Hello,
I am interested in the history of Marx toys because my father was a toy designer and model maker for Marx Toys in Erie, Pa. in the 60's and 70's. I have fond memories of great Christmases full of toys and models for toys that never made it into production. My father was the designer of the Electric Shot Shooting Gallery....I was hopping to find some information on that, or even maybe one for sale. It would be great to be able to give him one as a gift. When I think of all the Marx toys that we played with as children, that ended up in the trash. Oh well...thank you for your efforts and your well designed site.
Congratulations on the opening of the Marx Toy Museum! A must see for anyone to appreciate a bit of childhood history. Marx Toy Plant in Glen Dale, WV started production during the 1930's in the former Fokker Airplane factory. My father (Ted Oelschlager) was a tool and die maker for Fokker starting in 1928 and later for Marx Toys. He retired in 1968 after a long history in his trade. During World War II, the Glen Dale Marx Plant was converted to production of munitions.
This is a MUST! We had our first visit Oct.4th 2001 and it's just unbelievable the amount of work and effort that went into this place. The quality of the toys is combined with a very knowledgeable staff. The attention to detail is great. Keep up the good work! Thank you!
I think the museum is fantastic. It's unlikely that I'll get to visit in person, so I love your web page and on-line products. I look forward to your expansion.
Good webpage- Nice collection. When I move back to Columbus I'll stop by.
My wife and both want to come and see the Marx Museum. I grew up in the 40's and 50's , my grandmother bought Marx toys for the grandkids. I want to be able to see your piece of history. You have a great web page , keep adding to it. Keep up the good work .Will and Rosa Little Sweden Usa. 11-07-01
i plan a visit someday looks really good.......marx toys rule
Enjoyed the tour very much. Best wishes for continued success. Call me if there is anything I can do to be of help.
So happy to see the toys back. I would like to order on line, but can't quite figure out how to do it. My E-mail is sharon_sansone@eu.odedodea.edu Thanks, Sharon Sansone
GREAT
Worked at the plant three summers between college terms at WVU in the early 70's. My grandfather, Ted Oelschlager worked there for years as a machinist. Interesting site and fun to see. Thanks.
Very nice web cite. I am with THE MARX TOY MUSEUM of Erie.
Hello, I just want to say I visited the museum on Fri 12/28/01 and enjoyed it. I purchased Johnny West, Destiny and Sir Brandon The Blue Knight. I would recommend this sight for anyone interested in baby boomer toys. Good Luck to you all.
Love your site! I would be very interested in learning who the designer was for the Fix All series in 1953.
Best Wishes!
Louis Marx was a genius. Glad to see you take on such an undertaking in building and operating the museum. I have kept up with your progress while reading PFPC issues. Hope to get up your way for a visit in the future. V/R Woody
love the site, how i remember the toys! jane and johnny west are my favorites. i love buying back my childhood. I met the marx family they had a house on a florida quay near my aunt and uncles...a glass house i recall. my uncle nick had a bait shop they called the place they stopped by for a visit time to time as i recall. I hope they remember my aunt and uncle.
Hey Jason--Site looks good. So how are you doing? How's the whole family? So when is the wedding? I thought there would be a link to the wedding web site. Is anything planned for the first anniversary in May? I had a great time and am just looking for an excuse to visit again. Hope everything is fine.
Bruce
This is a great site and we plan on visiting the museum this summer. This brings back a lot of childhood memories by seeing the playsets I have owned. My favorite was the Construction Playset and all the neat heavy equipment in it. I hope someday to find this set for sale. One of my first trainsets was a Marx set and at 48 years old I still have an operating train layout. Thank you Marx for my continued childhood.
Hi...Visited WV last summer and made a point of visiting Marx museum.Great displays.Nice collection of playsets.I am a Best of the West collector and enjoyed viewing all the nice figures.Hope to return soon.Thanks
Hello. There are alot of toy collectors out there, myself included. Your site is great, but, sites like this should provide as much information as possible to its viewers, people looking for information about toys will search from end to end on the web. It would be nice if you had a Marx history page. Providing info about the company, toys it made, some values of toys, etc. You would then have a complete site for people researching Marx toys.
Very nice dioramas! Keep up the good work!
Francis, Enjoyed the website. Let me know when it opens up. I'll plan a sales trip and buy you lunch. Should I bring the wife and kids or leave them home? (ha ha)
You can't believe how excited I was to find there is a Marx museum only a few hours away. You will see me this spring for sure. I still have my Roy Rogers Mineral City street and acc and my Gunsmoke city street and acc. Plus my original tin Fort Appachi set with tin walls etc. and a Roy Rogers ranch set. Also my tin Marx freight train set and a complete working tin Sante Fe passanger set. I sure put those trains thru some rough treatment 50 years ago but they always came back running. And those western town playsets kept me occupied for many wonderful hours back then. I miss my Marx toys that were lost between then and now. Marx toys bring back such joyful memories. Those sets under the Christmas tree made Christmas morning wonderful childhood events. Way back then there were very few all year long toy stores so Sears catalogs were truly a dream world. It is sad that todays kids have so much all the time. Nothing to dream about or wish for. Shopping in the slush covered streets with the Salvation Army bell ringers was a familiar once a year joy...The sounds, store windows and pine smells were truly a child wonderland.. Sadly, all gone today.. Note the movie "A Christmas Story". It fits me to a tee. That movie really brings back wonderful memories. Sears and other department stores, Woolworths, etc. would have Christmas time only toy departments... In Canton, Sears converted their entire farm machinary building to a massive toy store with shelves filled with anything you could imagine. What a wonderful time the 40's and 50's were. What a lucky kid I was to be there. My parents were poor but Christmas time was always the greatest.
Thanks for being there and I can't wait for spring to get to your museum. Have a great day, Tom
LOVE YOUR SITE KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.WHEN PASSING THROUGH W.VIRGINIA THIS YEAR WE WILL STOP TO SEE THE MUSEUM.
PS IF YOU KNOW ANYBODY THAT HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE MAKING OF THE OLD HESS TOYS BY MARX PLEASE HAVE THEM CONTACT ME I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS. THANK YOU
Please let me know when the Marx Toy convention is in Wheeling. My father was a toy designer at the Erie plant and we would like to attend. Any information can be sent to me via e mail or my mailing address is: 126 Graham Dr Renfrew, PA 16053 thanks, Tim Evanoff
I would like more info on the line of Marx Pocketools,tools in miniature and the Golden Guns or Famous Firearms in miniature. There just doesn't seem to be much information around on them. I would like to know how many different ones ther were in each series and things like that.
Hello, I'm looking for any info on D.Dean a toy designer whose name appears on a wide variety of Marx toys produced in the 60's and 70's. Commonly refered to as "Marxies" these fanciful creations bring inanimate objects to life as whimsical characters. David Dean's association with the Marx Toy Company gave birth to Sassy Stawberry, Marxie Mustard, Sizzie Saxophone, Munchie Melon, Marxie Mailbox, Corkie Corn, Marxie Sugar, and literally hundreds of others !! The toys were made of tin, plastic, vinyl and even plush. Some characters appeared in many different styles, sizes, and materials. They drove cars, go carts, and trains. They hopped, spun, vibrated and moved on friction motorized wheels. The almost endless variety of different Marxies makes collecting them a challenge. Some are common and are seen frequently on Ebay or at toy shows and others I have seen only once or twice since I began collecting them 10 years ago. Just when I think that I have seen them all I am surprised and delighted by a never before seen Dean/Marx creation ! Over the years I have inquired about Mr. Dean without any real results. If anyone has any information about him I would appreciate a responce. Thanks Marc
Look forward to learning more about Marx Toys
Can't wait until you reopen for the spring season. The Marx Toy Company surely takes me back to my childhood -- and the carefree days of Johnny West, Jane West, Thunderbolt, Chief Cherokee, Sgt. Maddox, General Custer, and all the rest of the action figures.
Dear Sirs: I have just visited your web site for the first time and it has brought back many memories for me. I had several of the Marx playsets from the 1950's and 1960's as a child and still have a few of them. Some are minus a few pieces and I am attempting to replace those missing items. Any information you could send me about the best way to go about it would be greatly appreciated. Once again my name is Mike Stubbs 1804 Crooked Lane Plano, TX 75023. Thanks so much and have a great day. Visiting your site has made my day.
TWILA WILSON (my mother) and FAYE BROWN (my aunt) worked at Marx's. I grew up playing with the toys that are displayed among these pages. I can't wait to get down and take a look around the museum. I still have some of the toys. Thanks for taking the time and energy to open this museum. Diane
Thanks for a great site. My brother and I had several Marx toys as children. They included Big loo and Rock 'em sock 'em robots.
Hello my name is Dave, and Im very Pleased to know there is a museum for marx toys. I would love to visit the museum some day. Looking at all the toys marx produced over the years sure bring back memories of growing up in the 60s. I was born April of 1961 and I remember growing up in the 1960s with my sister. I remember all the great toys we had especially Marx toys from 1964 thru 1969 that my sister and I had and played with over the years. I remember what Christmas was like back then, waking up and running down stairs in excitement to see the Christmas tree lit up in beautiful Blue lights and glass balls and tinsel draped over the entire tree. surrounded by gifts,I still hold that tradition. I remember how excited we both were opening our gifts and seeing all the great toys, including Marx of that year. the best Marx toy I recieved on Christmas of 1964 was the Marx Big Bruiser Super Highway tow truck! that was my favorite marx toy.Our parents always made sure that we both had a very nice and memorable Christmas that went by each year. we were both fortunate to have parents that always went that extra mile from decorating the tree just rite and my father making sure he had all his trains up and running by Christmas morning. I thank both my parents and Marx toys for all the great memories. and a special thanks to the Marx toy museum for the preservation of the great Marx toys they have on display. hopefully Ill get a chance to pay a visit to the museum some day soon.
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!!!!!! i grew up in the late 50;s and the 60;s and all my best loved toys were from MARX!i collect MARX trains that i had as a kid.i also liked my service station sets.this is a great web site; good luck and may the MARX toys live in our hearts forever! hope to see ya this summer.
See you next time I'm in the area!!
wow it was relaly freat to see some the olf toys we used to play with. I was born in Bellaire, ohio and my grandmother worked at marx toys in wheeling. Needsless to say every christmas was a "Marx " christmas. I have been surching for a happy and nappy doll set.If you know any way i can purchase one please let me know.
thanks for the memories
Kudos on the museum and site. Many years ago while living in upper Westchester NY, my Mother's maiden Aunt lived in NYC. She always had my Mom bring my brother and I to the city for a lunch or dinner and the opportunity to go to F.A.O. Schwarz toy store to get a 'little reward' for being good kids. At Christmas and Birthdays the choices were unlimted. I do remember getting the Marx Shooting Gallery, several different playsets, but probably remember most the "Super Highway Service" toy tow truck that each of us had. These ran on batteries and this of course was before rechargeables or alkaline! We drove my folks batty, by pulling the window shades so we could use the lights on this neat toy. My favorite thru all the years was a green steel trash truck-and I have no idea why??
It was well worth the two hour drive!!!! Will be back.
Thanks for taking the time to start the Marx Museum
Information looks great. It is good someone takes the initiative to hold on to some of WV history, even in the toy line. Do plan to visit this Museum in the near future.
I want my toys back! I wondered who stole them.Anyway, not too long ago I was in a local mom&pop drug store and saw in their small toy section bags of plastic "cowboys and indians." The figures looked like those from an old Marx set of wild west figures. Even the positions of the figures were familiar. In one bag of "indians" I saw a WWII soldier. An obvious mix up, but I recognized the WWII figure too as an old Marx toy. Ah, youth, where is thy sting?
Terry
My grandson came across this website and he loved it. I checked to see what he had found and couldn't believe that there was now this wonderful museum. I was born and raised in Glen Dale, and my uncle, Jim Chambers, worked at Marx Toys as a designer in the 50's. Hopefully we will be able to visit one day!
Thank you for starting the museum. I have been a Maarx fan since my childhood. I am a 33 yr. old investment conssultant that has refused to grow up. My first Marx plaayset was the fort appache then the guns of naverone (spelling). I would like to plan a trip for my wife and myself to Glen Dale soon. It looks as if it would be quite a drive from Blacksburg. I have driven from Blacksburg to Morgantown for VT vs WV games in the past. Any sugestions on how where to stay and eat? I was tinking of making it a long weekend.
Thank you, Mark Lewis
just loved marx toys growing up in the 50"s. have collected some of my own. i have a great garloo , george the drummer, and others. hope to get over that way some day. stay young ! jim b.
Just read article about the museum in Country Discoveries. I have many toy farm sets (including the one shown in the magazine and on your web page}. I have searched the Internet in the past trying to find the Marx Company without success so was very pleased to get your address from the magazine article.
I worked at Marx Toys from 1973 untill closing 1i 1979 its a real shame that toys like we use to make are not made anymore our children are missing the things we enjoyed because of poor British Management We lasted through the greate depression with good management
I worked at Marx Toys from 1973 untill closing it 1979 its a real shame that toys like we use to make are not made anymore our children are missing the things we enjoyed because of poor British Management We lasted through the greate depression with good management
I worked at Marx Toys from 1973 untill closing it 1979 its a real shame that toys like we use to make are not made anymore our children are missing the things we enjoyed because of poor British Management We lasted through the greate depression with good management
Congratulations! Great museum!! Nice items and photos. Regards, Pablo
Your website does not at all do your museum justice. I can't see where you published the David Fattaleh photos from West Virginia magaizine, showing the Big Wheel, The Rock'Em-Sock 'Em Robots. The article by Jamie Fenske with these pictures, defintely needs to be added! The content of the website needs to be increased greatly, if you would like to have more people visit because of it. Please do that! Thanks!
Good site. Needs more photos!
I am a big Fan Of BOTW. I found you on Ebay. Thanks for sharing your cool Toys Chesapeakehamstery@juno.com
Francis: Finally got around to checking out some of your recent auctions and this site. Good to be in touch! Jim
Was looking through some things of my Aunts and came across a Parrot. The eyes light up and you can record short messages, the wings also flap. It needs a little work and would like some information on how to get it working again. kev_kinslow@hotmail.com
mugu deyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am looking for information regarding a mid to late 1960s "Go Go Car" by Marx. You sit in it and back up, put your feet up and then you "go"! I have not been able to find ANYTHING on it and have been looking for years. If you have any knowledge of this car, please contact me at "cadreaming8@yahoo.com" Thank you.
We also have a marx toy museum in erie pa. my mother and i both worked there for a short time. i look forward to visiting your museum this spring. spokblck@aol.com
We also have a marx toy museum in erie pa. my mother and i both worked there for a short time. i look forward to visiting your museum this spring. spokblck@aol.com sorry i mean at the factory we worked.
nice bituful grad tremendo los felicito un monton recuerdo aver tenido unos cuantode estos jugetes. este museo hacia falta yo coleciono the western series me gustaria que consigan mas de estos vaqueros bueno muchas felicidades.
i enjoyed the article in octobers wonderful wva, i have a marx tin train set in the originial box with the new york address. i will see you this spring when you are open.
harry ring
I would love to see more info on the Marx Pocketools and Guns in miniature.
Greg Keene, 2 South Dewberry Lane, Rochester, NH. 03867 gnkeene2000@yahoo.com Marx trains are my interest. I am looking for information to identify items pre-50s. Do you have any help for me. I amd especially looking to find the use of a transformer # 609 Might like to visit your museum later this year send me any information you may have, please, to the above address
I was born in the city of bellaire, one of my first toys came from Marx, the rock em sock em robots my son who is now 26 first toy was the big wheel