What this blog is about -

Unfortunately, blogging means that your most recent post will appear first. Therefore, if you are writing a story, everything ends up being backwards. Throughout this blog I advise folks to begin with the oldest post and read the blog from the oldest post to the newest post.
But, I will briefly explain here what this blog is about.
My dad, William "Bill" Henry Haynes, was an African American man from New Haven, Connecticut, who, along with other members of his family had worked, or were working, at a toy store in New Haven, Connecticut which was called the Block Shop. The Block Shop was owned by a woman named Ruth Fallgatter, who was a friend of Peter Hodgson, Sr. Pete was an advertising copywriter and in 1949 was going through a rough patch. He became close to my family and my uncle indicates that my grandmother would often take care of him (washing his shirts and feeding him) as if he were a relative. Pete got lucky one night though when he went to a party, was introduced to a useless substance, thought of a possible use for the substance, gathered up some Yale students and some members of my family and began to sell the substance in plastic eggs as Silly Putty. My dad, a 24 year old, and who was probably his only permanent employee, was tasked with running the operation from the production end almost from the start. A recent Yale law student, Macgregor Kilpatrick, came along and became, what I like to think of as the third leg of the stool (Pete, Mac, dad). Many interesting people were associated with Silly Putty and the Block Shop including the the jazz musician (and Yale music professor) Willie Ruff *, Elizabeth Huggins (Yale University librarian and mother of slain Black Panther John Huggins)**, John Payson***, Bob Cecil****, Libby Patton*****, "Tony"******, and others. These folks helped to produce and/or sell the product and they were instrumental in making Silly Putty one of the most successfully marketed toys in U.S. History. They built the company from a $147 loan into a $140 million dollar estate.
In an article entitled SILLY PUTTY CELEBRATES ITS 40TH ..." by James Barron (New York Times - February 15, 1990) he states that "So far 3,000 tons of Silly Putty have been sold - enough to ... circle th Earth at the equator three times. Without stretching". And he wrote that 21 years ago!!

* In his book A CALL TO ASSEMBLY, Mr. Ruff indicates that he was never on the Silly Putty payroll, but he was very close to Pete. Pete asked him to be the musical director of Silly Putty.
** Elizabeth Huggins worked for the Block Shop.
*** John Payson is said to have been a brilliant marketing man who worked for a time on the marketing end of Silly Putty.
**** In Willie Ruff's book "A Call ..." on page 200 he indicates that Bob Cecil was one of the early Yale student workers.
*****Libby Patton worked for Silly Putty.
****** "Tony" worked in the shipping & distribution side of Silly Putty.

Dad holding Troy and Sandy

This is my dad holding my son Troy and his fourth daughter, and my half-sister, Sandra Haynes Thomas.

Troy (Bill's first male descendant - two male greatgrandsons would come later) decided to go
the entertainment rather than the business route. He is a master of ceremonies for latin dance conferences and conventions and he and his wife (Jorjet) are latin dancers, teachers, and choreographers. What Troy did get from his grandpa is his amazing ability to market and produce. Another grandchild is Mikele Haynes of New England (not shown).

This photo was taken in 1971.

Pretty much all of our parents worked at one time or another at either the Block Shop or Silly Putty and we all had a grandmother or greatgrandmother who worked at the Block Shop.
From left to right are: Rodney Ralls; James Bell holding Wayne Washington; Greg Rawls (Ralls) in front of Ronald Horner; Debra Ralls; Patricia Haynes holding Joey Jay Bell, Darlene Horner, and me, Carol Haynes. This was Christmas 1962 at 341 Norton Street in New Haven.

This blog is best read from the oldest post to the newest post.

William "Bill" Henry Haynes and Dawn Haynes

My sister, Dawn Haynes, was my father's third girl and she was the one who got his gifts and genes for marketing and sales. Dawn is (and has been) a stylist for such celebrities as Quncy Jones; Hallie Berry; Eddie Murphy; Teena Marie; Queen Latifah; Common; Eric Benet; etc. (The list is long and I could never adequately cite her accomplishments). Her agency is Dawn 2 Dusk Agency in Los Angeles.

A Silly Putty Family

From my point of view there were three core Silly Putty families (1) the family of Peter Hodgson, Sr., (2) the family of Macgregor Kilpatrick, and (3) our family Haynes/Horner.

Our family members mostly worked at the Block Shop, Silly Putty, the Winchester Gun Factory, the New Haven telephone company, or Malley's. My mother did some occasional work at the Block Shop (wrapping gifts), she worked a stint at the Winchester Gun Factory, but she mostly worked as a secretary for Grace New Haven Hospital/Yale New Haven Hospital pediatrics clinic (she was there when they were first doing a lot of open heart surgery on children).

This photo is of my mom and dad's wedding in New Haven (at my aunt Alice and uncle Booster's house) on July 17, 1948.

In the back row is (left to right) Ted Midder (husband of Dee, and father of Wes). Ted would have helped out at Silly Putty on occasion; I am not sure of the identity of the next man who is wearing a dark shirt and light tie; the next person is Wesley Obery Midder (who was in charge of stocking toys at the BLOCK SHOP); the next person is my paternal grandmother, Dora "Jane" Kelly Knight Lee Haynes Midder (who worked at the Block Shop and befriended Pete prior to the Silly Putty days - but during the Block Shop days); then comes my maternal grandfather, John Anthony/Joao Antao Santos of New Bedford (who worked in the cotton mills in New Bedford and Boston; then my maternal grandmother, Maria Santos of New Bedford (who worked for a while in the cotton mills in New Bedford; then my aunt Antonia "Tanya" Santos Bargasse of New Bedford (who worked at Cornell-Dubelier and Arovox); then an unidentified man; then Aunt Ethel Ralls (who worked at the telephone company and later for Mayor Daniels); my godfather Manuel "Uncle Manny" Britto (also from the Cape Verde Islands - he lived in Bridgeport and my father may have called him in to work a crew at some point in time); and Dee Midder (my step-greatgrandmother - who was a domestic servant for a number of families in the New Haven area).
In the front, seated on the edge of the chair (going left to right) is my father's oldest sister, Mary Bell (who worked at Malley's); then her son, Marvin Joseph Bell (who became a stonemason); then my aunt Alice Haynes Horner (who worked at the Block Shop for 17 years); then my father, William "Bill" Henry Haynes (who worked at the Block Shop and Silly Putty); then my mother, Juanita Haynes (who worked at the Block Shop during Christmas rush occasionally); then my "Uncle Booster" (Alfred Horner) who worked at Winchester Gun Factory but who, nevertheless, was an authoritative source about the Block Shop and Silly Putty. Finally, my cousin JoAnn Bell Washington (who worked at the telephone company).

This is the family that Peter Hodgson, Sr. came to know. It is the family who accepted him as if he were a blood relative (BEFORE the legend of Silly Putty began). It is a family whose members all, in some way, became involved in the Block Shop and Silly Putty.

Mom and Dad - early silly putty days - ? 1954

William "Bill" Henry Haynes and his wife, Juanita at 65 Asylum Street during the early days of Silly Putty. At this time my dad would have been at Silly Putty about five years.

Johnny Jump Up

Here I am on August 7, 1949, slightly over a month old, in a "Johnny Jump Up". (At our house at 144 Purchase Street in New Bedford).

The 1950 BLOCK SHOP catalog shows an advertisement for a Johnny Jump Up and it reads:

"JOHNNY JUMP UP. This is new, and the finest exerciser we know for fast-growing Johnnie and/or Janie. Just a slight push with the toes and the bouncing, rollicking fun starts. It is a strong canvas seat suspended from a special spring which is extra sturdy yet which responds readily to the slightest movement. Absolutely safe and ready to hang in any wooden door frame. Age range: 4 months to walking. $3.00. Shipping weight 2 1/2 pounds".

Inside cover of 1950 BLOCK SHOP catalog

The inside cover of the 1950 Block Shop Catalog reveals that the toy store was located at 58 Wall Street in New Haven, Connecticut and that their telephone number was 5-9919. (I remember the prefixes being Spruce and Main but this phone number has the third number as 5 - which is JKL - so I'm not sure what the prefix was). The inside cover bears Ruth Fallgatter's signature and indicates that it is the catalog for 1950.

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This blog is best read from the earliest post to the most recent

(Regrets) Card inserted into 1950 Block Shop catalog

I will have to ask my aunt Alice whose writing this is on the card.

I think it is the handwriting of the woman who eventually received the catalog - Mrs. Thomas Leonard, 96 Neptune Avenue, Deal, New Jersey.

Apparently the catalog was sent out to one person but was returned to the sender (the Block Shop). Ms. Leonard must have requested a catalog but they had run out. So they sent her a "returned" BLOCK SHOP catalog with their regrets.

And I own the cataglog now.

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Block Shop page showing Sargent Crayons

This is a page from the 1950 Block Shop Toy Store which advertises Sargent crayons. Was Crayola formerly Sargent?

Block Shop Toy Store cover (New Haven) (1950) - illustrated by Romney Gay

In an email on 1/10/2011, Pete's youngest daughter indicated that Romney Gay was a female who was around Ruth Fallgatter's age and that she had met her once. (Ruth was born in 1912). Margolis and Moss are booksellers in New Mexico (www.margolisandmoss.com) and on their webpage they show a book and then they add "by Romney Gay who was a prolific writer and illustrator of children's books". One book that appears to have been quite popular was "The Tale of Corally Crothers" by Romney Gay, published by Harter Publishing in 1932.

Dad and Me - around 1966

The top photo is my dad and I around 66-67 in New Haven at my aunt's house on Ellsworth Avenue.

The bottom photo shows me and my cousin Gregory Rawls (Ralls).

We were a very close family. I cannot remember a Sunday when we were not all together after (most of the family) went to Church. This was, apparently, one such day.

Photographs of Carol and Pat in Martha's Vineyard

Same vacation. Me and my sister, Patricia.

Photograph of Dad and me in Martha's Vineyard -1955

Vacation time from Silly Putty was always the first week (or first two weeks) of July. We always went North (to Bar Harbor; Nova Scotia,; Putney, Vermont, New Hampshire; or the Cape). We only experienced racial discrimination on one occasion that I can remember and that was at a motel near the Bourne Bridge (going over to the Cape). My father had obtained a room but when the staff saw my mother they said they had made a mistake and that there were no vacancies. My father was steaming (but not in such a way that anyone else other than the family would have known) and I can remember him talking about the fact that his money was the same color as everyone else's money -- green. What made this event so strange is that my mother was from New Bedford which was not too far away from this motel. On this vacation, in 1955, we were at Oaks Bluff, Martha's Vineyard. Photo of William "Bill" Henry Haynes and Carol Haynes.

Photograph of Alice Haynes Horner and Alfred "Uncle Booster" Lee Horner

When my "Uncle Booster" (Alfred Horner) was alive he was a great source of information on anything about the family, New Haven, and the people that he knew there (including information about Ruth, Pete, Silly Putty, and the Block Shop). I am grateful that I spent time interviewing him about these topics before he died. His wife, my Aunt Alice may have been the first family member to come in contact with Ruth Fallgatter and the Block Shop (or maybe it was my Grandma Jane). Aunt Alice worked at the Block Shop for 17 years. While it was closing she was approached by one of the customers (he had first asked Ruth if he could approach her). He offered her a job and she went and worked for him for 40 years. My cousin Ronnie appeared in a Block Shop catalog around 1955-7. Uncle Booster may have worked at Silly Putty during emergencies but he mostly worked at the Winchester Gun Factory.