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1,000th POST! * 1,000th POST! * 1,000th POST!
One of my very favourite toys when I was a kid was a MARX YOGI BEAR on a yellow friction-drive scooter. I got my very first one in 1963 and another one the week before my birthday in '64 or '65. (I had the first in houses 1-3, and the second in houses 2 & 3.) I'm not quite sure what fate eventually befell them, but the last time I can recall seeing either of them was around '67 or '68. I could've still had them beyond that date of course, but I just can't remember with absolute certainty. (Is there any other kind?)
Over the course of the last 30 years or so, since I started re-acquiring items I associate with my childhood, I've kept an eager eye out for Yogi and his scooter. No joy - though I did see a photo of the box in a HANNA-BARBERA book I bought a few years back, but not the toy itself. I published a picture of the box in a blog post back in April, asking anyone who had the toy - or knew where to get one - to get in touch, but no leads were forthcoming.
However, all things come to he who waits, and a couple or so weeks ago, I got an email from someone in Australia who had the very toy (and box) itself. He sent me some photos, a deal was struck, and it won't be long before Yogi and his scooter arrive direct from Down Under, hopefully none the worse for wear after their long journey. So, that's one more childhood toy dropping in to keep me company before I fall off the twig - only a few more still to acquire.
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So chuffed am I at the prospect of soon being reunited with my boyhood pal that I thought I'd share some of the photos of Yogi sent to me by the seller. In a short while I'll be able to claim that I've had the 'same' Yogi scooter toy in four straight houses in a row since the early '60s - which may be of no particular significance to anyone else, but connects me to a comforting continuity with the past from which I derive a great and palpable pleasure.
And thanks to Jerome for being able to 'bear' parting with him. (Ouch! Even I winced at that one.)
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And, lest you happen to think that the idea of Yogi Bear riding a scooter is an unlikely one, here's a photo which proves otherwise. Apologies to whichever site the photo came from - I can't remember and didn't take a note.
Thats great.
ReplyDeleteHave you already posted a wants list or article here of the few items remaining to be re-owned.
Not yet, Baab, but I'll get around to it eventually.
ReplyDeleteHey, has it really been 1,000 , congratulaions! It doesn't surprise me though ,as you're one of the most prolific of all the bloggers I follow. I know I was a late starter, but I've "done" the full archive and still keep darting back & forth when I remember things.Look forward to the next thousand! Don't slow down! JP
ReplyDeleteThanks, JP - I'll do my best!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 1000 posts. The best blog on British comics on the net. Not too shabby about American comics either!!
ReplyDeleteLooks like Yogi was a top mod 'face' on his little Vespa then.
ReplyDeleteWonder if he ever went down to Hastings or Brighton for a Bank Holiday ruck with the Rockers?
Ken.
He wanted to, but Ranger Smith wouldn't let him.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your milestone! Like the other guy said, "keep 'em comin'" However would we have been able to make such tangible re-connections with our past (via these items) if it were not for the internet?, I guess it would have been down to the old-school pre-'net methodology of Sunday markets, op-shops and various trading posts. We'll always have the memories though, but no substitute for having the actual item back to make the intervening years disappear.
ReplyDeleteWell done and keep them coming. Sometimes you're so quick and've moved on to the next post before I've had a chance to comment on the previous one, but that's better than not finding a new one when I come looking. Best of all is when you do a post that brings the memories rushing back, like the recent Blackpool one.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Phil - having the actual item back is instant time travel. And if it wasn't for the internet, it's doubtful I'd have been able to re-acquire Yogi and various other goodies.
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GB, glad to hear you're enjoying them. Makes it all worthwhile to know that there are such like-minded people out there.
Congratulations Kid reaching the 1000 posts milestone! A picture is worth a 1000 words - what are 1000 posts worth? I am a bit of a late-comer here, as I only started visiting late spring, after Lew Stringer stopped updating his comics blog. The variety of topics you have showcased and discussed from your own perspective have been entertaining.
ReplyDeleteNow, referring to Yogi Bear, he rides a blue scooter on the box, were there colour variants for the actual toys? Of course, the yellow vespa is the more iconic look. The box reminds me of the cover of the Beaver Annual 1962, where Yogi rides a blue motorbike on a fair roundabout. Actually, this book is probably the only piece of nostalgia I have from the 60's, I bought it at a school fair in the 70's.
(Jake)
Jake, Marx Toys released a variety of characters riding scooters, from Sooty (& Sweep), Goofy, Pluto, Tom & Jerry (in a sidecar), Spider-Man, Captain America, Thor - and of course, Yogi. There were probably also others of which I'm unaware.
ReplyDeleteThe colours of the various scooters were yellow, red, blue, orange and pink - and again, there might have been others. (Green, purple, white, black, etc.)
I had two Yogis and a Goofy in my time, and their scooters were yellow - I never saw any variants of that. (I'd have liked a red because that's my favourite colour.) If you look at the box in the photos, it's stamped 'yellow' (as is the one in the picture in my book).
Glad to hear you enjoy the blog.
Thor riding a pink scooter is perhaps the campest super hero toy I have ever seen. Still kudos to the God of Thunder for being the only one to wear a helmet!
ReplyDeleteBy the way I see a mint Thor with box sod for over $2',500 in 2007.
Well done Kid on the milestone post. Always an interesting, amusing and informative read.
Ken.
Thanks very much, Ken. I doubt Thor on a scooter is really worth that amount - someone must've got 'auction fever'. In the meantime, I'm wishing my life away until Yogi arrives.
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