Margaret Ann Nelson

Lee Librarian

April 16, 1933 - September 17, 2024

A graveside service for Margaret Ann Ryan Nelson, 91, was held Sunday, September 29, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at Enon Missionary Baptist Church, 8009 County Road 1435, Vinemont, Alabama with Bro. Jeremy Oden officiating.

Mrs. Nelson passed away on Tuesday, September 17, 2024. She was born to Truman and Cora Ryan on April 16, 1933. She was a member of the Holmes Street United Methodist Church. Mrs. Nelson was preceded in death by her son, Kenneth Olen Nelson, and her beloved husband of 64 years, Olen A. "Boots" Nelson. Mrs. Nelson attended Snead St. Junior College and received her degree from Huntington College in Montgomery, Alabama. She was a retired school librarian for Lee High School in Huntsville, Alabama, for 30 years before retiring in 1986. She was an avid reader and a sports enthusiast.

"Walking the dog," But Not the Dance!

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

Last week I wrote we would finish up covering the toys of our youth unless we got an input from someone who wanted to add something to the discussion. Well, one of our readers did exactly that, and I thank him for helping continue these memories.

Mike Crowl, LHS '65, wrote, "Don’t know whether the yo-yo was offered up as a favorite toy. I spent hours playing with the yo-yo as a kid! I attached a youtube video of a lot of the tricks I tried to master! Remember I said I tried to master!"

A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in the 17th century. A Greek vase painting from 440 BC shows a boy playing with a yo-yo.

In 1928, Pedro Flores, a Filipino immigrant to the United States, opened the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara, California. The business started with a dozen handmade toys; by November 1929, Flores was operating two additional factories in Los Angeles and Hollywood, which all together employed 600 workers and produced 300,000 units daily.

Entrepreneur Donald F. Duncan recognized the potential of this new fad and purchased the Flores yo-yo Corporation and all its assets, including the Flores name, which was transferred to the new company in 1932. The name "Yo-yo" was registered in 1932 as a trademark. In 1946, the Duncan Toys Company opened a yo-yo factory in Luck, Wisconsin. The Duncan yo-yo was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York, in 1999.

Declining sales after World War II prompted Duncan to launch a comeback campaign for his trademarked "Yo-Yo" in 1962 with a series of television advertisements. In a trademark case in 1965, a federal court of appeal ruled in favor of the Royal Tops Company, determining that yo-yo had become a part of common speech and that Duncan no longer had exclusive rights to the term. As a result of the expenses incurred by this legal battle as well as other financial pressures, the Duncan family sold the company name and associated trademarks in 1968 to Flambeau, Inc, which had manufactured Duncan's plastic models since 1955.

The era following the yo-yo boom of the late 1990s is often referred to as the "modern" era of yo-yo. The modern era of yo-yo is characterized by markedly more complicated and sophisticated yo-yo techniques than came before in addition to a plethora of different yo-yo designs created to serve various niche purposes

The Wayback Machine

As noted Mike Crowl, one of our loyal readers, did send in a request to cover another toy of our youth, so we got a chance to look at it. Again, let me remind you that any of you who wish to bring up a story about someone or something in our past can do so. For next week, I would like to look back at our connections with football up to the time we graduated. I am looking for stories about such things as:

A memorable football game as a player or spectator.

A memorable date to a football game.

A favorite outfit to wear to the games.

A memorable weather incident at a football game.

An interaction with a cheerleader or football player that was memorable.

Keeping ticket stubs.

A band, majorette, or cheerleader memory about a football game.

A rivalry note with another team.

A favorite food or drink memory about a game.

A memory of the field.

A road trip to another game.

A favorite cheer or song from a game.

Any other football game memories which happened prior to your graduation.

SAVE THE DATE

Lee Lunch Bunch

Classes of ’64, ’65, ‘66

Date: Thursday, October 24, 2024

Time: 11:00 AM

Place: Logan’s Roadhouse

Balmoral Dr.

Huntsville, AL

Reservations Required through the following:

Patsy Oldroyd ‘65

C (256) 431-3396

H (256) 232-7583

keithandpatsy@att.net

Getting this together this time was more difficult than ever before. Logan’s now requires groups to go through a reservation agency. Also, I had to do some tall talking to avoid the expensive reservation fee they now require along with a contract. Our history of the past fourteen years there for our LLB is the only thing that saved me this time from all of that. I was lucky to only have to do the reservation agency. So… PLEASE do let me know if you plan to come, and do show up! Sorry no last-minute show-ups without a reservation. Thanks! 

Last Week's Questions, Answers, 

And Comments

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