|
Who knew that a trip to the
Great Smokey Mountains can be an enlightening
experience about toy making? Believe it or not,
Appalachian toys have a history right here in the Great
Smoky Mountains- bring down the family and stay in a
Smoky Mountain cabin rental today, and become
educated on the history of Appalachian toys.
Many people hand-made toys in the Appalachians
for spare change- some of the toys they made are those
that children still find entertaining today. Willard
Watson has become one of the best known toy makers in
the Appalachians. Watson began making toys in the 1960’s
when he became unable to perform demanding physical
labor he had done all his life. Toy making provided him
with a steady income- as tourists and guided tours were
constantly visiting him. What inspires him to make these
toys? He claims that he imagined images in his head
first, and, was able to use his mental picture to create
them. Watson’s array of the toys he made range from
sling shots-to extravagant wagons, from dancing dolls to
a bubble blower.
Many native Appalachians are revealing antique
toys that have collected through-out the years. A simple
ball and cup toy was made out of whittled pieces of
mountain laurel or rhododendron. The handles and the
cups are glued together and the balls were made out of
pine wood. It’s also exciting to see how more unique
toys were made, such as Watson’s bouncing pig. A rod
runs through the front feet of the pig so that its
hindquarters are free to rise up and down. When you see
this toy in action, you can witness the movement as the
crank at the back end of the toy is turned, the man’s
right arm moves up and down to whop the pig, and each
time the pig is whipped, its hindquarters rise off the
platform. Dolls were made from a variety of materials,
some toy makers liked to use apples, while others even
used potatoes!
Come make a trip to the
Great Smoky Mountains- you may get the chance to
speak with a native Appalachian who still has unique
hand-made mountain toys today. Stay in a
Pigeon Forge cabin rental, and spend some time
shopping in antique shops in order to see these unique
toys for yourself!
|
