Wish lists of Christmas past

The Great Depression can never be erased from my mind, especially at Christmas time. Today the stores are bulging with toys. As a youngster all I had was a wish list, which was never filled.

I vowed that someday, I would buy all of my “Great Depression Wish List Toys,” just to look at them. The top three on my list were bike, electric train, and sled. In 1967, at age 43, I became a production superintendent at the Republic Rubber Division and felt I could afford a bike at last. It was a Schwinn Collegiate, which I rarely used and finally gave away. At age 80 in 2004, I acquired both the electric train and sled, to look at. I acquired both of these used items at garage sales. The train was a Lionel, while the sled was a Flexible Flyer, both venerable brands.

Interesting toy

I often comment that life is “BassAckwards,” because when you can afford it, you don’t need it. Speaking of bass, last year I acquired an interesting toy for a dollar called “Big Mouth Billy Bass.” It is animated and even talks.

I marvel at the amazing toys on the market today. I have seen some of the electronic toys advertised “for men.” As a toy inventor for over a half a century, my ideas were very simple and at one time they were popular. My inventions never took off. In the old days, yo-yo’s and hula hoops were big fads.

I still believe the simplistic toys could go over big. In my day, wagons, scooters and roller skates were very popular. The only toys I had were the homemade variety, such as sling shots and rubber-band guns made from wood and inner tubes.

Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree who has been inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.