboro.

This wasn’t the full sized bicycle but a smaller version. It was probably just like the bicycle shown in the advertising promo. It was green and off white, and had training wheels. The training wheels had been removed and I had asked my mother to remove the rear carrier shelf. When she tried to remove the rear carrier, a nut was loosened and that allowed the rear wheel to move slightly closer to the front. This caused the bicycle chain to become slack and fall off the gears, as shown in this picture.

This bicycle wasn’t made to ride through sandy soil and grass so I don’t recall using it very much. The tires were made of hard rubber, with no air in them.

FOOTBALL

I recall getting at least one football for Christmas. I know this because I remember going outside and throwing the ball to myself. It rarely snows for Christmas down near the coast. In fact I may only recall snow during the winter months a few times when I was a child.

AURORA HO SCALE SLOT CAR SET

This was an HO Scale Slot Car Race Set from Aurora. The advertising featured the British Formula 1 race car driver, Stirling Moss. The track was a simple Figure 8 with plastic supports that raised one part of the track above the other to allow the cars to run beneath.

The “slot” part of the track was where a little plastic pin attached to each car fit. This kept the car from sliding too far either left or right, and that meant the metal brushes on the bottom of the car would be in the correct position to transfer electricity from the track up to the car’s little motor. The controller for each car had a little chrome plated steering wheel which actually controlled the speed of the cars. There was also a forward and reverse switch.

I set the track up on our kitchen dining table but one car did not last long. It went too fast around a curve and flew off the track, and then rolled off the table onto the floor below. When it hit the floor a little electrical connector popped out of the car and disappeared somewhere, perhaps in a crack in the floor or the baseboard. Without this little piece, called a commutator, the electricity wouldn’t be conducted to the motor and the car wouldn’t run.

GILBERT CHEMISTRY SET

The Gilbert Chemistry set had a bunch of bottles for various chemicals. I seem to recall the set having powdered yellow sulphur and a bunsen burner with a white wick. I think the bottles were square with metal lids. I think there were a few test tubes and maybe even a flask, but I’m not sure.

I don’t recall the “molecular models” item and I don’t recall how many bottles of chemicals, or which chemicals were included in the set. I recognize the metal test tube holder.

MICROSCOPE

I had a black microscope with some glass slides. It had a wooden carrying case with several slots for the slides. I think there were some already example slides with labels. The microscope didn’t have a lamp but had a dual mirror beneath the stage. It wasn’t that powerful of a magnifier. It did have a wooden carrying case with a metal latch.

I think the carrying case had some slots to stick glass slides into.

MAGIC 8 BALL

Who didn’t have one? “It is unclear. Try again!”

WALKIE-TALKIES

I almost forgot these. I didn’t have anyone to play with and these required batteries. I think sometimes I could hear Short Wave radio broadcasts, but to my frustration I almost never could understand what they were saying.

BATTLESHIP NORTH CAROLINA MODEL

I put one of these together, but I don’t recall the red keel.

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON

This was one of the monster models that I put together. I may have also had the Wolfman.

THE VISIBLE MAN

I recall making this model of the male human body. It included the skeleton that you put together and eventually you put the see through plastic over the whole thing. I don’t recall if you had the circulatory system and various human organs, but I guess you did..

SKATEBOARD WITH METAL WHEELS

Another toy I almost forgot, the Skateboard (with metal wheels). The only place I could ride my skateboard was across Hwy. 24 at the old Swansboro High School. And really there was only one place over there that was suitable. The walkway leading from the Gymnasium to the Cafeteria and running along side of the Shop. The walkway was made of smooth concrete, and the double doors leading to the Gym were several feet above most of the walkway, so there was a considerable rise to the doors. There was also a railing for a short distance near the doors. This was ideal. You could take your board to the top of the rise, steady yourself by holding onto the railing, while you were “mounting” your board, and then let go. Gravity would start your downhill journey and you had a smooth, but narrow, path for quite some distance. *This never really caught on with me so years later when the equipment took an enormous jump forward, I didn’t jump at all.

I do recall that they had a skateboard race event at the Mullet Festival that year. The race was being held down a steep street, Spring Street (at the top was Chestnut Street and at the bottom was Walnut Street). The surprise was that Billy Owens won the race, I think. Billy was a “big boy” but that was to his advantage because his weight and gravity, and his dexterity to stay on the skateboard, all worked in his favor. And, it didn’t hurt that his house was just a long block away (literally). And as I look at the incline of Spring Street on Google Street View now, it doesn’t appear anywhere near as steep as it did when I was a boy.

COX THIMBLE DROME STUKA J-87 DIVE BOMBER AIRPLANE

I had completely forgotten about getting this gas powered airplane. I don’t recall ever getting it to start the engine. I was afraid of this toy. You would fill a small gas tank and then I think there was a spring with the propelle r and you would use your finger to prime the propeller and the engine should then start at a high spin speed with loud noise.

There was a simple hand controller that was connected to the plane by two thin strings which controlled the plane’s flaps and that would make it go up and down. Since the plane was attached to you by the controller handle, you would stand in the middle and the plane would fly in a circle around you. The tail fin was skew slightly to make the airplane always be trying to fly out and away from you.

I think I went over to the Swansboro High School once and found an empty field, maybe part of the baseball field to try and fly this, but I never got it started. I’m guessing I got this toy about 1966 or 1967. *I moved with my mother up to live with my Aunt Sis, in Hubert, after 8th Grade.

FISHING GEAR

This was the last Christmas present I recall getting as a child. I was probably fourteen or fifteen years old when I got this for Christmas. Mom and I went down to Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier that cold morning to try my new fishing gear. Neither one of us had a clue about fishing and needless to say I caught nothing that Christmas morning. The picture of the No. 9 Penn Peerless reel is the actual present I got that Christmas, but the copper colored tackle box was like the one I had, but no longer have.

GLOBAL STAMP ALBUM

I would suppose that I received this gift when I was older. I don’t recall if I got the fishing gear first or after I got this album. It was a thick multi-page book. Each page was double sided with large sized black & white pictures of each stamp that belonged at a certain position on the page. The pages were organized by country, so I guess the first pages would be Angola, Australia and Austria and toward the end, United States and perhaps Yemen. I don’t recall if their was a holding place for Qatar, but there were quite a few colorful, ornate stamps from the various countries. Some island countries had especially beautiful stamps.

I recall going to a Stamp Shop in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. I don’t remember if I bought any stamps that day, but downtown Norfolk is extremely cold during the winter. My album was stolen when I left it in the attic at 204 Johnson Blvd., in Jacksonville, North Carolina between the time I went off to Seminary (1981) and returned in 1984. There were many stamps in the pages, but quite a few empty spaces.

PETER GANINE GOTHIC SCULPTED CHESS SET

Once again I do not recall when, or if I got this chess set as a Christmas or birthday present, but I did like playing with it. I might have played with it in the 10th Grade. I don’t remember if I played in the Swansboro High School Chess Club my Senior year. The set was weighted with felt bases.

TRANSISTOR RADIO

PORTABLE TAPE RECORDER

I don’t recall who made the little reel to reel tape recorder that I had. It had an external microphone with a cable. I think it was beige in color, and both reels were the same size and looked like those shown. The mike was similar to the one shown in this picture, and I think there was a little viewing window like the one shown. It was just a very simple tape recorder.

I do recall taping part of an episode of the original Star Trek from the TV so that would have been from 1966-69. This was when you would have to hold the microphone up to the TVs speaker. I must have recorded on the portable Zenith TV since my recollection was being in the master bedroom of the old house.

CASSETTE TAPE RECORDER

I’m not sure when I got my cassette recorder, but I do recall buying a new TDK tape in Jacksonville a few blocks away from my house on 204 Johnson Blvd. TDK was unknown at the time but they had a good price on the cassette and it ended up being a good buy because TDK went on to produce quality tapes.

I really don’t recall what my cassette recorder looked like. It probably was a Sony, and had the basic components as shown in this image.

MONOPOLY

Did I actually have one of these, or just play the game on other people’s boards? I don’t know.

It was not my original intention to wax philosophical regarding the Christmas presents I received through the years, but the question came to me, “what was the best present I ever got for Christmas.” Of all the presents listed above, I think the chess set might have been my favorite, and I’m not sure it was a Christmas present. It would have been the most used and I liked chess and played a lot in high school. Second would be the Global Stamp Album just because it was rewarding to collect the beautiful stamps.

Having gone through this list, which may or may not be complete, and how unthankful I seem to be, to the contrary. My mother was an amazing, quiet spoken (most of the time until sufficiently riled) divorced woman who worked diligently for over 40 years, most of those as a “Clerk Typist” aboard the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, and a few years at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia. She provided for my food, clothing, shelter and almost all of my needs. She may have “done without,” but I rarely did, as you can see from the above stream of “Little Billie pleasing” presents.

She learned to sew most of her clothes, on a Singer “Zig-Zag” sewing machine. The different shaped disks were used to create different stitch patterns.

She bought several pairs of new shoes, at the twice a year “cheap shoe sale” at the Thom McAn’s Shoe Store. Those shoes may have been as cheap as a $1 a pair, but they hardly lasted six months until the next sale.

She bought a brand new 1964 1/2 Mustang 2+2 Fastback, Prairie Bronze in color and as a High School Senior present she bought me a brand new 1971 Blue & White Pontiac Lemans. The Mustang cost about $2,800 which, at the time, was about her year’s salary. *Amazing when automobile prices began to jump from about $3K to $30K and now on “to the Moon & beyond.”

Day before yesterday I took my Toyota Camry in to have scheduled maintenance. While there I walked around the showroom and looked at a mid-sized Toyota truck. I then looked at the price and it was around $53,000. A full-sized Toyota Tundra was close by, but the rear door window was so tinted that I couldn’t read the price on it. Oh, I think I knew the price. “Out of my reach, yeah that’s it.”

On a Saturday, just before school would start each year, we would either drive to Jacksonville or Kinston, North Carolina to buy my new clothes for the school year. In Kinston, we would go to H. Stadiem Men’s Store, in Vernon Park Mall, and to their “Hub” Department (Fine Men’s Section) and I would buy a couple of sweaters, several shirts and pants and normally I would buy at least one item that by the time school came around, I would be too embarrassed to ever wear to school. But we would never return those items to H.Stadiem.

Two examples of the unwearable items were: a silky white button shirt that had all sorts of colorful old style (a “penny farthing”) bicycles all over it — and another year — a short sleeved shirt, with a colorful African Dashiki design. I’m not sure why I ever thought that I would wear these to school, but my guess is that if I ever had, I would have been severely laughed at all day.

So mom, I know you’ve been dead almost 45 years, but I just want to thank you for loving me and providing for me in so many ways. I am an unthankful son, but I do thank you!