Texas Toys and Games Page: 38
viii, 253 p. : ill., ports. ; 26 cm.View a full description of this book.
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IV
Stilts and
Stick
Horses
J ust about everybody tried stilts, or tom walkers, at one
stage or another of his youth, and I received "how-to-
build-stilts" papers from Dock Carriker of Trent and
Molly Brown of Nacogdoches, among others, including the two
contributors quoted below. But there is an amazing paucity of
information on stilts among my secondary sources at hand. Bri-
tannica tells us that stilts were invented for crossing streams and
marshes in the European low countries. Stilts were a practical
response to a continual problem, and they were used as naturally
for wading as painters and sheetrock hangers use stilts nowadays
to facilitate their work. During some long dry spell the children
pulled stilts into their realms of play, and stilts have since be-
come a universally popular plaything, as well as props for circus
clowns and other tom-walking showmen. Incidentally, I never
heard them called "tom walkers" until I was grown, and look as I
might, I could not find the derivation of that term. The word
stilt derives from a medieval word for "crutch" or "wooden leg,"
which makes good enough sense.
I do not remember who built my first pair of stilts. I do
remember that the stilts I built in aftertimes were continually
coming loose, in spite of my strapping the footrests to the pole
with the strongest pieces of harness leather I could lay my hands
on. I was always over-nailing and splitting boards. And a good
illustration of awkward is losing your balance on a pair of stilts
and trying to get back on the ground without whapping yourself
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Texas Toys and Games (Book)
Collected information about popular toys and games relevant to the state of Texas, including folk toys, folk games, sports, dances, songs and other recreations. The index of contributors begins on page 245 and the index of toys and games begins on page 249.
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Abernethy, Francis Edward. Texas Toys and Games, book, 1989; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67661/m1/48/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.