Notes from Toyland: 100 years of Toys and Games in Montana

In the 1910s

The 1910s were an eventful time for Montanans. The United States entered World War I in 1917, and over 40,000 Montanans volunteered to serve in the war, men and women alike. They came from every part of the state, including a large number of Native Americans, even though at that time they weren't even legally citizens of the United States! On the home front, people responded to the war by cutting back on anything that could be used by the military and by growing their own food and being as self-sustaining as possible. Even children took part. During the war years Montana's children were just as likely to ask for practical things like clothes as they were to ask for toys. The toys they did want stayed simple, and the craze for toy soldiers and miniatures didn't seem to catch on in Montana like it did in other parts of the country.

Equally important, although much more gradual, was the growing spread of affordable household electricity, especially in cities. Not everyone had electricity, especially not people who lived out in rural areas or on reservations, but for the people who did it changed their lives completely. In Missoula, for example, although electric lines had been built as far back as 1889, they had primarily served to light streetlights and businesses. By the 1910s, more and more households were able to afford their own electricity, and the city's electric streetcars defined the decade. With electric lights came electric toys, and by the end of the decade Missoula's children eagerly wanted electric trains, streetcars, and automobiles.

Here's a look at the kinds of things that Montana's children played with and asked for during this decade:
 
 

Can you solve the Silver Buckle Food puzzle?

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