I came across this article, and even though it focuses on Walmart when Woolworth's was the 800lb gorilla, it reminded me of my Father. A Woolworths Toy Buyer at a time when his 5 sons were of prime toy age. He used to take us to toy shows, bring home toys to have us try out (remember the big wheel?) and Christmas was a bonanza for years... At Woolworth's he was called "the Toy Man". He could be counted on to find the hot toy for family and friends. Remember the cabbage patch kids craze?
Back in the 1940s and ’50s, people called Marx the Henry Ford of the toy industry. Ralph eased into the family, into toy royalty, and began crafting his own toy pedigree, traveling around the world selling Jaymar’s popular lines of puzzles, games, Yo-Yos and especially toy pianos. He sold to Woolworth’s, S. S. Kresge Co., and eventually to a man from Arkansas named Sam Walton.
...We were showered with toys,” Emily said. “Toys were everywhere. If there was some hot toy and you couldn’t possibly find it, my father could get it. He had toys in the trunk of his car. There were toys in the closet. He gave away toys around the neighborhood. There was nothing he enjoyed more than giving toys to children.
