WannaskaWriter

   This toy factory was started by two enterprising small town cousins for the single reason of building a machine that would get them into their cabin in the 'Big Woods' in the wintertime and back out again. They were successful at it, and in time, although they went their separate ways after a few years, they continued to assist one another's endeavors at the very time they competed with one another for market share, a n oddly friendly situation in what came to be a highly competitive industry that swept the country by storm. The cousins' invention unleashed the creative minds of a new industry.    Originally designed to be more of a utility machine, these shade-tree mechanics inspired enthusiasts and engineers to modify and improve on their basic model and make it into something fun that the whole family could embrace for generations to follow- - and follow they did, as the winter machines became mainstay objects in family albums; owners were photographed partici...

     I've worked in a toy factory for thirty-one years now. Very few of those years I've been happy in my work and many more of of those I've wanted to quit for one reason or another but stayed the course through it all. Good for me, eh? It's more than that, in the face of 40% or more attrition in the workplace becoming almost epidemic, when new hires, state-wide, quit jobs within a few weeks of starting despite dramatically increased starting wages and benefits. Thirty-one years on the job is unthinkable when so many people nowadays don't even finish out their probationary period.     I've not quit for the now old-fashioned reasons of: paying back the bank for money I have borrowed; having to support a family as most often the primary source of income; weathering the financial and emotional effects of two divorces; and, bearing the expense and responsibilities that rural landowners have.      Sometimes others in the family ...

    I've always liked physical labor, but I haven't always been able to do it. Born with asthma, or at least developing it soon after birth, during an era of no medication or inhalers, like Albuterol, my stamina and endurance was zero. I was a gangly, skinny-armed 'weakling' of a kid (not that I'm Mr. Macho now or ever have been) that couldn't run a block without being winded or push a reel-type mower around a fifty by one hundred foot city lot without almost collapsing or gasping for breath. I was pretty much a sissy during my childhood, last picked to be on a team, the whole bit.     My father, on the other hand, was a very strong man most of his life. I think I was a disappointment to him if only because of my inability to do anything requiring a lot of physical activity, athletically speaking. Oh, I could throw a ball a long ways, but I couldn't catch it on a reliable basis. Didn't have the desire nor ability for any school sports; couldn't run....