Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Just A Boy



This is Hal.



These are his marbles.



They are made of clay and some are real prizes.

He hasn't lost them yet.



The green top belonged to Hal...
...not sure about the blocks.



This was Hal's wooden race car which he received for Christmas in 1927.



More wooden blocks...these have cursive lettering.






The green ocarina was made in Austria. It is similar to a flute or recorder.
The tin top was Hal's as a toddler.
The toy pop gun still works.



These old games belonged to other family members.



Flinch cards.
My Nana had an old set of these that I used to play with as a girl.



We still have the instructions and the tiny dice for this Pollyanna game.
I forgot to take a picture of the game board...but will show you that tomorrow along with some other old toys.



Hal is 90 years old now and gave me all the facts concerning his toys.
He is still mowing the lawn, driving his own car and sharp as a tack.
He has a wry sense of humor and is full of boyish nonsense.
Hal is Mr. Flea's Dad and his best friend.
Happy Father's Day Hal!...

Since Father's Day is coming up on Sunday...
...I thought I would start early as there are a lot of fathers to honor in our family!

Have a good night!
:)

39 comments:

Unknown said...

Good idea!
Happy Fathers Day Hal!

Prencie said...

What a lovely post!!! So much thought and love went into it....you can tell:) I love all of the vintage trinkets that Hal still has!!

Happy Fathers day Hal!!:)

Beatnheart said...

absolutely Wonderful....yeah Hal...

north pal said...

oh what a beautiful boy. the minute i saw it, i thought he has melted my heart. he is so young at heart. i love that photo. such a tender face. Bestest,Denie

1 Funky Woman said...

Oh how sweet this is! What a wonderful picture to have!

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here said...

How wonderful that Hal kept these toys from his childhood! The picture of him is adorable.
Happy Fathers Day Hal!
xo, Sherry

Kim said...

What a wonderful tribute to your father-in-law...very unique. What a handsome little boy!

Evi said...

What a sweet story and all these wonderful toys.
Happy Fathers Day to Mr Fleas dad Hal!
See you tomorrow.
LOL,
Evi

Carole said...

What a cute story...i kept wondering who Hal was? Love the bangs....I had a pic of my dad once at that age with the same hair cut. It kills me that I haven't been able to find it:)

Good luck with the e-class too!
xx
Carole

Kateyed said...

Precious, Laura!

Unknown said...

What a great post!! Thank you for sharing his story!

Andrea said...

That is so neat! All of those old toys !

Knicky Knacks said...

Wow - how precious. Whenever you question the need to horde old things, you only need to look at those remarkable toys and the wonderful stories it evokes to realise, holding on to old sentimental things is a wonderful connection to our ancestry.

Andy's Attic said...

Oh, Laura, how incredible to have Hal's old toys and still have Hal to tell you about them!
Happy Father's Day to Hal and Mr. Flea and your father, too.
Annette

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

What a fun post! Happy Father's Day to Hal! I've never seen blocks with cursive writing!

bijzonder-oud said...

What a nice pictures and a beautifull story, I love it!!

Have a nice Father's Day, Hal!!

Yolanda

Ana said...

¡You are soooo lucky! all those beautiful toys and to top it all to be able to hear the story of them all by the real owner.enjoy

LiLi M. said...

I have a haunch that Hal's fathers day is extra special this year! Wishing you a very happy Fathers' Day Hal! Thanks for another lovely post Laura, as I told you before; lovely things even get lovier when there is a memory or a person attached. Happy day today!

Jacqueline @ HOME said...

Dear Laura,
I just LOVE this post. These few photographs paint a wonderful picture and give us an insight into Hal's life as a boy. I find it quite remarkable that your family have so many momento's of the past. It's wonderful to see. I thought that my dad was a horder, but he had nothing on your family. ....also, your families all seem to live very long lives. They must all have so many wonderful stories to tell.
More of those stories please, Laura and, as my dad is no longer with us (he died at 91 in 2008) please wish Hal a happy father's day from me and tell him that I loved seeing the toys that he played with as a boy !! XXXX

Nancy H. said...

What a wonderful Father's Day tribute to Hal!

Happy Father's Day to all!

Nancy5678(at)aol(dot)com

cheryl kuhn said...

What a nice tribute to Hal! How lucky he is to have all those mementos of his life and to have family that appreciates them and him!

Anonymous said...

Laura, this is just the sweetest post! God bless Hal! Aw...
Hugs! Give one to Hal too!
Diane

Jane said...

Happy Father's Day Hal!
You are so smart to get all this information from Hal. All of those toys are family heirlooms and you will have the stories to pass down with the toys. That is a wonderful gift to have!
Jane

Ann at the Handley Bungalow said...

What a sweet post! I can't believe he saved all those wonderful toys. Happy Father's Day! I enjoyed the pictures of him, too. How cute!

Deb said...

What a wonderful post. It's amazing that he saved all those wonderful things. Give him a big Happy Father's Day! He sounds like a great man!

Amy said...

Hello to Hal!!! I absolutely LOVE this post- the photo, the toys, everything!

Becca said...

Lovely post! Enjoy seeing all the vintage toys. :-)

Mélanie A. said...

WHAT A CUTE BOY ! And I can imagine he is a fantastic man. I love all the old toys . Wonderful post for a fantastic dad

Burlap Luxe said...

Happy Fathers Day Hal, you remind me of my grandfather who was ontop of his game at 92 then passed to cancer.

Your post was filled with history Laura,
I always ejoy dropping in on you to take a peak at what creative thing is going on over here.

Your tone on tone European flea market feel is soothing to the passionate heart :)
xx
Dore

My Grama's Soul said...

You are one lucky family to still have so many fathers alive to be honored.

Jo

Les Cotrions said...

Charming old toys and very sweet story Laura! Hal was an hamdsome boy and he's surely very happy about the post you dedicated to him!
You have a lot of fantastic family memories and of course a wonderful family too!
Happy father's day to Hal from me! He made a great job with Rob!
Vale

Rummet för välbefinnande said...

Ohhh my..... This story went straight to my heart!
Best wishes from Mia

Mary said...

What a wonderful tribute to your father-in-law! I think it's spectacular he can tell about his toys and still mows & drives. What a beautiful photo of him too :-)

Unknown said...

Amazing that Hal's toys have survived for so long ~ what treasures, indeed! I love to play games of days long ago. There was one that we played at my Grandparents' house as a child. I think it may have been similar to Flinch, but they were handmade out of old cereal boxes and such.

Laura, I enjoy 52 Flea very much and have added it to my Beautiful Blogs section on my blog (ART of Humungous Proportions).
I remain,
a faithful reader ~
Dawn.

Angela said...

I think it is wonderful that you have these special things that belonged to him. They are priceless!!

jacklynn4 said...

I have never seen cursive wooden blocks! OMG! They are gorgeous. Are they for sale by any chance???????
jackie
bliss farm antiques

Patina said...

What a fun post! I love all the old games! I have never seen a Pollyanna Game, that's pretty cool!

maryann said...

Oh, Hal is a lovely boy! How awesome that he still has all of these old things!! Please wish Hal, and Mr. Flea, a happy, blessed Father's Day from me!!

Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage said...

Look at that precious face! What a blessing for Hal to have so many of his toys from childhood. It must have been such fun for you to get the lowdown on everything straight from the source. ;)

Blessings,
Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/