LifeThe Paducah Sun | Sunday, December 9, 2012 | paducahsun.com Section E

NOT SO OLD MAID: Retro toys are back in season. | 2C

Photos by Brad Rankin

Guests are seen from outside the Ethan Allen Design Center in Paducah Nov. 30, all gath-ering to help bring some smiles to children at Christmas. The event was the design center’s 3rd annual Toys for Tots event, in partnership with Purchase Parenting & Family magazine. Holiday decor and stylish Christmas trees in the center came from the minds and talents of local designers Kenn Gray, Dana Dickey, Saunie Rothwell, Lauralee Latimer, Randi Stoves-and, and Allison Hart. The Paducah Symphony Youth Orchestra created a warm ambiance, filling the design center with holiday music. Personal Chef Andrew Cope served the guests, which included. Dan Grow, vice president of business development of Ethan Allen Global, who traveled to Paducah from the corporate headquarters in Connecticut.

Christmastime means Toys for Tots

Paducah Symphony Director Daniel Sene and Ethan Allen Designer Kenn Gray worked together to bring a string ensemble from the Paducah Symphony Youth Orchestra to en-tertain the 150-plus guests on Nov. 30 at the Ethan Allen Design Center in Paducah. The event was in annual support of Toys for Tots.

Corp. James Ouderkirk, USMC, greets guests Nov. 30 at the Ethan Al-len Design Center in Paducah for the store’s 3rd annual collection for Toys for Tots. By the end of the night, nearly 200 Toys were collected for the U.S. Marine Corps annual Christmas gift pro-gram.

Where can you drop off toys for Toys for Tots?

AAA Stowaway office, Southside Paducah; Benton Chiropractic; Big Lots (Paducah, Mayfield, Murray); Bluegrass Honda (Paducah); Bluegrass BMW (Paducah); Chip Wynn Auto Sales; Coast Guard Office; Co-gent Inc. (Calvert City); Country Inn & Suites (Paducah); Easy Money (all locations); FDR Honda (Paducah); Gander Mountain; Higdon Furniture (Paducah); Iron Anchor Tattoo (Paducah); Jackson House (Paducah); Linwood Motors (Paducah, Metropolis); Marine Recruiting Office (Paducah); Old Navy; Paducah Water Com-pany; Pasta House Company; Regions Bank (Lone Oak, Benton, Calvert City); River’s Edge Vet Hospital (Metropolis, Ill.); River Valley Ag Credit (all branches); Royal Oaks Chevrolet (Paducah); Southside Family Chiropractic; Stratemeyer Media (Inside Ky. Oaks Mall); Telephone Answering Service; Toys-R-Us; Wal-greens (Paducah, Mayfield, Murray, Ky./ Metropolis, Ill.); Western Baptist Hospital Gift Shop.

More information: Barry Bryan, local coordinator: 270-564-3076.

2E • Sunday, December 9, 2012 • The Paducah Sun Life paducahsun.com

Stephen King’s books feel cute and cuddly com-pared to the beginning of this December.

It’s as if the Grinch is winning.

A few of the more publi-cized examples:

■ On Dec. 1, Jovan Belcher, a 25-year-old Kansas City Chiefs football player, shot his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra Per-kins, before committing suicide. Their daughter is three months old.

■ Also on Dec. 1, tal-ented and beloved college basketball coach Rick Majerus died in Los An-geles at 64 years old. He had been awaiting a heart transplant.

■ On Monday, one man threw another into harm’s way on a subway track in New York, leading to a man’s death. A freelance photographer snapped photos of the man’s fi nal moments with the train bearing down on him, leading some to wonder if the photographer should have put down his camera to try to help. The New York Post put the photo on its cover with a headline “this man is about to die” and “DOOMED,” leading some to wonder how Post editors sleep at night.

■ At least through Thursday, we had the pleasure of trying to bring yuletide cheer into our homes while Congressio-nal representatives and President Barack Obama tap danced near the fi scal cliff. Hey, have a Christ-mas tree with helplessness for ornaments and resent-ment for the garland.

And these are just the battles we all know about. Suicide and early death

unfortunately touched the people I know personally and care about in the past week.

So why recount it all? Why come off as cold as Jack Frost’s nose?

Because what will happen later this month matters. This one month a year where at least some of us try to focus on being nicer and making others happy will matter to some-one out there, probably when that person needs it most.

Of course Christmas is overly commercialized, and by Monday my ears will plead for a stop to Mi-chael Buble’s “Christmas.”

The stresses of family interactions, and effects of honey ham gorging, will all return again.

But we’ve done that to the holiday, not the other way around, and blessed is any mutually-agreed upon reason to be nice just for the sake of the act itself.

Give that anonymous gift, write the kind note or hold the door for a few seconds more. We can’t know all the battles it will help calm.

Adam Shull is the Sun’s business editor, and gen-eral observer of all things fun. Contact him at 270-575-8653 or ashull@pa-ducahsun.com.

Dark December needs the Christmas spirit

Adam Shull

www.paducahsun.com

Old Maid and marbles, tin checkers, sock mon-keys and Raggedy Ann storybooks ring up intrin-sic childhood memories from the past, especially for baby boomers and their parents.

So it should be of little surprise, then, that vintage toys from Tonka trucks and Furby to Rock ’Em Sock ’Em robots and chatter telephones (dial-up, of course) are causing cash registers to ring dur-ing this Christmas season as retailers offer increased “retro” toy selections.

It is not a full-fl edged trend yet, experts say, but each year shoppers are seeing a few more toy items they remember from their pasts.

“This year we happen to have some hot toys – some really ‘topping everyone’s list toys,’ and I think it’s bringing it more to the forefront,” said Laurie Schacht, toy expert and co-publisher of the Toy Insider, an an-nual consumer holiday toy guide.

You’re seeing the return of Furby, the 1990s Has-bro owl/hamster creature, that Schacht says will end the 2012 Christmas holiday shopping season as one of the “hottest” toys out there, along with the return of the Teenage Mu-tant Ninja Turtles, which also is doing well at retail counters, she said.

But so is the decades-old Slinky, (the song is celebrating its 50th an-niversary), Cabbage Patch babies and Spirographs,

in limited distribution this holiday year, but poised for a bigger release in 2013, Schacht said.

“It’s such a great toy, a craft activity,” she said of the Spirograph. “I was so excited when I saw it.”

It’s a combination of factors that bring a retro toy to the top of current toy lists, Schacht said, including parents who re-member when they played with the toy or parents who remember when their kids played with the toy (and now want to pur-chase it for their grand-kids).

In the case of Furby, Schacht said each of her kids had their own when they were little. “Now Furby is back, and back in a big way. You’re seeing Furby all over – that’s an-other thing that’s clearly moving it to the top of the list. And this Furby is even better than the original one,” Schacht said, featur-ing more animation and functioning on 21st-centu-ry apps.

Schacht admits that her initial concerns that the retro Furby would be too expensive (they cost con-siderably more than the

originals), have proven to be misguided.

While Furby, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cabbage Patch dolls are beloved by Gen Xers, certain retro toys resonate across generations, she said. And several retail-ers now carry displays of retro toy items, from local second-hand and vintage shops to Target, Toys R Us, Walmart, Mast Gen-eral and others.

Jimmy Palmer of Gilbert, grandfather of four, found himself in the Mast General Store in Columbia, S.C., last week picking up two Floating Ball game sets for the two of his grandchildren that didn’t have their own. He said he is happy to share toys that he played with as a child with his grandchil-dren. Each game set will be carved with each child’s initials, he said, to help keep down the fuss.

“Anything that’s non-electronic, that’s not in front of a TV, I’m in favor of,” Palmer said, explain-ing that he “used simple toys” in his childhood growing up in Cayce.

And though he whipped out a cellphone to quickly call home so as to be precise about the ages of the four grandkids – two of them 6 years old and two of them 8 years old – Palmer was clear that he sees great value in the toys of yesteryear.

“When I was growing up, our imaginations was what we had,” he said. “How many kids know about marbles?” Palmer

Retro toys come back in seasonBY RODDIE BURRIS

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Please see RETRO | 5E

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Retro toys have made a comeback among kids in the 2012 holiday shopping season, including Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots at Mast General Store in Columbia, S.C..

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paducahsun.com Life The Paducah Sun • Sunday, December 9, 2012 • 3E

“IN AND OUT” ByTOM HEILMAN

ACROSS1 Inn option7 Assigned in

spades14 Sources of

some stadiumimages

20 Spanish novelistBlasco __

21 Monster withboth a lion’s anda goat’s head

22 Piano brand23 Wolfing down

burgers andfries whiledriving?

25 Like corn in thekettle

26 Tibetan priest27 Rough talk28 Meryl Streep’s

alma mater30 Pasture parent31 Depilatory

cream33 Plus-size

supermodel36 Suffix meaning

“livingsubstance”

38 Rocky roadfrom fad tofashion?

45 “Speed-the-Plow” playwright

46 Many millennia47 Kind of bran48 Port of Yemen49 “__

Wiedersehen”50 Personnel list53 Whomp relative55 To-do list item57 Solidarity

amongcommoners?

62 Vents frustrationtoward

63 Offscreen friendin “Ernest” films

64 Professor ’iggins65 On the safer

side66 Former Indy

champ Bobby68 Kid’s comeback70 Jefferson

Davis’s sch.74 Brief court plea75 Actor whose

voice isemulated bySnagglepussthe Lion

77 Put to shame79 Reenactment of

a memorablescene from “TheExorcist”?

83 “ReservoirDogs” actor

85 Polar sheet86 Radio host John87 Ironically, he

composed the“Microsoftsound” on aMac

88 Drying oven89 Actor Daniel __

Kim90 Utterly93 Washing station95 “Dismount” or

“settle”?101 Sipped

uncertainly102 Contrary

current103 __ cava104 Gone by106 Ripped off109 City near

Anaheim111 Daughter of

Darth115 What opinions

often do117 Food-fight

evidence at thepicnic?

121 Proofer’s finds122 Sing unlike Bing123 Golf shoe brand124 Shifty sort125 Blows up126 Hinge (on)

DOWN1 Iranian

currency

2 “DancingQueen” band

3 Respectfuladdress

4 Not as slow asadagio

5 Lawn beads6 Hank who

voices some“Simpsons”characters

7 Chance-of-rainnos.

8 Optimisticreply

9 Small, aptly?10 Leggy runner11 John who loved

Colorado12 Ocean

predator13 Offhand

turndowns14 To a large

degree15 Actress Linney

et al.16 Online

exchanges,briefly

17 MemorableEastwood line

18 “Close call!”

19 “Marat/__”:1963 play

24 Tale29 Tie concern32 Team moving to

the AmericanLeague in 2013

34 McKinley, e.g.:Abbr.

35 Learn allaspects of

37 Packer with astrong arm

38 Relating toregional animallife

39 “Don’t worryabout me”

40 Unheeding41 Performing trip42 Get down?43 Seinfeld’s Uncle

Leo portrayer __Lesser

44 Cut off45 Tierney of

“NewsRadio”51 Winning like

crazy52 Smashes

beyond repair54 Top dog55 Dresses

56 Sign of hope58 Riesling giant

Chateau __Michelle

59 FDR project60 “__, we won’t

go!”: ’60santiwar chant

61 Like some nuts67 To what length69 Woofer’s sound70 Work the aisles,

in slang71 “Oh, come on!”72 Avoid waffling73 Accompaniment74 Marlins’ div.76 Ancient78 Cinder

receptacle79 Issues requiring

attention80 Absolute81 Quebec’s

__’Orleans82 Chiwere

speaker83 “Rock and Roll,

Hoochie __”:1974 hit

84 Clean offplates?

89 Dimwit

91 Kept underwraps

92 Color in largeCrayola packs

94 Running swiftly96 Equal, as

expectations97 Cleaning basic98 Declining in later

years99 Chevy

subcompact100 Tilted104 Food truck

drinks105 Lass107 Report

generators108 Foil relative110 Pensioned:

Abbr.112 Berlin article113 Participation

declaration114 Preschool song

opener116 Short-lived diet,

perhaps118 Sm. change119 Land div. by the

38th parallel120 Absorbed, as a

cost

12/9/12 ©2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc.xwordeditor@aol.com

ANSWER TO TODAY’S PUZZLE

12/9/12

Dear Annie: My niece, “Susan,” is 23 years old and in college. After four years, she still hasn’t picked a major. She is quite intelligent, but lazy and immature. She is socially awkward and has lost friends because of her negative attitude.

My problem is, Susan wants to “hang out” with my 15-year-old daugh-ter. She invites herself over whenever she likes. My daughter is a terrifi c, normal girl who excels in sports and school and has many friends. She doesn’t want to hang out with a 23-year-old cousin, and we don’t want her to, either.

We try to make ex-cuses, hoping Susan will eventually get the hint, to no avail. Her mother doesn’t get hints, either. It sometimes puts us in an awkward position because she is so persistent. I am tired of being expected to accommodate Susan because she is family. That shouldn’t be a free pass for forcing my child to be around someone who is neither age appropriate nor a good infl uence. I don’t want my daughter’s “half-full” optimism to be drained by someone who always thinks the glass is half-empty. Suggestions? — Annoyed Mom.

Dear Mom: What you call “lazy and immature” is much more complicated. When we hear that a young person is in-telligent but socially awkward, it could be Asperger syndrome. The fact that Susan likes to hang around with your 15-year-old daughter indicates that she is uncomfort-able with her peers. If her mother is the same way, it is likely to be an inherited trait and environmentally rein-

forced behavior.Please stop hinting

to people who don’t get it. Talk to both Susan and her mother. Say that you think Susan is smart and you love her, but that she would benefi t from fi nding more appropriate friends. Suggest they talk to Susan’s physi-cian about an evalua-tion.

Dear Annie: Please ad-dress a common breach of basic table manners. I see folks who should know better use their index fi nger to push all sorts of food onto their forks. This includes beans, rice, peas, etc. There is always a per-fectly good knife alongside their plates, but they don’t use it.

“Finger food” is one thing, but this extends the defi nition too far, and it is absolutely disgusting. Are some people so lazy that they are not willing to pick up their knives? — Mr. Manners.

Dear Mr. Manners: Maybe, but we will give them the benefi t of the doubt and assume they simply do not know any better. In addition to one’s knife, it is per-missible to use a piece of bread to push such things onto a fork, but it is not good manners to use your fi ngers to do so. If these people are your children, you may correct them. Otherwise, you will simply have to hold your tongue and set a good example.

Dear Annie: I hope you

have room for one more letter about bridal couples who neglect to pay the pastor or the organist.

Our church solved the issue of wedding fees by printing a booklet with prices and church poli-cies. The booklet is given to couples who want to marry in our church. The fees for the pastor, organ-ist and custodian must be paid at the rehearsal. — Church Musician.

Dear Musician: We’ve heard from a great many church organists and pastors who have said that these fees should be mentioned at the time the couple inquires about holding the wedding, and that the money should be paid in advance.

Dear Readers: Tonight is The Com-passionate Friends’ Worldwide Candle Lighting for children who have died. Please light a candle this evening at 7 p.m., local time, and remember them with love.

Please email your ques-tions to anniesmailbox@comcast.net, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Cre-ators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

College student shouldn’t be buddying up to young cousin

PARIS — Residents of a sleepy French village in Bordeaux have been left dumbfounded after discovering their local 18th-century chateau was

completely bulldozed “by mistake.”

The mayor’s offi ce in Yvrac said Wednesday that workers who were hired to renovate the grand 40,000-square-foot manor and raze a small build-

ing on the same estate in southwest France mixed them up.

“The Chateau de Bellevue was Yvrac’s pride and joy,” said former owner Juliette Marmie. “The whole village is in shock. How can this

construction fi rm make such a mistake?”

Local media reported that the construction company misunderstood the renovation plans of the current owner, Rus-sian businessman Dmitry

Stroskin, to clean up the manor and restore it to its former baroque glory.

Stroskin was away when the calamity occurred and returned home to discover his chateau, a local trea-sure boasting a grand hall

that could host some 200 people, as well as a sweep-ing stone staircase — was nothing but rubble.

“I’m in shock ...I under-stand the turmoil of the community,” local media quoted Stroskin as saying.

18th-century French chateau torn down ‘by mistake’BY THOMAS ADAMSON

Associated Press

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4E • Sunday, December 9, 2012 • The Paducah Sun Life paducahsun.com

Wedding

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Elizabeth Brooke Howard Robertson and Saint Ju-lian Rossignol Kern were united in marriage Nov. 23 in the Asheville Sanctuary at Laughing Frog Estate in Marshall, N.C., with the bride’s father, Robert Win-tersmith Robertson Jr., M.D., offi ciating. Readings were given by the groom’s father, Dennis James Kern. Music was provided by Allegro Music of North Carolina, a string trio

The bride is the daugh-ter of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Wintersmith Robertson Jr. of Paducah.

The groom is the son of retired U.S. Navy Capt. and Mrs. Dennis James Kern of San Francisco, Calif.

A reception was followed by a wedding luncheon.

The bride is a graduate of St. Mary High School in Paducah. She earned a bachelor’s degree in fi ne arts from the Rocky Moun-tain College of Art and De-sign in Denver, Colo., and is also a graduate of the O’More College of Design in Franklin, Tenn. She is an interior designer with a LEED accreditation and is an associate with the fi rm of Allard and Roberts in Asheville.

The groom is a gradu-ate of South Lakes High School in Reston, Va., and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Warren Wilson College in Swan-nanoa, N.C. He is a project manager with Jade Moun-tain Builders, custom home builders in Asheville.

The couple reside in Asheville.

Brooke and Julian Kern

Engagement

Christine Tonia Mizell and Jeremy Michael Gra-ham will be united in mar-riage at 3 p.m. Saturday at Highland Baptist Church, 1500 Husband Road, Paducah. All friends and relatives are invited.

Miss Mizell is the daugh-ter of Sonia and Derek Grantham of La Center, and Todd Mizell of Metrop-olis, Ill. She is the grand-daughter of Sandy and Jack Mizell of Metropolis, and the late Mildred and John Gurley. She is a 2006 graduate of Massac County High School and is employed at Sam’s Club.

Mr. Graham is the son of Dennis and Debbie Graham of Paducah. He is the grandson of Charles and Linda Gra-ham of Paducah, Dorothy Cummins of Paducah and the late Harold Cummins. He is a 2008 graduate of Reidland High School and is employed at James Marine.

Mizell-Graham

Anniversaries

LEDBETTER — Mr. and Mrs. Jackie H. Durard of Ledbetter will celebrate their 50th wedding an-niversary with a reception hosted by their family from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Drake Creek Golf Club Duck Blind in Ledbetter. All friends and relatives are invited. The couple request no gifts.

Mr. Durard and the former Brenda Lou Henry were married Dec. 22, 1962, at the Cumberland Presby-terian Church in Salem with James Moreland offi ciating.

Their attendants were Rose Riley and Kenny Parks.

Mrs. Durard is a retired bookkeeper. She is the daughter of Hilda Henry of Ledbetter and the late Gilbert Henry.

Mr. Durard is a retired pipefi tter for ISP Chemi-cals. He is the son of the late Howard and Magda-lene Durard.

They have three sons: James Durard, Timothy Durard and Chad Du-rard, all of Ledbetter; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Jackie and Brenda DurardSYMSONIA — Mr. and

Mrs. Don Merrick of Sym-sonia will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a reception hosted by their children from 2 to 4 p.m. Dec. 16 at Clarks River Baptist Church. All friends and relatives are invited.

Mr. Merrick and the former Wanda Fuller were married Dec. 20, 1962, by the Rev. Pete Carlisle at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Princeton. Their attendants were Gayle

P’Poole and Linda Fuller Smiley.

Mrs. Merrick is retired from Payless/CVS Phar-macy. She is the daughter of the late Densel and Ruby Fuller.

Mr. Merrick is retired from Kelly & Wilmore/Watts Bros. Construction Co. He is the son of the late Tom and Mary Merrick.

They have two children: Rhonda Merrick Holt of Possum Trot and Ricky Merrick of Richmond; and four grandchildren.

Don and Wanda Merrick

SEDALIA — Mr. and Mrs. Gerald W. Canter of Sedalia celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary by renewing their wedding vows in a ceremony held Dec. 2 at Immanuel Baptist Church in Murray.

Mr. Canter and the former Edna Tinsley were married Dec. 6, 1947, in Mayfi eld at the home of W.O. Rogers, justice of the peace.

Mrs. Canter is the daugh-ter of the late Charles Ion and Oma Dell Tinsley.

Mr. Canter is retired from Ohio Valley Gas Co. He is the son of the late Lowell C. and Estelle Canter.

They have two children: Deborah J. Hulen of Sug-arland, Texas, and Rhonda S. Irvin of Paducah; three grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Gerald and Edna Canter Mr. and Mrs. James E. Feezor of Paducah will celebrate their 70th wed-ding anniversary with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Dec. 16 at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, 3835 Tech-nology Drive, Paducah. All friends and relatives are invited.

Mr. Feezor and the for-mer Rubye Arlene Wilkin-son were married Dec. 24, 1942, in Charleston, Mo. Their attendants were Mr. and Mrs. Lyndell Shirk.

Mrs. Feezor is a retired

co-owner of The Fabric Shop in Paducah. She is the daughter of the late Claude and Sally Wilkin-son.

Mr. Feezor is a retired personnel manager for the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. He is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. Konnie Feezor.

They are the parents of Gloria Hildreth and Diane Shelton, both of Paducah. They have fi ve grandchil-dren and six great-grand-children.

Rubye and James Feezor

The Paducah Sun continues to offer free engagement, wedding and anniversary announcements, subject to our established guidelines and limitations. Announcements of engagements, weddings and anniversaries are printed on Sunday.

Photos and written information for free announcements must be turned in to the Sun by NOON FRIDAY, NINE DAYS PRIOR TO THE PUBLICATION DATE.

Photographs published with free announcements are subject to a $30 handling fee.

We also offer the option of placing customized, paid announcements for these events. For options and pricing on customized engagement, wedding or anniversary packages, please contact Linda Cocke at 575-8678 or visit our website at paducahsun.com and click on Features.

Make your announcementas special as the occasion

paducahsun.com Life The Paducah Sun • Sunday, December 9, 2012 • 5E

ZAROZJE, Serbia — Get your garlic, crosses and stakes ready: a bloodsuck-ing vampire is on the loose.

Or so say villagers in the tiny western Serbian hamlet of Zarozje, nestled between lush green moun-tain slopes and spooky thick forests. They say rumors that a legendary vampire ghost has awak-ened are spreading fear — and a potential tourist opportunity — through the remote village.

A local council warned villagers to put garlic in their pockets and place wooden crosses in their rooms to ward off vam-pires, although it appeared designed more to attract visitors to the impover-ished region bordering Bosnia.

Many of the villag-ers are aware that Sava Savanovic, Serbia’s most famous vampire, is a fairy tale. Still, they say, better to take it seriously than risk succumbing to the vampire’s fangs.

“The story of Sava Savanovic is a legend, but strange things did occur

in these parts back in the old days,” said 55-year-old housewife Milka Prokic, holding a string of garlic in one hand and a large wooden stake in another, as an appropriately moody mist rose above the sur-rounding hills. “We have inherited this legend from our ancestors, and we keep it alive for the younger generations.”

Vampire legends have played a prominent part in the Balkans for centu-ries — most prominently Dracula from Romania’s Transylvania region. In the 18th century, the leg-ends sometimes triggered mass hysteria and even public executions of those accused of being vampires.

Sava Savanovic, de-scribed by the Zarozje villagers as Serbia’s fi rst vampire, reputedly drank the blood of those who came to the small shack in the dense oak tree forest to mill their grain on the clear mountain Rogatica river.

The wooden mill col-lapsed a few months ago — allegedly angering the vampire, who is now look-ing for a new place to hang his cape.

Vampire on the loose in Serbia?BY DUSAN STOJANOVIC

Associated Press

said. “It’s amazing how many kids are enthralled by these toys when they get them, just like we were.”

At Mast General, all the toys are retro, said Ruth Smyrl, general manager, so customers know what to expect when they come in.

“The most famous retro toy that we carry is our Sock Monkey,” Smyrl said. “That is probably our biggest-selling retro toy.” Harkening back to really hard economic times in the U.S., people made the now highly-recognizable toy with the bright red smiles out of available, often used, scraps of material.

Fisher-Price toys from the 1960s and 1970s also are featured in the Mast General toy lineup, Smyrl said, including the retro camera, the milk truck, xylophones, pianos and radios, and this year, the Tonka truck. And other classics – such as the stan-dard slingshot and old-fashioned cork gun – can be found there.

“Our toys are a direct re-fl ection of the whole Mast store experience,” Smyrl said, which means taking a deep breath, slowing down, and stepping back in time.

“They serve to get people away from the whole screen experience with toys,” she said, meaning nothing that requires a battery.

Thorn— Kaden Ray Thorn, son of Kenny and Brittany (Neill) Thorn of Mayfi eld, Nov. 2, West-ern Baptist Hospital. Grandparents are Renee Adams and Jeff Neill, both of Mayfi eld, and Joyce Bakaloff of Murray. Great-grandparents are Janice and Roy May of Mayfi eld, and Polly Morefi eld of Wingo.

Williams — Silas Rylan Williams, son of Zachary and T.J. (Cunningham) Williams of Clinton, Nov. 13, Western Baptist Hospital. Grandparents are Tim and Longena Cunningham of Clinton, Patrick Sullivan and Robbi Cunningham of Clinton, Matt and Kathy Morris of Clinton and Tommy Wil-liams of Clinton. Great-grandparents are Bert and Pat Cunningham of Clinton.

Glover — Rylan Payge Glover, daughter of Josh-ua and Ashlee (Hardman) Glover of Cunningham, Nov. 13, Western Baptist Hospital. Grandparents are Honey and Scott

Holmes of La Center, Kim Radford of Barlow, and Larry and Margaret Glover of Kevil. Great-grandparents are Linda Riley of Paducah, Brenda and Randall Holmes of Paducah, Doug Riley of La Center, Shirley Provow of Paducah, and Judy Townsend of Paris, Tenn.

Groves — Easton Lee Groves, son of Dustin and Shelly Groves of Benton, Nov. 13, Murray-Calloway County Hospital. Grand-parents are Frankie and Donna Brown of Princ-eton, Marion and John Bard Jr. of Kathleen, Ga., Lyndall and Susie Groves of Benton. Great-grand-parents are Clyde and Shirley Woods of Trenton, John Bard of Hopkins-ville, Nancy York of Ben-ton, and Shirley Groves of Benton.

Thomas — Hastings Marie Thomas, daughter of Nathan and Kath-ryn (Wright) Thomas of Paducah, Nov. 14, Western Baptist Hos-pital. Grandparents are James and Sheri Wright

of Paducah, and Tim and Melanie Thomas of Morganfi eld. Great-grand-parents are Will D. and Anita Thornton of Murray, Mildred Marie Wright of Paducah, Bobby and Alice Cunningham of Morgan-fi eld, and Pat and Peggy Thomas of Morganfi eld.

McKown — Ella De-nise McKown, daughter of Brent and Dawn (John-son) McKown of Paducah, Nov. 14, Western Baptist Hospital. Grandparents are Ann and Dennis Johnson of McLeansboro, Ill., and Debbie and Gary McKown of Sikeston, Mo.

Thornton — Taylor Hudson Thornton, son of Matthew and Heather (Limbaugh) Thornton of Paducah, Nov. 18, West-ern Baptist Hospital. Grandparents are John and Cindy Limbaugh of Germantown, Tenn., and Wayne and Vicky Thorn-ton of Watertown, Tenn. Great-grandparents are John and Phyllis Apple-gate of Memphis, Tenn., Manley and Mary Lim-baugh of Chester, Ill.,

and Joanne Thornton of Bartlett, Tenn.

Hays — Carson Todd Hays, son of Matt and Kayla (Rodgers) Hays of Melber, Nov. 19, Western Baptist Hospital. Grand-parents are the Rev. and Mrs. Billy Rodgers of Paducah, and Mr. and Mrs. Greg Hays of Melber. Great-grandparents are the Rev. and Mrs. James Rodgers of Paducah, Zelma Vinson of Paducah, Mr. and Mrs. Truman Hays of Melber and Mr and Mrs. Bill Davis of West Paducah.

Announcements of births and adop-tions are published each Sunday in the Sun. Notices must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the birth or adoption. Send to Births, The Paducah Sun, P.O. Box 2300, Paducah, KY 42002-2300, or fax to 442-7859. List phone number where you can be reached during the day for informa-tion only.

Births

RETRO

CONTINUED FROM 2C

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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