Day Tripping

Toy Heaven in the Mountains

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

If there is anything I’ve learned from writing day tripping stories, it is that you never know what you will find and you better be prepared to be surprised at what is out there. When driving around on Saturdays looking for yard sales, for example, I have stumbled upon interesting people doing amazing things or places I never knew existed, all making great stories to share with Laker readers.

While I was not yard saling on a recent Thursday, I did visit a unique museum with enough of interest to fit the criteria of a great day-tripping adventure.

I found a brochure for the Stinson Mountain Museum of Building Toys when I was in the Rumney area last summer and thought it would be a fascinating place to visit. Thus, I promised myself a return trip to visit. The pandemic certainly ground such plans to a halt, but as restrictions eased in early June, I contacted Ken Weinig, the museum’s owner, to see if I could arrange a visit.

Friendly and enthusiastic to show his collection, Ken set a day and time for my tour and advised, “Give me a call when you get to Rumney for directions, because the house isn’t easy to find.”

This is often the case when day tripping and seeking out the great places I enjoy visiting. Creative folks and those who have something unusual to share can live in rural areas and that is part of the charm and the story. With Ken’s directions, I made my way to his rural home where the toy museum holds pride of place on the lower level.

Before Ken took me on a tour of the toy museum, we sat on his porch and talked about the museum and how it came to exist. It was the perfect place to sit and talk and watch the birds that flit among the flowers. Ken knows a lot about everything from Erector Sets, to antique toys, to the history of Rumney…and even old-time and silent movies!

How did Ken start his collection of toys, with an emphasis on A.C. Gilbert Erector Sets? “My father was sort of an anti-pack rat,” Ken said with a laugh. After Ken went off to college, his father gave away the Erector Sets that had been Ken’s childhood toy. Sad to lose those beloved toys, Ken, however, moved on and was busy with college, and then with a family and a career as an English teacher and school principal. He likely had little time to think about his love of those old Erector Sets.

However, in the 1990s, Ken bought an Erector Set at an auction, which got him started on a journey that led to creating the toy museum. He joined a toy club and got hooked on old Erector Sets. “I bought them at flea markets, and auctions and I used to drive miles to buy a set. But the internet and eBay changed all that and offered a greater variety.” It also meant a lot less work hunting hither and yon to find Erector Sets to add to Ken’s growing collection.

 Admittedly, I never gave much thought to the Erector Set my brother had as a kid or who invented the toy. But talking with Ken gave me a greater awareness of the inventor of the Erector Set (and a lot of other toys as well), Mr. A.C. Gilbert. 

Gilbert must have been an amazing man with great and inventive ideas. He was, to Ken and many others, “the world’s greatest toymaker.” He got started making toys when in 1913, he saw a steel bridge and thought to himself that kids might like to play with a miniature version of the bridge; thus, was born the Erector Set. He went on to make trains, tool sets, chemistry sets, puzzles and a lot more.

Ken had plenty to say about Gilbert, and he is clearly a fan of the inventor. He explained as well that the museum is divided into sections: building sets, Gilbert toys, educational toys such as puzzles and blocks and a New York historical section with memorabilia, old subway signs and other objects.

By this time, I was more than ready to see the collection and Ken could probably sense my excitement as he led the way to the museum, which he has created with care and thoughtfulness.

As we entered the toy museum, it was immediately apparent these were toys from past generations kept in great condition by a true collector. The many Erector Sets were displayed on shelves and sectioned by the decades they were created. Ken collects sets of all sizes. I had no idea some of the sets were so massive until Ken opened various cases to reveal neatly sectioned row upon row of Erector Set parts. These huge Sets are very heavy and would need an adult to lift them; imagine finding such a gift under the tree on Christmas morning!

Ken’s collection starts with Erector Sets from 1913 and goes through 1961, the year A.C. Gilbert died. From modest to large Erector Sets that weigh over 100 lbs., the toys offered something for every child (they were played with mostly by boys at the time).

Ken explained that during World War II there was a demand for metal, which meant the end of producing metal Erector Sets for a time. He showed me a wooden Erector Set sold at the time, attesting to the fact that Gilbert was truly an innovator.

Along with Erector Sets, Gilbert created all sorts of interactive toys for children, and Ken has a large collection of child-sized chemistry sets and tool sets as well. Gilbert also produced a modest line of things for little girls, but the inventor’s main focus was on toys for boys. I was interested to see that Gilbert also produced a child-sized magic kit, which is among Ken’s collected objects. (And did you know that Gilbert made an Erector Airship circa 1929? It is on display as well.)

The objects in the toy museum are many, and among them are such gems as a World War II Civilian Plane Spotter. Certainly, I had never seen one, but Ken explained it was just what its name said: a hand-held device for civilians to use to spot enemy planes.

In another section, Ken has on display a Gilbert Lab Technician Set with a large photo on the box cover of two girls working on a lab project and next to it a Gilbert toy called My Mixer so little girls could make “delicious desserts.” Anyone who might view that as sexist should remember these toys were produced at a time when gender played a role in toys as well as what jobs a person could do. 

The toy museum has everything you could imagine - even a working replica of a parachute ride from the World’s Fair. Nearby is a circa 1931 Ferris wheel made from several Erector Sets.

As if all that was not enough, there was one more display area: A New York/Coney Island section. Ken explained that he has a special fondness for New York City and Coney Island and has collected many wonderful signs and other objects, from a South Ferry Manhattan sign to subway signs and a unique and wonderful sign that lights up with the words “Telephone to Call Police”.

Just when I thought I had seen it all, Ken asked if I knew who Bela Lugosi was. As a fan of old movies, I replied that of course I knew Lugosi as the star of old Dracula and other horror movies. Ken nodded as he gently took a cast object from a box and said it was a cast that Lugosi had made of his face at his death!

One cannot help but wonder if Ken spends all his time in the museum playing with the many toys and building things with the Erector Sets. Smiling, he says he spends a certain amount of time working on the displays but the collection isn’t for children or adults to play with, but rather to view and learn about the past.

Those who want to spend a delightful hour or more with someone who is truly knowledgeable about building toys should call or email Ken and make an appointment to see the amazing Stinson Mountain Museum of Building Toys. You will not find a more knowledgeable or a kinder person to explain the history of all sorts of toys in an extensive collection.

I spent a wonderful afternoon at the museum and learned a lot about old toys, the inventor A.C. Gilbert and I got to talk old movies with Ken. Indeed, this particular day trip adventure is one for the books and will make my list of the most unique and wonderful places I have visited.

(The museum is a private collection shown by appointment to groups of two to six people and admission is free. As Ken stressed, it is a museum for adults and not a place where children can play with the toys which are of a collectible nature. Call for an appointment or for information to 603-786-2899 or email kweinig@myfairpoint.net. Ken is the national secretary of the A.C. Gilbert Heritage Society (www.acghs.org), a group of Gilbert fans always looking for new members.)