As part of the educational center’s current exhibit, toy collector Steve Stegman presented the lecture “The History of Dolls and Toys in the 1960s and the 1970s” on June 12 and brought a few favorites from his personal collection.

Stegman, of Lambertville, had previously visited the exhibit and noted that it had a particular draw for adults.

“For me and perhaps other adults, these toys create a moment in time back to childhood,” said Stegman, who has collected toys for about 25 years. “They are a shortcut to the past.”

Some items in the exhibit especially caught his eye: the Easy-Bake ovens and the G.I. Joe figures.

“The ovens are fine examples of the first ones made by Kenner,” he said. “Also, it’s interesting to see how the G.I. Joes changed from military figures to adventure figures.”

Stegman, who owned a collectible-toy store, The 5 & Dime in Lambertville, said most toys in the 1970s and 1980s were driven by the film and television media.

“As a child, I wanted every toy I saw on TV and in the movies,” he said. “Even early TV shows such as ‘Howdy Doody’ in the late ’50s had marionettes and puppets for sale. Toys are a big business.”

Favorites in Stegman’s own collection include his childhood Mobo hobbyhorse on wheels, manufactured in Kent, England; a Howdy Doody marionette; and a Flub-a- Dub hand puppet given to him by his grandfather.

“The toy horse was kept at my grandmother’s house, and I even have a photo with me on it,” said Stegman, who demonstrated to the audience that the metal horse, about 55 years old now, is still in working condition.

He also shared that Howdy Doody, a marionette on the TV show of the same name that aired from 1947 to 1960, had a stringless counterpart that was used for photo and promotional purposes.

“He was called Photo Doody,” Stegman explained. “And Photo Doody had a backup called Double Doody.”

The now-deceased Robert E. “Buffalo Bob” Smith, Howdy’s human “sidekick,” was a big hit when he visited Stegman’s store in 1993. “He was a very nice man,” Stegman noted. “He would often walk in unrecognized to his personal appearances with Howdy in a suitcase, and most people had no idea what was in that suitcase and how valuable it was.”

Stegman, a master plumber by trade, said he was first lured into collecting toys by character watches, such as a Mickey Mouse timepiece. But the seeds were probably sown many years earlier when he was a child in the Bronx, N.Y., going to visit his great-aunt in Brooklyn. The Rice Krispies cereal she gave him had a premium inside each box — one piece of a train set.

“I ate a lot of Rice Krispies, but I had a train about yay long,” he quipped, holding his hands about a foot apart.

The growth of eBay had a direct impact on stores like his, Stegman said, noting that the trend has reversed somewhat with some collectors now preferring to attend toy and doll shows to make a purchase in person.

“This way you see the product and you know who you are dealing with,” he said.

For those who still have some of their favorite childhood toys or hope to put them back in their life someday, he advised that storage is key. “No attic or basement,” he said. “Try to keep the dust off. And store in a smoke-free place.”

Most important, he said, “you must connect to the hobby. Collecting toys takes you back to when your only worry was being on time for dinner.”

The Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center is located adjacent to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial, off the Garden State Parkway at Exit 116. The center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for students and seniors, and free for children under 10 years of age. Veterans and activeduty military personnel are admitted without charge.

For further information call 732-335- 0033 or visit www.njvvmf.org.