UMass Magazine Fall 1998 Books John Nelson

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ELL, THAT'S IT!" exclaimed Professor John Nelson when we remarked that his new how-to-book, American Folk Toys, is a virtual primer in the possiblilities of technical writing. "Everybody thinks technical writing is just `Attach Part a to Part b with Bolt c'!" As director of UMass's professional writing and technical communication program a highly praised major with a 100 percent placement rate for graduates Nelson obviously thinks it's much more. This charming book, subtitled Easy-to-Build Toys for Kids of All Ages, puts tech writing through some sprightly paces: It includes a cultural history of American folk toys as well a short course in construction techniques, and a payload of twenty-nine sets of instructions for simple but irresistable toys. Folk toys, says Nelson, "spring from an impulse on the part of those without means that says, `I am not going to do without. I'm not going to be envious of what others have. I'll make it myself.'" The possibilities range from the Whimmydiddle to the Ariadne's Block, from Man on the Edge to Self-Propelled Sled. Herewith a sample, the Rolling
Acrobat.
Enjoy.

What you need

* 2 pieces 12-in. x 1/2-in. hardwood (uprights)

*one 6-in. square of 1/16-in.-thick plywood (acrobat)

*1 7/8-in x 1/4-in. dowel (spreader)

*short length of mason's line

*small paper clips

Flip the Acrobat

1 Make the uprights from 12-in. lengths of
1/2-in. by 1/2-in. hardwood. Drill a 1/4-in.-diameter, 1/4-in. deep hole for the spreader dowel about 5 in. up from the bottom of each upright.

2 Drill two 1/16-in.-diameter holes through the top end of each upright. Each hole should be set in 1/16 in. from the edge of the upright and 1/4 in. from the top.

3 Transfer the patttern of the acrobat to a piece of 1/16-in.-thick plywood (or hardwood, if you prefer). Cut out two arms, two legs, and the torso.

4 Paint the figure as an acrobat, a clown, or whatever takes your fancy.

5 Drill 1/16 in.-diameter holes in the acrobat's arms, legs, and torso (as shown on the pattern on the facing page) and install pivot wires made from pieces of small-diameter, lightweight paper-cip wire. Bend the wire into a horseshoe shape (see the drawing on p. 111), with enough clearance so that the limbs and torso clear each other with minimum friction.

6 Insert and glue the 1/4-in.-diameter dowel in the holes in the uprights.

7 Thread mason's line through the holes in the uprights and the acrobat's hands, being careful to get the twists correct (see the drawing on p. 111). There are two configurations: a full twist between the acrobat's hands and a half-twist between each hand and the upright. Pull the mason's line so that when the twists are in and the line is snug, the uprights are parallel.

8 Knot the mason's line very tightly, and then melt the knot permanently closed with a soldering iron or with flame from a match.

One Room School. Laurence Pringle `61G, Boyd's Mill Press. Whimmydiddles, limberjacks, and other such folk toys would not be out of place in this cider-sweet children's book grounded in Pringle's memories of the last year of WWII in School 14 in Monroe County, New York. Illustrated by Barbara Garrison.

A Place Called Peculiar: Stories About Unusual American Place-Names. Frank K. Gallant `73, Merriam Webster. From Wide Awake, Colorado, to Two Egg, Georgia, rusticity is verbal, too. Author Gallant is the long-time editor of Rural Electrification Magazine; illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Victoria Roberts put his delightful book right over the top.

In A Wild Place: A Natural History of High Ledges. Ellsworth Barnard `28, Massachusetts Audubon Society. Beautifully illustrated by Charles H. Joslin, this small, elegant volume is a loving rumination on the author's lifetime relationship with a Shelburne acreage he has deeded as a wildlife sanctuary.

Building the National Parks. Linda Flint McCLelland `72, `79G, Johns Hopkins. America's great getaway spaces their roots, rustic aesthetic, and love-hate relationship with the automobile are lovingly explored in this chronicle by an historian with the National Register of Historic Places.

The New Cottage Home. Jim Tolpin `69, Taunton Press. Readers with a taste for refined rusticity will also admire this coffee-table volume on the resurgence of high-end cottages and bungalows. Tolpin lives and works in Port Townsend, Washington.

	One Room School. Laurence Pringle `61G, Boyd's Mill Press. Whimmydiddles, limberjacks, and other such folk toys would not be out of place in this cider-sweet children's book grounded in Pringle's memories of the last year of WWII in School 14 in Monroe County, New York. Illustrated by Barbara Garrison.
	A Place Called Peculiar: Stories About Unusual American Place-Names. Frank K. Gallant `73, Merriam Webster. From Wide Awake, Colorado, to Two Egg, Georgia, rusticity is verbal, too. Author Gallant is the long-time editor of Rural Electrification Magazine; illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Victoria Roberts put his delightful book right over the top.
	In A Wild Place: A Natural History of High Ledges. Ellsworth Barnard `28, Massachusetts Audubon Society. Beautifully illustrated by Charles H. Joslin, this small, elegant volume is a loving rumination on the author's lifetime relationship with a Shelburne acreage he has deeded as a wildlife sanctuary.
	Building the National Parks. Linda Flint McCLelland `72, `79G, Johns Hopkins. America's great getaway spaces their roots, rustic aesthetic, and love-hate relationship with the automobile are lovingly explored in this chronicle by an historian with the National Register of Historic Places.
	The New Cottage Home. Jim Tolpin `69, Taunton Press. Readers with a taste for refined rusticity will also admire this coffee-table volume on the resurgence of high-end cottages and bungalows. Tolpin lives and works in Port Townsend, Washington.