Have you ever had that one toy that you kept into adulthood? Mine was the Fisher-Price gas station with a parking garage. After 40 years in the same house, my parents were moving and my father demanded I sell it. “What are you going to do, play with it at 40?” I didn’t dare to answer in the affirmative. It went to a vintage toy dealer who was as thrilled as I was sad. Just like I was when he bought my Playskool building blocks. Fisher-Price goes hand in hand with Playskool, and having written an article about Playskool, I had to write about Fisher-Price next. It’s easy to mix them up, and many eBay listings mistake one for the other. You have to check the pictures to be sure.
Toys That Teach
Fisher-Price was founded in 1930 by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, and Helen Schelle. Through a series of purchases, it eventually wound up as a subsidiary of Mattel. The company began making toys of splinter-resistant wood and metal, but in the 1950s began to use plastic. Much like Playskool, their toys focused on pre-school learning.
Having a Ball
The Roly Poly Chime Ball was also a favorite of mine. It floated and I played with it in the bathtub, as if my mother needed me to stay in the tub any longer. I had two, the #165 with swans and rocking horses in it, and the other was #162 and had boats with a bell buoy. Growing up on the ocean, we had a real bell buoy and this toy reminded me of that. The 162 with boats was discontinued after two years, making it more collectible. Toddlers everywhere have been entertained by this toy for decades. The Roly Poly was made in the 1990s. Fisher-Price currently makes a small version as part of their Tiny Take-Alongs Gift Set.
Shut the Barn Door
As part of the Little People series, Fisher-Price made a Family Farm 915 with a silo. This thing almost has as many animals as Noah’s Ark including two cows, sheep, a pig, two dogs, a hen, a rooster, and two horses. There was a tractor, fences, trough for the horses, farmer with a cowboy hat, farmer’s wife, and children. The newer version 2501 features a bull. These were so popular, Fisher-Price later made a Play Family Barn lunch box.
School Is Back in Session
The Play Family School House was another great set. Originally sold in 1970, it featured students’ desks, the teacher’s desk, a swing set with two sings, a merry-go-round, and a bus. The front exterior wall folded top to reveal a real chalkboard on the inside. The roof was metal. There were two trays of magnetic numbers and letters. As a kid, one time I wrote out “Devil Dog” on the roof. I went to the bathroom and when I came back, my words were replaced with “chores.” That was my mother. I stopped playing, did my chores, went into the kitchen and there was my Devil Dog still in its wrapper on a plate at my place setting. The school had a bell on the roof, which as a kid I loved, but likely caused mass consumption of wine and martinis at many a household. My parents kept this toy long after I moved out. Their friends’ kids and grandkids played with it for years, until it met its fate with the Old Man’s infamous yard sales.
Corn Popper
As a social worker, I made sure all the kids on my caseload got at least one toy from me at Christmas. I gave one lucky toddler a Fisher-Price Corn Popper. She pushed it around all day and watched the balls pop and listened to the melodious sounds of the popping. I received a voicemail message Christmas Day that if I ever gave her another toy that made noise, the foster parent would never accept another kid from me, feed me another meal, or let me use their bathroom. I never bought another one. But when I was a kid, I sure did want one. My mother knew better. She was already stuck with the chiming Roly Poly, no way was she listening to the Corn Popper. The Corn Popper is wildly popular and still in production today with three different colors available, pink, purple, and blue. It’s so popular that Hallmark obtained a license from Fisher-Price to make it into a Christmas ornament. Fisher-Price also made a keychain version. Good Housekeeping put it on their list of The Best Toys for Kids of Every Age.
Park It Kid
Or as they say in Boston, “Pahk it kehd.” The Little People Parking Ramp Service Center Garage is one of the most popular items Fisher-Price had. One sold recently for almost $75. My father got more than that from the vintage toy dealer. This set is quite collectible. The more rare #2504 version with the red parking ramp can sell for close to $100. You can put the Little People in the cars and run them down the ramp. There is a hand-cranked car lift. But the best part is the elevator. It’s a construction-style elevator, where the people are carried in an attached pod on the outside, while the car is on the inside. This is also hand-cranked and sounds a bell with each crank. If you had one of these as a kid, other kids would come over just to play with it.
See ‘n Say Isn’t Baaad
A favorite of many and among many greatest toys of all time lists, like Time Magazine’s, the See ‘n Say is iconic. It is likely the most famous Fisher-Price toy ever produced. It was originally designed with a pull string. You pointed the arrow to the animal noise you wanted, pulled the string, and it sounded. Realizing the string was breaking over time, Fisher-Price made later versions activated with a plastic arm. That unintentionally created another noise parents had to endure. I mean, I knew better than to give this to foster parents. I’m not that stupid.
Toys for All Ages
Fisher-Price was a mainstay of the 60s and 70s for kids and parents alike. They were made out of plastic but very durable. Unlike some of their competitors, Fisher-Price offered toys from ages 6 months and up. There was a wide selection of playsets. The Little People themselves were used in multiple sets, and you could wind up with a whole village using the house, school, garage, and farm. Younger kids had the Roly Poly Chime Ball and Corn Popper. The See ‘n Say appealed to all ages. I got mine in my 20s. A friend gave it to me for my birthday because I wouldn’t shut up about not having one as a kid. Better late than never. I’m sure the neighbors loved it. No, I did not smuggle in a goat. I swear, it was the See ‘n Say.
L.A. Rankin lives in South Florida. She is a freelance writer, avid walker, reader, and trivia savant. On any given day, she can be found at her local Dunkin’ Donuts.
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