I remember that when we still lived on Victoria Street, Grandpa would sometimes take out his two puppets. Grandma always said that I wasn’t allowed to touch them, and I never did. Grandpa made quite a show with his puppets, and I enjoyed it. Later, Grandpa even gave me one of these puppets. It was a promotional gift from Blue Bonnet Margarine and the rabbit-puppet had a Blue Bonnet insignia on its breast.

It amazed me that Grandpa was willing to part with one of his toys. Grandma had always told us that Grandpa had had no toys as a child. This was the reason that we weren’t allowed to play with them ourselves. When playing with his toys, Grandpa was somehow making up for something that he had missed in his childhood.

More fascinating than the hand puppets was Grandpa’s jig-doll, a dancing clown. The clown was made from colored pieces of wood that were fastened together loosely with a string. Attached to the back of the figure was a stick. Grandpa held the clown by this stick. Between his legs, he had a flexible paddle. He held the clown so that its feet just rested on the wooden paddle. Then Grandpa drummed on the paddle with his other hand and the clown began to dance, set into motion by the vibrations from the paddle. I have no idea whatever became of this dancing clown. After moving from the house on Victoria, I never saw it again.