Antique toy exhibit hosted by Otisfield association

OTISFIELD — The Bell Hill Meetinghouse Association is inviting the public to indulge their childhood passions and see an exhibit of more than 150 toys and sporting items from the 20th century.

A Century of Fun: Toys and Sports through the 20th Century will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Bell Hill Meetinghouse at 191 Bell Hill Road.

“Did your childhood friends include Raggedy Ann, Betsy Wetsy or Teddy?” the association asked in a statement about the exhibit. “Do you remember Twister? Did you and your friends wile away long summer days playing Monopoly or Tripoley? And just how well can you handle the hula hoop and yo-yo? … These beloved toys and sporting equipment items cover each decade throughout the 20th century and will certainly make everyone feel young at heart.”

The artifacts include a 1925 wooden truck, a 1959 Barbie doll and a circa 1957 Teddy, owned by association member Polly Bartow.

“The toys are being loaned by many people, most of them Otisfield residents,” Bartow said. “I have things that have been lovingly passed down through generations and things from the latter part of the century that are just beginning their journey as family heirlooms.”

Among those items are a number of first-year-issue items, such as a 1963 Easy Bake Oven, a 1949 Clue game, tin trucks from the early part of the century and lovely and unusual dolls of every description, she said.

“I have a Shirley Temple doll, coloring books from the World War II years, depicting tanks and soldiers, and a little red wagon,” Bartow said. “The Meetinghouse will be packed and the show will be very interesting.”

The exhibit is being held in the historic Bell Hill Meetinghouse, built in 1839 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The Bell Hill Schoolhouse, also on the National Register of Historic Places, is on the grounds of the meetinghouse.

There’s no admission charge, but donations to the Bell Hill Meetinghouse Association are always welcome.

For more information, contact Bartow at 539-4502.

: Some of the toys that will be on display at the Bell Hill Meetinghouse Association include member Polly Bartow’s circa 1957 Teddy bear and a truck that belonged her father, dated about 1925. The 1959 Barbie and the original 1948 Cooties game have unknown provenance.

: These Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls will be part of the 20th-century toy exhibit at the Bell Hill Meetinghouse in Otisfield on August 22 and 23.