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Volume 1 Issue 49
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TACKY TOYS • A toy company trying to compete with the Barbie doll came out with the Tressy doll who had a hank of hair in the center of her head which could be hauled out and screwed back in. • In 1975 Mattel introduced a new doll called Growing Up Skipper. When the arm was twisted, the doll grew taller, developed an hourglass waist line, and sprouted breasts. Twist the arm again and the doll once again reverted to an adolescent figure. • In the late 1970s Ideal came out with a line of cherubic angel dolls. They were called Angel Babies and didn’t sell well because consumers thought of dead babies in heaven when they saw the name Angel Babies. • In 1958 Ideal came out with a Christ Child doll which came complete with kneeling Mary and Joseph dolls and a manger. Parents didn’t buy them because they couldn’t picture Christ attending tea parties with Raggedy Ann. • The anatomically correct Baby Brother Tenderlove doll caused such controversy that stickers were placed over the sensitive area on the package. (Cont’d next page)
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FAMOUS TOYS
• Lego blocks are one of the world’s most popular toys and are sold in 125 countries. They were invented in 1949 by a Danish carpenter and toymaker named Ole Kirk Christiansen, who named them ‘Legos’ because it’s a contraction of the word ‘legodt’ which is Danish for ‘play well.’ Lego also means ‘to gather together’ in Latin. • In Denmark 84% of households own Legos. Denmark’s LegoLand is the 2nd most popular tourist attraction in the country, behind Copenhagen. Built with over 32 million Lego bricks, LegoLand has models of Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty (made from 1.4 million Legos), the Columbia space shuttle, the Parthenon, and Copenhagen Airport (which took eight people two years to build). The scale model of the Danish royal family’s palace is one of only three places where the royal flag is allowed to fly. • Currently there are more than 1,200 different styles of Lego pieces that come in 12 colors. Two 8-studded pieces of Lego can be put together in 24 ways, and 6 pieces can be connected in over a million ways. • In Bridgeport, CT, William Frisbie owned the Frisbie Pie Company. The pies came in all flavors, but all of them had a returnable tin pie plate with “Frisbie’s Pies” stamped on the bottom. In 1900, William’s son Joseph took over the business and expanded the route to include Yale University. Suddenly, he noticed that many pie tins were not being returned. Someone on campus had discovered that with a flick of the wrist, frisbie pie tins would fly. • Instead of demanding the return of the pie tins, Frisbie began spreading the word that they made a great toy. Pie sales soared and the frisbie was born. Wham-O began massproducing them and in 1959 changed the spelling to Frisbee.
Helping Pets in Need DEAR PAW’S CORNER: As the holiday season swings into full gear, many people may be looking to do something more enriching than just shopping for gifts and getting things we don’t really need. Please encourage your readers to consider donating to their local shelter or offering some of their time as volunteers to help pets during the holidays and year-round. -- Avid Volunteer in Virginia DEAR AVID: You told them, and I thank you! The holidays can be a very hectic time for many people. But finding time to volunteer at your local shelter, or helping to host a fundraising or pet-supplies drive, can be an enriching experience and a break from shopping and planning for holiday events. While some local shelters don’t have a formal volunteer program, many do. The first step is to contact the shelter or visit its website to find out if it accept volunteers, what jobs they’re expected to do, and how to apply. If you have children who are interested in volunteering, find out the minimum age and what kids can do if they’re too young to volunteer. For example, the adoption center at Boston’s MSPCA Angell center requires a six-month
commitment of two hours per week from volunteers, who handle a variety of tasks from cleaning habitats to feeding the animals, walking dogs, socializing with smaller animals, or interacting with visitors. That’s quite a commitment, but the volunteer program often is completely filled each year. Single-day or weekend volunteer activities also may be available, often as group events. These are a great way to get familiar with being a shelter volunteer.
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ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You might feel that you have all the answers right now. But it might be wise to listen to other ideas before you decide to close the lid on other possibilities. TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Bovines give and expect loyalty, so it might not be easy to reconcile with someone you feel let you down. Why not ask a neutral party to set up a clear-the-air meeting? GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Anticipating the holidays with family and friends fuels your must-do Gemini energies. But try to pace yourself so you’ll be up for whatever comes along later. CANCER ( June 21 to July 22) More background information might come through regarding a decision you expect to make. Be sure to check the source carefully before you move. LEO ( July 23 to August 22) The strong, nurturing nature of the Lion comes through this week as you reach out to family and friends in need of your warm and loving support. VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A relationship that has almost totally unraveled could be close to being restored with more effort on your part to be more patient and less judgmental.
LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Your sense of fair play is strong this week, which can cause a problem with a longtime relationship. But in the end, you’ll know what decision to make. SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) You might not know all the facts behind an unwelcome development, so keep that Scorpion temper in check and resist lashing out at anyone. SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) This is a good time to reinforce relationships -- family, friends, colleagues -- that might have been overlooked in recent years. CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Family situations continue to thrive. Business associations also improve. Some holiday plans might have to be shifted a bit. Be flexible. AQUARIUS ( January 20 to February 18) Avoid any influence of negative energy in this week’s aspect by not allowing small problems to grow into large ones. Work them out immediately. PISCES (February 19 to March 20) A friend might need advice on how to deal with a challenge to his or her moral values. And who better than you to give the honest answer? Good luck. BORN THIS WEEK: You have a sense of adventure that inspires others to follow your lead.
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FAMOUS TOYS (cont’d) • Josh Cowen was always fascinated with toy trains. As a kid he fashioned an electric train that ran on a track around his bedroom, carrying his toys in its cars. Years later, he took his electric train to a man who owned several toy stores in New York, saying that if he placed the train in his front window during the Christmas season and loaded the cars with toys, this animated advertisement would increase sales of the toys. The shopkeeper agreed, bought the train from Josh, and set it up in his window. The next day Josh went down to the toy store to see his train in action and was shocked to see it was gone. The shopkeeper explained that people wanted to buy the train rather than the toys. He asked Josh if he could supply more toy trains, and Josh went to work on it. They sold as fast as he could make them. • In 1906 Josh started a company, which he named after his middle name. Soon his factory was turning out toy cattle cars, coal cars, passenger cars, train stations, tunnels, bridges, and more. When business dropped during the Great Depression, he invented a $1 wind-up handcar pumped by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. For a time in the 1950s, his company was the largest toy manufacturer in America. Josh’s middle name, carried on millions of toy trains, was Lionel. • The original Mr. Potato Head was a sack of plastic parts, and kids had to supply their own potato. Mothers, however, got tired of finding moldy potatoes under the bed and behind the couch, so a plastic potato was added to the kit. Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on American television, appearing on the tube in 1952. Sales soared after Mr. Potato Head appeared in the 1995 film “Toy Story.” In 1997 Mr. Potato Head starred as the spokespotato for Burger King’s French fries.
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There was no doubt. Frazier floored him in the final round. “The Greatest” of all times was, after all, beatable. In the world of mixed martial arts and in a world starved of the kind of stardom that Ali, Frazier and their contemporaries supplied, Ronda Rousey was the most popular fighter in the world when she stepped into the ring Shades of Ali-Frazier in Australia on Nov. 14. She was to face another unbeaten woman, Holly Holm. When Muhammad Ali was stripped of his Like Frazier, Holm was overlooked. She title in 1967 for dodging the Vietnam War draft, he was, without question, the greatest had never lost a fight, but had been a boxfighter in the world. He had just dismantled ing champion. She was attractive but not a Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell and Zora “Hollywood” starlet -- something Rousey was able to be in her spare time. Rousey, Folley -- three fights that stand as clinics, from Venice Beach, California, could be seen all of them must-sees for any fight fan. knocking out Turtle from “Entourage,” tossBut time has a way of wearing a man down. When Ali was cleared to fight again ing Michael Strahan to the ground in front of a giggling Kelly Ripa and sitting in on “The he had lost nearly four years of legs. His View.” Holm, meanwhile, kept her mouth return to the ring saw him dismantle a bloodied Jerry Quarry, stopping him with a shut and trained for the fight of her life. vicious cut in just the third round. Waiting Holm, an 800-point underdog according to the odds makers in Vegas, stunned the world in the wings for Ali was the much-overwhen she floored Rousey in 59 seconds into looked standing champion: Joe Frazier. the second round at UFC 193. Like Frazier, Ali was not yet the people’s champ. His Holm was a striker, and she managed to hit draft dodging, combined with a brash, outspoken demeanor and views that many Rousey in the head with full power 29 times, found unpatriotic, saw him vilified by press many sustained by Rousey as she lay flat on her back, the clock ticking on her reign as and fans alike. Still, he had never lost his champion. belt in the ring and held a record of 31-0 The parallels between the two fights and the by the spring of 1971. Frazier, on the other hand, had none of the four fighters are striking. There must be a rematch. The world did not so much lose or charisma or charm that Ali possessed, but gain a new champion that night in Australia he did have a hell of a left hook and was ... it merely punched its ticket for a posunbeaten at 26-0. The two met in Madison Square Garden in sible Thrilla in Manilla, the kind of epic that hasn’t been seen in a very, very long time. March of that same year. The fight lasted 15 rounds and it went to the scorecards, Mark Vasto is a veteran sportswriter who but there was little doubt in the minds of lives in New Jersey. the 20,455 in attendance who witnessed the spectacle that night: The great Ali lost.
To Your Good Health By Keith Roach, M.D.
Can Heart Surgery Cause Hot Flashes?
DEAR DR. ROACH: I have had hot flashes, similar to those experienced by post-menopausal women, ever since my coronary bypass in 1990. I can be sitting quietly in a chair reading or at my computer, and suddenly I find myself dripping with perspiration. I also have had panic attacks, with increased heart rate and other physical symptoms. A few years ago, a 24-hour EKG showed heart-rhythm irregularities and that my heart stopped briefly while asleep. If these idiosyncrasies of my autonomic nervous system are a consequence of my time on the heartlung machine for the bypass, I’m not complaining -- just curious. You said that studies have been done on almost everything. Is this one? -- W.S.B.
ANSWER: I found that a lot of people complain of similar symptoms. I also found that, indeed, the autonomic nervous system (the part of the nervous system that regulates temperature, sweat, blood pressure and many other critical aspects of body function without our being consciously aware of it) can be adversely affected by cardiac surgery. Some authors have suggested that the autonomic nervous system changes are one mechanism by which people are more likely to have depression after cardiac surgery. I found several possible explanations why the ANS changes with bypass surgery, but no clear consensus. I would want to be sure that there are no other causes of these symptoms. It sounds like you have had an extensive evaluation, but I certainly would be concerned about a sudden fast heart rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation. The booklet on abnormal heart rhythms explains atrial fibrillation and the more common heart rhythm disturbances in greater detail. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Roach -- No. 107W, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6. Canada with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery. *** DEAR DR. ROACH: Can you explain the condi-
STEERABLE SLED • In 1866 Samuel Allen established a farm implement company that manufactured machines which he designed. It was a seasonal operation and workers were laid off when orders slowed. Samuel felt sorry that he couldn’t provide yearround work for his employees. He needed a winter product. • One day his eye fell on an advertisement for a child’s sled. Samuel had done much sledding in his youth, but the problem with sleds of the day was that it was nearly impossible to steer them. The only way to change direction was to drag a foot and lean, which was awkward and slowed the sled. Samuel set about designing a sled that could be steered. • By creating a weak spot in the metal runners, a crossbar on the front of the sled could flex the runners, causing the sled to slide in the desired direction. He called it the Fire Fly and set out to market it. It didn’t sell well, however, and his employees were upset that their annual vacation time was being cut short. He was advised to scrap the idea and stick to farm implements. • Instead, Samuel changed the name and hit the road again. An advertising campaign touted the sled’s steering ability, safety, speed, and the fact that it was easier on shoes than dragging a foot. Finally the sled caught on, especially after Macy’s Department Store in New York City agreed to sell them. Within a few years, Samuel’s company was selling 120,000 annually and the company, now employing workers year-round, was earning more from sleds than from farm equipment. The name of the sled is the Flexible Flyer. • A California developer introduced a motorized pogo-stick. It reportedly got 30,000 hops to the gallon. In 1968 a Japanese toy company introduced a toy atomic bomb that flashed, banged, and emitted a cloud of real smoke.
tion known as “stone shoulder”? I am a man, 67 years old, and I believe I have it. I spent 45 years as a TV news photographer, handling heavy cameras, tripods, etc. -- B.J. ANSWER: “Stone shoulder” is a new one for me. Maybe you mean frozen shoulder, a condition also called “adhesive capsulitis.” It’s not a strictly accurate term, since the loss of movement the name implies is gradual. It starts with shoulder pain, often worse at night, lasting for months. Stiffness develops, and then the loss of shoulder movement can be severe. A careful physical exam by a regular doctor, a rheumatologist or sports medicine doctor, or an orthopedic surgeon can make the diagnosis. Often, the doctor will inject a steroid and anesthetic into the shoulder: The pain relief and improved movement within a minute make the diagnosis. I refer patients to physical therapy for a gradually increasing exercise regimen. Sometimes, additional injections are necessary. In your case, I would worry about a rotator cuff tear or inflammation, which you also might have acquired while doing your job. A careful exam usually can distinguish these. Occasionally, an MRI is required.
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Noteworthy Inventions
SLINKY
• Richard James, born in Delaware in 1914, grew up to become a mechanical engineer. During World War II, he worked in a shipyard building tools for subs and ships. • One day in 1943, while working on a system to stabilize instruments on ships, he accidentally knocked a box of spare parts off an overhead shelf. In the resulting mess, he was amused to see a long spring wobble and then fall, walking its way down a stack of books, across his desk, and down to the floor. Richard played around with the spring for the rest of the day, highly entertained. That evening he told his wife Betty that he thought he could get it to walk down a ramp or a flight of stairs if he could only get the tension right. • Over the course of the next year, he experimented with different types of wire before finding that high carbon steel wire half an inch in diameter and curled in a coil would “walk” effortlessly down a flight of stairs. His wife Betty named it, dubbing it the Slinky not only because that’s what it did, but also because that’s what it sounded like. • Richard formed a company, had 400 of them made, and distributed them to toy stores. It was a major flop. No one bought them. When Richard scored a major deal with Gimbels department store in Philadelphia just before Christmas, he was sure his fortune was made, but even Gimbels couldn’t sell them. • Finally, he took matters into his own hands. He showed up at Gimbels one afternoon and put on a show right there in the middle of the store, demonstrating all the neat things the Slinky could do. Ninety minutes later, he had sold all 400 of them, and there was a line out the door demanding more. By Christmas, over 20,000 had sold. (Cont’d page 7)
Retirement Myths Why do we retire when we do? The answer isn’t as simple as “I’ll be 65 on a certain date” or “That’s when I’ll have enough savings.” The answer to why we pick a time to retire is fairly complicated. The Stanford Center on Longevity teamed up with Fidelity Investments to debunk some of the myths about how we decide when to stop working. They based their research on responses from 12,000 participants age 55 and older, so it was no small study. Here are some of the results: Myth 1 -- We don’t retire until we have enough money. That makes sense, but half the participants said their retirement is tied to a specific date, not to the amount of money they’d saved. If necessary they would adjust their lifestyle to what money they did have.
Operation Gratitude Can’t Do It Alone
In just one week recently, Operation Gratitude received requests for 11,124 packages to be sent out. There was no panic -- its 322 volunteers went into action and got it done, and someone even managed to shoot a short video of their assembly line. The dilemma: It costs $15 to mail each and every box. While many items in the boxes are donated by corporations, the shipping costs are all on us, people who send a few dollars to help them get the care packages to those who need them. This year OpGrat’s goal is to send out 150,000 packages. Operation Gratitude started in 2003 as a kitchen-table project by one woman, Carolyn Blashek. Because it was a great idea, people and corporations stepped up to help. They now send care packages to Wounded Warriors
Myth 2 -- We want to spend time with our spouse. This might be true for men wanting to spend time with wives, but women would rather spend time with grandchildren. Myth 3 -- We’re struggling financially and regret having to be frugal. Again, not necessarily so. A whopping 82 percent are happy they retired when they did, and 85 percent consider it rewarding. Almost as many said that adapting to having less money is easier than they thought. One-third wished they’d started saving earlier. Myth 4 -- We have to keep working to survive. Over half of the participants said they liked working and felt valued. Myth 5 -- We’re taking advantage of retirement to travel and enjoy hobbies. For one-quarter of respondents, that’s true. The rest replied that they enjoy the free time to do whatever they want -even if it was nothing. There’s something to be said for doing absolutely nothing, even if it’s on a retirement budget.
in hospitals and transition units, veterans in Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and group homes, caregivers, individually named service members overseas, Battalion Buddies (the children of deployed military personnel), military and veteran families who are facing hardship, and new recruits. In 2013, it passed the 1 million care-packages mark. If you’re into the math, Operation Gratitude is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Its financials are an open book (with auditor reports posted on the website), and it carries a 5-star rating from Guide Star charity watchdogs. Each care package contains donated goodies in the $75-$100 range. Ready to open your wallet and help? You can donate online at www.operationgratitude.com (look for the “Donate” button), or you can send a check to Operation Gratitude, P.O. Box 260257, Encino, CA 91426-0257. If your group wants to help, the website has a long list of ways you can participate. Want to see the little video and lots of great pics? Check Twitter @OpGratitude.
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Beverage Set Q: I have a seven-piece beverage set in pink: a pitcher with six goblets in the “Tea Room” pattern. I have examined it carefully, and I think it is in near perfect condition. It is not a reproduction and has been in my family since the 1940s. I have been offered $100 for the set, but thought I would check with you before I agree to the sale. -- Betty, Ogden, Utah A: The “Tea Room” pattern is popular and desirable. It was introduced in 1926
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by the Indiana Glass Company of Dunkirk, Indiana, and production continued until 1931. The pattern was issued in four colors: amber, crystal, green and pink. According to Warman’s Depression Glass: A Value and Identification Guide by Ellen T. Schroy, your pink pitcher is worth about $135 and the goblets about $65 each. The offer you received is about $400 short of the set’s value, per Ellen T. Schroy, an expert in antique glassware who has written several guides. *** Q: Although I am not a serious collector, I enjoy going to estate sales and occasionally buy an item or two. Can you recommend a good general price guide that you trust? I am especially interested in kitchenware, glass, toys and jewelry. -- Connie, San Diego A: There are dozens of price guides available, but one I find most helpful is The Antique Trader
Antiques & Collectibles price guide edited by Eric Bradley and published by Krause Books. The 32nd edition has just been published, and the cover price of $22.99 is a bargain. This easy to use guide is the No. 1 selling reference of its kind and features more than 4,300 illustrations in full color. Although values can vary from region to region, this guide accurately reflects the antique and collectible marketplace. *** Q: Is there a market for Reader’s Digest condensed books? I have several dozen, mostly from the 1960s. -- Hal, Dalhart, Texas A: There doesn’t seem to be. Most of the ones I’ve seen at garage sales and flea markets have been priced at about a dollar each. Even at that low price there isn’t much interest. You might donate your collection to a charity.
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1. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: When did Thanksgiving become a national holiday in the United States? 2. TELEVISION: What TV show featured neighbors named Lenny and Squiggy? 3. GEOGRAPHY: Which of the Great Lakes is located entirely within the United States? 4. MOVIES: What 19th-century novel was the movie “Clueless” loosely based upon? 5. MEASUREMENTS: What measurement is used to determine the height of a horse? 6. SCIENCE: What instrument is used to measure atmospheric pressure? 7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a baby turkey called? 8. FAMOUS QUOTATIONS: What sci-fi character once said, “Do. Or do not. There is no try”? 9. MUSIC: Which Christmas carol begins with the lyric “City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style”? 10. MEDICAL TERMS: What is the common name for aphthous ulcers?
1. In 2014, Raul Ibanez became the oldest player in Royals history to hit a triple (age 42). Who had been the oldest? 2. Between 2006-2015, how many major-league teams won at least 100 games in a season? 3. When was the last time the Dallas Cowboys were in an NFC Championship Game? 4. Name three of the five freshmen to win the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award in men’s basketball. 5. When was the last time before 2015 that the first five games of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals were each decided by one goal? 6. Who is the only athlete to win a medal in six consecutive Winter Olympics? 7. When was the last time before 2015 that LSU won the NCAA Division I men’s golf championship?
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Meatloaf Mash-Up Combines Leftovers
SLINKY, cont’d • Richard opened his own factory in Albany, New York, where he could turn out a Slinky in five seconds flat. Each was 2.5 inches tall, contained 80 feet of high-grade blue-black Swedish steel wire wrapped into 98 coils, and came packaged in simple box. The following year, the debut of the Slinky at the American Toy Fair in New York City ensured the success of the toy. By the end of 1947, the fad had swept the nation. • He sold over a billion of them at $1 each, raking in the revenue. Later he introduced other Slinky toys, such as the Slinky dog, the Slinky caterpillar, and the Slinky train. • But it was his wife Betty who carried the business when Richard abandoned the project, gave his entire fortune to charity, fled to Bolivia, and left her saddled in debt just as the fad was fading and sales were declining. • It was Betty James who commissioned a TV ad with a jingle that became the longest running jingle in the history of TV: “Everyone wants a Slinky; You want to get a Slinky.” She championed the plastic tangle-free version of the toy. She paid off the debt, reinvigorated sales, and negotiated a spot in the movie “Toy Story” which boosted sales once again. • All in all, she sold enough Slinkys to circle the Earth 121 times, earning herself a spot in the Toy Industry Association’s Hall of Fame. “The simplicity of the Slinky,” she told an AP reporter in 1995, “is what made it so successful.” In 1945, the Slinky sold for $1.00; by the late 90s, the same model sold for just 89 cents more. • Richard James died in Bolivia at the age of 56, but Betty James lived to the age of 90. She died in 1998, having revolutionized the business her husband started and abandoned.
Nothing says comfort, security and home like an oldfashioned meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Try this tasty supper with your family, or better yet, invite another family over to enjoy this generous-size recipe of Outside-Inside Meatloaf. We call it the all-in-one vegetable/potato/meatloaf, because when you slice the main dish, the kids discover that everything is hidden inside -- everything, that is, except the salad and bread, which your guests could bring to complete this fabulous “let’s get together” meal. It’s also the perfect solution for using Thanksgiving meal leftovers. Extra portions of mashed potatoes, peas and corn are the perfect ingredients to complete this recipe. Even the day-old dinner rolls are useful. They’re all part of the mix. OUTSIDE-INSIDE MEATLOAF MASH-UP 2 pounds lean ground beef 2 eggs, slightly beaten 2 cups fresh or packaged breadcrumbs 2 tablespoon tomato paste 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 3 cups prepared mashed potatoes 1 cup cooked peas or corn 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese Ketchup or mustard for drizzling on top 1. Heat oven to 350 F. 2. In a large bowl, with very clean hands, let your child thoroughly mix together the meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. 3. Place on a large sheet of parchment or wax paper and form a 9-inch-by-12-inch rectangle. Use a rolling pin to make it even and smooth. 4. Spread the potatoes over the meat with a spatula, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Top with vegetable and cheese. 5. With adult assistance, your child can roll up the large meatloaf lengthwise, lifting up the paper to get it started. Remove paper and place the meatloaf seamside down on a foil-lined baking pan. Pat it together firmly, pinch ends closed and drizzle ketchup or mustard on top. 6. Bake uncovered for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until completely done. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before transferring to a large serving platter for slicing. Serves 8.
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TINY TRUCKS
• In 1946 in the town of Mound, Minnesota, Lynn Baker and two of his friends started a business called the Mound Metalcraft Company. They owned metal-stamping equipment and produced garden tools such as rakes, shovels, and hoes. A neighboring firm that sold lumber products had attempted to branch out into selling toy metal trucks. The trucks didn’t sell as well as expected, but their lumber sales kept growing. The owner of the lumber company offered the rights to the toy truck to the Mound Metalcraft Company, and Baker thought the idea would make a good sideline. Garden tools sell well in the summer, but toys sell well in the winter, and soon they were manufacturing a toy steam shovel and a toy crane. • Baker attended the New York Toy Show in 1946 where he discovered there was a market for sturdy toys in the post-World War II baby boom. Soon demand for the toys outstripped the demand for the garden tools, so they designed more models such as dump trucks, fork lifts, and fire engines, eventually adding 125 different models to their inventory. Children loved them because they were realistic, and parents loved them because they were indestructible. Soon they were turning out 400,000 toys a week. • In 1955 the company’s name was changed. The Minnesota factory overlooked a lake, and part of the lake’s name came from the Sioux word meaning ‘great.’ Because the trucks were indeed a ‘great toy’ the name was appropriate, and that’s how Tonka Trucks were named after Lake Minnetonka. • Over a quarter million Tonka trucks have been sold since 1947. If you lined them all up, they would stretch from Rhode Island to Los Angeles and back again eight times. • After World War II, Leslie and Rodney went into business together in England, combining their first names to form Lesney Products. They bought surplus die-casting machines and began turning out industrial parts. Later they hired Jack Odell, who began designing die casts for toy vehicles, modeling them after a line of toy trucks called Dinky Toys.
1. Bob Boone was 41 when he hit a triple in 1989. 2. Four -- the Angels (100 in 2008), Yankees (103 in ‘09), Phillies (102 in ‘11) and Cardinals (100 in ‘15). 3. It was after the 1995 season. 4. Arnie Ferrin (Utah, 1944); Pervis Ellison (Louisville, ‘86); Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse, 2003); Anthony Davis (Kentucky, ‘12); and Tyus Jones (Duke, ‘15). 5. The 1951 Stanley Cup Finals between Montreal and Toronto. 6. Armin Zoggeler of Italy in the luge event (19942014). 7. It was 1955.
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• In 1950 the company was just about to release a toy wedding coach when disaster struck: the Korean War began. Zinc, essential in the die casting process, was no longer available because it was needed for the war. The wedding coach was moth-balled and the company struggled, turning out tin toys instead. • In 1952 the ban on zinc was lifted. Just then Britain’s King George VI died, and his daughter Elizabeth succeeded him as queen. Lesney decided to transform the wedding coach into a coronation coach, and the new toy was released just before Elizabeth ascended the throne. • The first version of the coach was 15 inches (38 cm) long and they sold well. Odell’s daughter wanted to take one to school for show-and-tell, but the teacher would only allow children to bring items that were small enough to fit into a standard box of matches. Odell subsequently designed a coronation coach that was less than two inches (5 cm) long. The company sold over a million. They shrank all of their toy vehicles to this size, selling them for 40 cents. They were wildly popular. And because of the teacher’s prohibition against toys bigger than a matchbox, the tiny vehicles were dubbed Matchbox toys. • Over 12,000 different models have been released over the years. The company is now owned by Mattel.
Thank you to our friends at Logan Design for sponsoring this ad.
(not if ) the will you be holding this?
Please join us on
Friday, December 4th
at any Dutch Bros. Coffee in Josephine and Jackson Counties for
Buck 4 Kids Day
$1 from each cup of coffee sold will benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Rogue Valley!
Thanks Dutch Bros.
www.begreat4kids.com Grants Pass Club 541-479-1923
Illinois Valley Club 541-479-5258
Talent Club 541-292-4851
When school’s out, the Clubs are in.
Answers 1. 1863 2. “Laverne & Shirley” 3. Lake Michigan 4. “Emma,” by Jane Austen 5. Hands (one hand equals four inches) 6. Barometer 7. A poult 8. Yoda, in “The Empire Strikes Back” 9. “Silver Bells” 10. Canker sores