By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Baby Alive dolls, Tinkertoys and Playskool Little People are joining the Sitka Historical Society’s holiday festivities at Harrigan Centennial Hall this year, says society executive director Hal Spackman.
The Opening Event of the third annual Holiday Toyland and Train Village is noon to 4 p.m. December 17. A gingerbread house decoration contest also will be included. The “Toyland” feature is new.
“We’re trying to evoke the idea that Christmas has evolved and changed and it brings back memories to people,” said Spackman, who also manages the Sitka History Museum. “It’s part of our mission to celebrate the past, too. I think we oftentimes just think of history in terms of major events, but it’s our memories too.”
Toys are set out in the Sitka History Museum today. (Sentinel Photo)
The event includes displays of train sets and model villages, toys from childhoods, and gingerbread houses and creations, all of which will be up for a week.
Those at the opening event can get photos with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the Grinch, as well as cocoa, and treats from the “cookie corral.”
It’s the third celebration with the model trains and gingerbread houses, which last year drew hundreds of Sitkans of all ages to Centennial Hall to view the collection of houses, boats, churches, trailers and other structures, and watch O gauge and HO gauge trains whir through tiny neighborhoods in the lobby and in rooms.
Spackman said he’s looking for loans of toys from all eras, as well as trains, for the display. Some of the toys from years past can be played with, but others, such as antique dolls, will be for viewing only.
Spackman said it should be fun for kids and adults to see what toys have been popular over the years, spurring discussions and stories about Christmases past.
Spackman remembers a special gift of a baseball mitt in his youth, and that other popular toys of the day included EasyBake ovens, erector sets, Chatty Cathy dolls, Tinkertoys and Lincoln Logs; history museum curator Nicole Fiorino said one of her favorite gifts was a “Year 2000” American Girl doll.
“This brings you back to memories, and it oftentimes leads to great discussions among grandparents and parents, and their children,” Spackman said.
Those wanting to share their toys, or bring in trains for display, can do so by next Thursday. The train, toy and gingerbread neighborhoods will be up through Dec. 23.
Gingerbread houses must be turned in before noon December 17, and all entries will receive a prize.
Spackman said he has a good idea what the train and gingerbread displays will look like, but is still on the lookout for interesting toys for the new feature of the event.
“We’re hoping the community will come through with some of the toys they have,” he said today. “We’re getting some dolls, Fisher Price toys, little people, marionettes, a pogo stick, and nutcrackers have been offered.”
Spackman said those making loans should specify their care, such as whether they can be played with or handled by the public. Those that are too precious or delicate to handle are also welcome, and the public will be advised that they are for display only.
Ruth Culp, daughter of longtime Sitkans Walt and Margaret Dangel, is loaning five dolls that she received or purchased over the years, including a rubber squeaky girl doll she received in the early 1950s when she was two. Her sister Pat received a squeaky boy doll the same year. Another of the dolls is a replica of one her mother, Margaret, who was born in Sitka in 1920, received when she was nine years old.
Ruth said many of her classmates from Sitka still live here. “We’re older but we’re all still kids,” she said.
Blake Conaway has built a 10-by-12-foot scale model of a railroad landscape for his post-war Lionel O gauge trains. Other features are an O gauge train donated by the LaGuire family which goes through a quaint winter village. The LaGuires collected pieces over the years, which they donated to the museum. Walt Dangel’s HO trains also will be running.
The gingerbread contest also has turned out to be a popular feature, with Sitka artists of all ages entering houses, boats and buildings made of gingerbread, graham crackers or even pretzels. But Spackman said any material is acceptable.
“We did gingerbread the first year, and found that they all end up looking kind of the same,” Spackman said.
The toys will be displayed in the room next to the Assembly meeting room, and secured when the exhibit is not open and staffed.
Spackman is expecting that donations will be “a bit of a mix,” which will make it interesting. Those with questions can reach him at 907-738-3766.
He thanked AC Lakeside, First National Bank of Alaska, Sitka Swirls, True Value and Spenard’s for their donations for the event.
