Bob,
As a "beach kid" in Long Beach and Ocean Beach, California in the 1950s, I
recall playing with other boys in sand lots, school yards, and on backwater
bay areas. The boys bought and shot for marbles. We all started with a nickel
bag and then applied our skills to acquire marbles from the less skilled or
unlucky. I recall there was a hierarchy for marble values and if you wanted a
prized marble back, it was ransomed for up to ten other marbles. Although most
old slag, stone, and clay marbles had lower value, aggies (agates) held the
highest esteem. I have two "bloodies" (red agate marbles) from that time
period. I never saw the old hand-made swirls, but they would have had low values
in the 1950s because the hot marble of those days were cat's eyes. The fact
that parents and teachers tried to prevent us from playing marbles (because
they equated them with gambling) only made us want to play more and we applied a
higher status to good players.
Since money was nearly non-existant in that period, we either sold soda pop
bottles for small change or made do with what we could find. I recall
scavenging bottle caps, spark plugs, old inner tubes, and lead wheel balance weights
for toys and amusements. The spark plugs and wheel weights made good fishing
sinkers. We used to scrounge fishing gear from the back alley behind sporting
goods stores. Kids just make-do with what they can find.
I am really fascinated with the use of bottle caps as toys by people in
different parts of the nation. I mean, no one talked to us unless some new kid
brought ideas from other cities. None of us were reading newspapers or
magazines, so how did kids across the nation learn about those toys?
As to jacks, I only recall a neighbor girl playing with those toys. I would
suppose parents had a lot to do with deciding what gender gets what toys. I
also have no recollection of girls helping scrounge toys from the trash behind
the gas stations.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
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