1986 Family Letter - October 1986

[October 1986]



Dearest Family –

Dad brought home a new typewriter and I did try using it but it was really different than this old one. It beeps when you misspell a word in its limited vocabulary and had alot of features this old one has.  It was nice but we ended up taking it back and will try another one later on.  I did like the correction part – either a letter or word at a time.  The same typewriter was about $100 or so cheaper through Service Merchandise so it might be a better place to shop.

We did have a wonderful trip and as always are glad to be back.  Our group was so small we really got acquainted.  There were four other men and no other women.  Two were from Puerto Rico who had been on the same Commerce Tour last year so knew their way around.  One man was from Anaheim who had recently gone through bankruptcy but very, very personable.  The other was from Boston, separated from his wife and anxious to impress her with his many purchases – furniture for his new apt/house, two tailored suits plus extra trousers from Hong Kong and more like things from Korea.  They were both quite young and very interested in importing.  The toy shows were varied – relatively little in Manila but we did tour a stuffed animal factory there which was very interesting.

Mary Greene was very nice to us [same Mary that showed us great hospitality in Hong Kong in November 2016] – sent flowers and a note to our hotel, took us with a driver south of Taipei where we visited a number of toy factories (?).  The first was actually a factory but the other two were makeshift factory/homes where one made & packaged paddles and the other made rubber balls.  That evening after dinner we went to Mary's apartment and it was luxurious.  Our living room and bedrooms would fit in hers easily and she had a balcony and also a roof garden.  She does want Roberta and Sid to come and visit and does have the space.

We did find the hotel where we had stayed 14 years ago but hardly recognized it for the whole area had changed (built up) and just about one block from our hotel this time.

The Philippines was interesting and would have been nice to have more time on our own there.  The night before we left they had a 1st grade typhoon which made it more memorable.  Also a 7 course dinner with escargot and cinnamon sherbert.

Hong Kong was fascinating – like a homecoming for we had good recollection of the beauty of the city.  We had a room with a "view" and made good use of our four days there.  Covered the area pretty well via street car, incline, boat, ferry, bus, train and taxi.  The toy show here was nothing exciting, but found that the people were more than anxious to come to your hotel to show "their wares."  H.K. seems like more of a bustling place than New York City.  Oh yes we did go back to the same tailors here we had bought items 14 years before, but we found it much more expensive but still many bargains there which we regretted not taking up on as they said Korea had same things but cheaper.

Mrs. Kim met us at the airport with Kim's sister and took over as our tour leaders.  It was good for the man who was to meet us never came to view at the airport altho he said he was there & looked for all of us.  Seoul is really a modern city with many skyscrapers and wide streets – 14 lanes wide in some places.  They use tunnels under the street to accommodate the pedestrians getting across the busy thoroughfares.  We attended the largest church perhaps in all the world –they have seven services each Sunday morning with 15,000 at each and many people standing.  Sunday school was conducted for the children in the outside area around the church.  It was a real traffic jam both before and after.  Luckily they had seven language speakers in the area where we sat so the headphones translated it very quickly.  The hymns were very familiar – the music that is and very touching to see and hear everyone participating.  The song service between services was interesting too with someone relaying the numbers to us in our area reminding us of football calls.

We said goodbye to the two Americans in Tokyo and found ourselves in business class from there to San Francisco which was a nice experience.  The many amenities spoiled us for the rest of the trip but we didn't resist too much when they luckily moved us there.

We are still recuperating – waking up in the middle of the night but can hardly hold our eyes open after 8:30 P.M.  We were glad that Roberta had come to be with Grandma the first week we were gone and then the Hortons came before she left so had a nice visit with her and stayed for three weeks.  They left Friday for the Kintners and Joe was to come for the weekend.  We are all waiting anxiously for news from Cris and Angela as the due date was last weekend.  [Laura?]

[Love, etc.]

1983? Article about Wells Mfg. by HH

An undated clipping probably from the Wilmington News-Journal Financial section.  Articles on the back side include a wedding shower in Sabina and a luncheon in New Burlington, along with a picture of spring fashions.  The article itself mentions toy sales in 1982, so possibly the year is after 1983.  A dated copy of this clipping may yet emerge.  Meanwhile, transcription follows.

Christmas in February? 

By HAROLD UIBLE

Vice President

Wells Manufacturing Company, Inc.

Yes, in the American toy business, Christmas does come in February, for traditionally the second and third weeks of February are the show weeks of what will be selling the following Christmas season in our nation's retail stores.

Each February, the Toy Building at 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City, has over 1,000 manufacturer's exhibiting their wares.  Buyers from throughout the world will place their orders for this merchandise.  This time lag between February and the Christmas selling season is necessary to enable the buyers to place their commitments and the manufacturers who make the merchandise, ship it to distribution points and their stores and, in turn, give the consumers time to make purchases for the Christmas holidays.

Since 1945, Wells Manufacturing Co., in New Vienna, has been in the toy business.  It is the company's work to make things that other people play with – the manufacture of everyday toys such as sponge balls, jump ropes, jack sets, baseball bats and balls, soap bubbles, chalk boards, pinwheels paddle balls and yo-yos.

We all take for granted the presence of the thousands of items on the shelves in our retail stores.  In a casual observation  making these items appears to be "simple".  Yet, the making of a sponge rubber ball includes the blending of 10 items to the rubber, in quantities ranging from a few grams to several pounds, followed by cutting, tumbling, a "curing" process and three coats of paint.

After the product is made, our merchandise is sold throughout the United States and Canada to retail units, jobbers and exporters and companies that incorporate our products into their items.

In 1982, the toy business in the United States amounted to about 5 billion dollars, of which 25 percent is represented by imports from such countries as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other low labor cost countries.  Imports continue to be a growing factor in the toy business.

The electronic age has hurt the conventional toy business.  And yet in 1982 hand held electronic games were being sold at distressed prices to reduce inventories.  An estimated 6 million American households own video game attachments, providing for an expanding market for cartridges.  Since 1980 there has been a gradual evolution from sports games to space games and now to arcade licensed games.

It is necessary to have people with skills in many areas to make and sell our products at a profit.  Like everyone, we have seen costs sky-rocket.  And yet, selling prices have not increased enough to compensate for today's cost of business   Competition does keep a tight rein on prices, and the consumer benefits from this fact.

Another trend of recent years has been the proliferation of licensed items.  It has recently been observed that more than 80 companies are marketing on the "Smurf" license.

Virtually every week we receive a print or sample of an inventor's "hot idea" for us to manufacture and sell.  Unfortunately, most toys today are sold on an impulse base.  For an item to be in a store, that item must earn a minimum amount of dollar sales per year.  Professional buyers demand a satisfactory amount of sales per square foot, that the item offer a price value ration, a satisfactory gross margin return on the inventory investment and that it complement the objective of the business.

Yes, toys are fun, but work comes first in making the items, selling them at a profit and getting paid.  That is the marvelous economic cycle.

Elizabeth and Oscar, March 11, 1957 (18-19 of 56)

"we were quite proud to have been there in person"

Monday, March 11, 1957 Uibles and Johnsons now in NYC.  After HH leaves them at Battery Park, Jean, Oscar and Elizabeth visit the Statute of Liberty and are now seeking lunch.


We walked until we came to a small restaurant called "Chock-Full-o'Nuts" where we ate very good cream cheese on Raisin Bread Sandwiches.

After lunch we [went to Trinity Church, and NY Stock Exchange, and other "important buildings"].  From the Stock Exchange we mailed several cards to our families back home.  The Stock Exchange was to pay the postage but somehow they missed the one I sent to Blanche and she had to pay the 2¢ + 3¢ to send the 2¢, so it cost 5¢ just to know we were on Wall St.

Then we took a bus and rode for an hour to reach the Hotel New Yorker where we were to meet Harold at 4pm and we just made it.  He was in the lobby and had it all fixed so we could get into the toy fair which was being held there.  The Fair covered 12 floors of the hotel so we only saw a small part which was very interesting.  Several of our friends saw it on TV so we were quite proud to have been there in person.

We drove to the Hotel Piccadilly at 227 W. 45th St at Broadway.  Here we had nice rooms on the 11th floor.  We were next to the "Morosco Theatre" where the play, Major Barbara was playing.

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Here's an ad from 1953. As you can see from the receipt, by 1957 the rates had gone up to $7.50 (tax rate of 5.1%).


The Hotel Piccadilly closed July 1, 1982 and was demolished soon after along with the Morosco, Bijou and Helen Hayes theaters. The Marriott Marquis was built on the site.

Here's a link to a wikipedia article about the Toy Fair, which unfortunately does not include any information about the history. I did learn that the TIA (Toy Industry Association) was founded on April 21, 1916 as the Toy Manufacturers of America, Inc.
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For other posts in this series see:
March 9, 1957 (1-2 of 56) New Vienna to Philadelphia
March 9-10, 1957 (2-14 of 56) Philadelphia
March 10-11, 1957 (15-18 of 56) Philadelphia to NYC
March 11, 1957 (18-19 of 56)  NYC
March 11-12, 1957 (20-27 of 56) NYC
March 12-13, 1957 (28-31 of 56) NYC
March 13-18, 1957 (31-34 of 56) NYC - CT - RI
March 18-19, 1957 (34-45 of 56) RI - MA
March 20, 1957 (46-49 of 56) MA - NYC
March 20-21, 1957 (49-51 of 56) NYC - Hershey
March 22, 1957 (52-56 of 56) Hershey PA to New Vienna

John Frier and Alox Manufacturing

John Frier (1895-1974) founded the Alox company in 1919 in St. Louis with money he earned from dabbling in railroad stocks while he was in the Navy during World War 1.  First product was shoelaces for which Frier got a patent for the aiglet, the metal crimping part.  In 1927 the company began making kites and expanded further into the toy market with jack sets, toy whips with a whistle on the end, jump ropes and marble-based board games such as Chinese checkers.  His son, John Jr. continued the business until his own retirement in 1989 at which time the company was liquidated.

Quote from Frier's granddaughter: "My name is Nancy L Frier and in regards to Alox marbles, my grandfather started Alox Mfg in 1919 in St Louis on Maple ave making shoelaces, the first shoelace factory west of the Mississippi. Then later started the Marble factory on Page ave in Pagedale Mo. The Marble machine is now in Dollywood. John Frier my grampa bought the marble machine from West Virgina and bought marbles first, then started making marbles, the factory ran 24 hours a day. My dad took over Alox and then they had to close the Marble factory."

More about Alox and John Frier – including a a marble website, a history of the company with lots of product pictures, and even more about Frier and Alox.

Frier and Alox names live on, not only thanks to his granddaughter, but the vintage toy collectors of marbles and kites are responsible for several of the above websites.  One more website that I found interesting was this one in Antique Week.  Even more curious?  Try some of these websites....

Jacks and ball

The picture of the ball and jacks caught my eye! Here is part of what the article with the picture said, "Get out the wooden tops, jacks and marbles - classic toys are finding new life as rehabilitation tools for seniors. In various nursing homes and senior centers on the East Coast, a new program, administered by the Teacher Place & Parent Resources in Burlington, Vermont, uses classic toys to improve memory and hand-eye coordination."