Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A Duncan Yo Yo Champion From 1950 Tells All

The above is a Duncan Yo-Yo pin from the 1950s.

The above is a Duncan Yo-Yo trick book from the 1950s.


This is all I have left of the trophy I won in 1950. When we moved to Kirbyville,Texas I still had the trophy which was exactly like the one pictured below except it was dated 1950 and had my name on it.
It was sitting on top of something in our living room and a dog knocked it off and it shattered on the floor. I have kept the brass plate with my name on it all these years.
Since I had not had the trophy since 1952 or so it was really a pleasant surprise to find a picture of one exatly like it via the magic of the internet. See picture below.
Click to on these pictures to enlarge them.

When I was 10 years old I won a trophy like this one. We were living in Greenwood,Ms.
I also won a few Duncan Yo Yo patches.
There was a group of 2 or 3 Filipino men who came to demonstrate Duncan Yo Yo to kids in 1950. They would go to somewhere near the school grounds and demonstrate tricks and hold contests to promote Duncan Yo Yos.
   They also had a guy who would carve pictures in the wooden yo yos. The picture were of palm trees and girls in hula skirts dancing under the palm trees.
He would then tell you "You can come back when you are 18 and I will take the skirt off".
Also he would tell us that you could pour ink in the carving to color it. Black ink was the only color I remember using.
http://www.theyoyomuseum.com/museum_view.php?action=profiles&subaction=company&company=duncan

http://invention.smithsonian.org/resources/online_articles_detail.aspx?id=303