The Man Who Saved Christmas
If you never played with an erector set you were certainly familiar with the product. The set was the invention of a man named Alfred Carlton (A.C) Gilbert. It would take pages to list all of the toys that he helped to invent but they include virtually every type of educational toy from chemistry sets to some of the most popular versions of model trains.
He was also a pioneer in providing benefits to his employees ranging from on site child care to free health insurance.
During the First World War there was a movement in the United States that we should in effect cancel Christmas in favor of the war effort. Rather than give toys to children the idea was that we should give war bonds to help the war effort.
Gilbert initally supported the idea but came to realize that it meant giving up part of what we were fighting for in the first place. He led the effort against the proposal and was dubbed the man who saved Christmas.
In 2002 Jason Alexander portrayed Gilbert in a wonderful made for TV movie (which you can probably find on your television sometime this weekend).
If you want a really nice holiday movie this is well worth your time.
And did you know that the first artificial heart was designed with an Erector Set ?
2 Responses to “The Man Who Saved Christmas”
Thanks, Patrick and thanks to Gilbert, you did a good thing.
Thanks, Patrick, but I read the original story, and have been to the Gilbert museum in Salem, Oregon (near the waterfront, really a WONDERFUL unexpected treat for adults, with or without kids), and when I saw the TV movie, I was more than a little discouraged. It’s OK, but the real story is much richer and deeper.
F’r instance, Gilbert, when he was a college athlete INVENTED the pole vault box, and he competed (I believe) in the Olympics. He’s also responsible for the chemistry set, and other stuff. The best part left out of the movie was this:
In World War II, the combat engineers, who’d grown up with erector sets, used that experience to create prefabricated bridges, etc. etc. Not only saved Christmas in WWI, but the Christmases in between had a lot to do with saving WWII, as the future combat engineers opened their erector sets under the Christmas tree.