The public is invited to join the Muscatine Art Center in welcoming local historians Bill Lindsay and Tom Meerdink as they present a talk on the history of the Peter Products Company and the Peter-Mar Toys. The program will take place Sunday, June 10 at 2:00 pm in the Muscatine Art Center`s Music Room. Admission is free.
In 1941 Ralph Lohr and his partner C.C. Hakes opened the Peter Products Company in Muscatine and began manufacturing wooden household items for retailers like Sears Roebuck. Their venture was successful but World War II caused lumber to be in short supply, most of it going to government contracts or other manufacturing priorities related to the war effort. The Peter Products company was faced with the choice of closing or starting other product lines. Under the new name of Peter-Mar Toys, they began purchasing scrap lumber to manufacture toys of their own design. They first produced military style Jeeps and guns and over time expanded to include farm equipment such as tractors, hay racks and wagons. The company's assembly lines were later re-tooled and new designs including a Ferris wheel, Noah's Ark and a trolley made. Peter-Mar Toys closed at the end of the war.
A display of original Peter-Mar toys is currently on view in the Musser Museum, gifts of Jim Burr, Mary Gaeta, Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Paul, Jan Ransom, Jerry Schreurs and Ev & Howard Hammann, in memory of Francis & James Tomasson.
EVENT DETAILS:
Talk: "Muscatine`s Toy Story"
Who: Bill Lindsay and Tom Meerdink
When: Sunday, June 10 2012
Time: 2:00 PM
Where: The Muscatine Art Center`s Music Room
Admission to this program is FREE.
Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at
563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.
The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from
10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM Admission is FREE.
