Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-03-18
\ LOT OF FUN WITH "JUSr
SPOOlS,"
Fierce Battles Waged in the Nursery
Building Houses.

There is a little boy who would
rather have somebody give him a
handful of spools than anything else in
the world except, perhaps, marbles. He
has discovered more wonderful things
that can be done with spools than all
other folk have so much as dreamed
of. He began by having spool battles
He ranged his armies of a hundred or
two hundred spools in regiments OF
twenty-five or so, with the medium
spools for captains and colonies, and
the largest for generals. One army he
would place at the end of the long
nursery and set the enemy up at the
extreme other end. Then he and his
small brother or sister, or anybody he
could get to flight" with him, would
begin the fierce battle. Marbles of all
sizes are used for shot and cannon
balls. The players take 'shot about"
for they have found that if both fire at
once the marbles are apt to meet mid
way of the nursery floor and stop short
of hitting any of the spools.
In these spool battles the little folk
have learned all the military terms and
much of the discipline and detail of
army movement. They know how
many men usually form the" different
divisions and who leads them, even
though the number of spools used cam
not correspond. So exciting does the
sport grow that some of the grownup
cousins or uncles have frequently been
known to get down on their hands and
knees to rally one side or the other that
has suffered from the marble fire. and
visitors have often been surprised to
see a grown man fiat on the floor eX-
citedly calling for more marbles and
saying, Just you wait till I knock
that captain off his pins!'' Watch me
give that general black eye!" or ''Tn
wipe that left company of yours off the
face of the EARTH
Meanwhile the small boy whose army
has been reinforced by the grownup
scurries around for marbles that will
roll themselves under tables and sofas.
and claps his hands and dances jigs for
joy at every shot that tells on his
enemy.s And the small boy at the other
end of the room tries his hardest to
sight true" and shift his men so that
| they are hard to hit, for, of course,
the one whose men are all KILLED" first
1
| queror have his pick of the marbles,
and fire the first shot when dead
| spools get set up again and another
battle is on.
| The biggest spools, those that are six
and eight inches long and are used OF
| the big machines in factories, may be
| filled with solder or molten lead dowr
the hole in the centre. and used by
small folks as dumbbells. There is 6
little mission in New York where some
fifty pairs of these were used in gym
nastic classes most successfully fol
months. until some kind friend con
tributed enough of the real articles
Any big garment factory will be gla(
to give away any number of spoolS il
some one will only carry them off.
Of course every boy and girl knows
how to build" with spols. BY setting
the second row with their centres jus
over the crack between the two spool:
below them a durable wall may b.
made. The tiny silk and buttonholt
twist spools make good door and win.
dow frames. fitting in finely beside the
big ones used in the main walls. Then
all sorts of doll furniture can be fash.
| lplitG VI NotIlOuS SlZeu SpOOlS WIFI lIt
nelp of little pasteboard and glue
Spools make fine candlesticks, wheel:
for carts made of cotton or candy
boxes and the best sort of soap bubble
blowers. Indeed there are so many
things that may be done with Jus
spools" that it would take a very Ions
story to tell them all. Once you begir
collecting them it will prove the mos
Interesting sport in the world.
Not many days ago a gray haired
man who had played spool battle
when he was little boy said, as hi
passed heap of spools in a sewing
machine window: do you know L love
those bits of wood still, and if no.
body was looking 1 would just like t.
go in and play with them for a min,
ute"