Playthings of the past at N.J. Vietnam Era Museum

If you remember the thrill of eating your first Easy-Bake cake or the pungent odor of a freshly fired

Clockwise from top right: Colorful Troll dolls are part of a toy exhibit looking back to the ’60s & ’70s at the N.J. Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center, Holmdel. Other toys include Easy-Bake ovens, Tinker Toys, full-size G.I. Joe figures, Barbie and an Etch A Sketch. Collector Steve Stegman gave a talk on June 12 and brought along some of his favorites: Howdy Doody, Robert the Robot, and Mr. Machine. The exhibit will close Aug. 21 with a 1960s family field day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. PHOTOS BY LESTER B. YOUNG JR. cap gun, you’ll enjoy the current

traveling exhibit at the New Jersey Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center in Holmdel.

The exhibit, “Dolls and Toys of the 1960s-70s — A Flash Back in Time,” on display through Aug. 21, offers glimpses into childhoods of the past.

More than 50 toys are on loan as part of a traveling exhibit available from the Toy Museum of New York, located in Brooklyn. Some of the classic playthings featured are G.I. Joe, Barbie, Star Trek figures, Etch A Sketch, Troll dolls, Lego blocks, Nerf balls, old-fashioned roller skates, dollhouse furniture and a record player.

The toys are encased in glass for their protection, but some Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys are available to provide some hands-on fun.

“The education center widens its focus beyond the Vietnam War itself to the home front,” said Katie Henry, coordinator of education initiatives and resources. “You can understand a culture through its toys and games and take a step back in time.”

Henry said it is interesting to see the gender roles depicted in that era with Hasbro’s G.I. Joe action figures, which were first produced in 1964, and Barbie dolls, which Mattel made popular in the 1960s. GI stands for government issue and has become a common term for soldier.

She said her favorite toy in the exhibit is the Easy-Bake Oven introduced by Kenner (now a division of Hasbro) in 1963.

“I was born in the ’80s, and the Easy-Bake Oven I had was not as well made as one in this exhibit,” said Henry, who received a master of arts degree in museum professions from Seton Hall University in South Orange.

Henry said the exhibit brings out the child in everyone and has multigenerational appeal.

“Everyone is a child at heart, and toys bring out nostalgia,” said Henry, a resident of Old Bridge. “The high school studentswho tour the educational center and memorial are enthralled by the toys, as are the people who were children during the ’60s and ’70s.”

The exhibit will close on a realistic note by giving viewers a taste of a 1960s family field day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 21. “There will be 1960s activities, including races, music, films and crafts,” Henry said. “It will be fun for the family and educational.”

Toy collector shares Howdy Doody, Mr. Machine, other favorites at lecture

As part of the educational center’s current exhibit, toy collector Steve Stegman presented the lecture “The History of Dolls and Toys in the 1960s and the 1970s” on June 12 and brought a few favorites from his personal collection.

Stegman, of Lambertville, had previously visited the exhibit and noted that it had a particular draw for adults.

“For me and perhaps other adults, these toys create a moment in time back to childhood,” said Stegman, who has collected toys for about 25 years. “They are a shortcut to the past.”

Playthings from the ’60s and ’70s on display at the N.J. Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center include: Battling Tops, assorted dolls, the Grocery Store Game, a xylophone and a cap gun. The exhibit is on loan from the Toy Museum of New York. Some items in the exhibit especially caught his eye: the Easy-Bake ovens and the G.I. Joe figures.

“The ovens are fine examples of the first ones made by Kenner,” he said. “Also, it’s interesting to see how the G.I. Joes changed from military figures to adventure figures.”

Stegman, who owned a collectible-toy store, The 5 & Dime in Lambertville, said most toys in the 1970s and 1980s were driven by the film and television media.

“As a child, I wanted every toy I saw on TV and in the movies,” he said. “Even early TV shows such as ‘Howdy Doody’ in the late ’50s had marionettes and puppets for sale. Toys are a big business.”

Favorites in Stegman’s own collection include his childhood Mobo hobbyhorse on wheels, manufactured in Kent, England; a Howdy Doody marionette; and a Flub-a-Dub hand puppet given to him by his grandfather.

“The toy horse was kept at my grandmother’s house, and I even have a photo with me on it,” said Stegman, who demonstrated to the audience that the metal horse, about 55 years old now, is still in working condition.

He also shared that Howdy Doody, a marionette on the TV show of the same name that aired from 1947 to 1960, had a stringless counterpart that was used for photo and promotional purposes.

“He was called Photo Doody,” Stegman explained. “And Photo Doody had a backup called Double Doody.”

The now-deceased Robert E. “Buffalo Bob” Smith, Howdy’s human “sidekick,” was a big hit when he visited Stegman’s store in 1993. “He was a very nice man,” Stegman noted. “He would often walk in unrecognized to his personal appearances with Howdy in a suitcase, and most people had no idea what was in that suitcase and how valuable it was.”

Stegman, a master plumber by trade, said he was first lured into collecting toys by character watches, such as a Mickey Mouse timepiece. But the seeds were probably sown many years earlier when he was a child in the Bronx, N.Y., going to visit his great-aunt in Brooklyn. The Rice Krispies cereal she gave him had a premium inside each box — one piece of a train set.

“I ate a lot of Rice Krispies, but I had a train about yay long,” he quipped, holding his hands about a foot apart.

The growth of eBay had a direct impact on stores like his, Stegman said, noting that the trend has reversed somewhat with some collectors now preferring to attend toy and doll shows to make a purchase in person.

“This way you see the product and you know who you are dealing with,” he said.

For those who still have some of their favorite childhood toys or hope to put them back in their life someday, he advised that storage is key. “No attic or basement,” he said. “Try to keep the dust off. And store in a smoke-free place.”

Most important, he said, “you must connect to the hobby. Collecting toys takes you back to when your only worry was being on time for dinner.”

The Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center is located adjacent to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial, off the Garden State Parkway at Exit 116. The center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for students and seniors, and free for children under 10 years of age. Veterans and active-duty military personnel are admitted without charge.

For further information call 732-335-0033 or visit www.njvvmf.org.