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The Official Marx Toy Museum
The Glen Dale Marx Plant closed its doors, leaving its workers
unemployed, its walls empty, its machines idle, and its kids abandoned.
It was the loss of a great toy company, a loss of employees’ dreams,
and a loss of children’s wish lists. Those
days and those memories have all gone by until now.
One Marx toy collector, Francis Turner, has had a dream.
His dream started in 1992 when he witnessed the enthusiasm of visitors
and ex-employees admiring his collection of Marx toys at the Stifel Art Gallery
in Wheeling, West Virginia. Today
Francis has made his dream into a reality, The Official Marx Toy Museum of Glen
Dale, West Virginia.
Yes, that’s right! The
Marx Museum has returned “home” to the people who love Marx the most, who
devoted their lives to hard work, and who dedicated their workmanship to detail.
The Museum site will be approximately 2 miles from the original site of
the former Marx Toy Factory of Glen Dale, West Virginia. It will be located in
route of three other significant historical landmarks currently in operation in
the city of Moundsville: The Mound
Museum, The Former West Virginia Penitentiary, and The Fostoria Glass Museum.
Francis Turner is considered by collectors in the industry to be one of
the top collectors of MARX Toys in the country.
The collection has grown over the past ten years as did his love and
knowledge for these toys. His collection has been the topic of feature articles
in several toy collecting magazines as well as local newspapers.
Through his hobby, he has come in personal contact with Marx toy
collectors worldwide. Francis’s
probe for the Marx treasures is a never-ending search, and he welcomes any
contribution to the past.
The Marx Toy Museum will incorporate original films about the Louis Marx
history, the Glen Dale plant operations, and 1960’s television commercials.
Louis Marx was born on August 11, 1896, in Brooklyn, New York. Early in life, he worked for Ferdinand Strauss Company.
In 1919 Marx started the Louis Marx Company and it became the largest toy
company in the world. Mr. Marx became known as “The Toy King”.
For five decades, toys were manufactured and distributed across America
to our children. The local Glen
Dale factory was by far, the largest of the facilities, and is where most of the
playsets and plastic toys were manufactured.
In 1972, Louis Marx & Co. sold to the Quaker Oats Company.
The Museum site is over 4000 square feet and was built in 1957 for the
operation of a local grocery store. Francis
purchased the building in September 1998, and gained occupancy January 1, 1999.
City officials approved the design plans of the one story facility in
late January. At the present time,
Francis is upgrading the heating/cooling system, renovating for handicap use,
and remodeling the interior. The
interior design will be a theme of the 1950’s era.
The Museum will provide a historical focal point for Marshall County
residents and will also be a drawing point for toy enthusiasts and hobbyists
across the country. To “Baby
Boomers,” Marx Toys represent a
nostalgic part of childhood. You
will return to the most remarkable period of toy history, enter the world of
Santa’s workshop, and feel the spirit of the “good old days.” “Christmas begins in Glen Dale!” This museum will exclusively feature top quality Marx toys
from the years 1930 through 1978. The
collection for display will include mint in box toys, Marx playsets, metal toys,
loose figures, one-of-a-kind prototypes, and several store displays.
The search for Marx is endless as quoted, “Have You All of Them?”
The Official Marx Toy Museum will be included as part of tour marketed to
organized groups such as schools and bus tours, and also to individualized
tourists.
As you enter the world of “The Official Marx Toy Museum”, you will
see the display of an array of Marx toys that will be a tribute to the Marx
employees themselves. The men and
women of the Ohio Valley that made these toys right here in Glen Dale.
The proud work of all those involved in the production of Marx toys which
once played a part in Christmas mornings, but now becomes a pleasure to the
collector. Perhaps this is what
Louis Marx meant when he advertised “toys to delight all ages”.
The meticulous design and detail of Marx toys such as the miniature
models, mind-stirring adventure sets, or make-believe farm sets/doll houses have
made a lasting impression on many generations of Americans. It will be a
collection of fascinating toys, favorite heroes, and famous battles that have
been a part of American history and American homes.
It will rekindle the family atmosphere of the mysteries of the production
lines, the magical moments of playroom floors, and the marvelous interest of toy
collectors.
The loss of a factory, the loss of a job, and the loss of a dream will
now return “home” in the Official Marx Toy Museum.
The “return of Marx” will compel workers and families to recall old
days on the assembly line, to relive those special Christmas mornings, to
recreate childhood treasures, and to replace the void in everyone’s heart,
from the makers to the men who collect them today.
It will be a tribute to Marx today, an appreciation to the work force, a
memory of keepsakes, and a kingdom for all Marx collectors. -- Written by
Donna Turner |
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