Evening star., 1945-02-18
| lust Between
Yourselves
BY Philit FL. Lore.

friend and /, about tops-about the
fun we used to have with them
when we were boys, and how we'd
like TO try our skill at spinning
them again. We'd about decided to
buy a top and have a go with it
when 1t suddenly occurred to us that
we haven't seen one for years.
And" my friend said, I'll bet you
can't buy good old-fashioned spin
ming top anywhere"
Well, I can't say as to that, be-
cause haven't had time to check
the various stores in which toys are
sold. But I have feeling that my
friend must be right, because if he
weren't, you'd see boys spinning tops
once in a while. And I haven't seen
top being spun in at least 20 years
II you've never spun a top, you
can't begin to imagine what you've
missed. For boy from, say, 8 to
IA, it's about the most fun there Is
to be had.
Top-spinning must have been in
its heyday when that friend and I
were boys. Every kid had an as
sortment OF tops-big ones, little
ones. sharp pointed ones, ball
pointed ones, silent ones and whis-
Ting ones. And, of course, they
came in all colors.
In case you've never seen a top,
it was made of wood, big at one end,
pointed at the other. The small
end, or bottom, had steel point.
You wrapped the top, starting from
the bottom, with piece of heavy
cord. Then you threw it down on
the pavement, pulling the cord in
such way as to get the kind of
spin you wanted.
At the end of the cord was but
ton or a piece of wood, to keep it
from slipping through your fingers
You could throw the top out under
hand, or you could come down with
a fast overhead swing. With prac-
tice, you could make your top stand
still, move in circles or zigzag. And
with still more practice you could
make it jump, or even spin forward
and then return.
Tops also could be used to play an
exciting game. Let's suppose you
and I were playing. We'd draw a
circle, and you'd have to spin your
top within 1T. If you missed the
ring or your top spun out Of it,
you'd lose the top to me. Then it
would be my turn, and, of course
you'd have the same chance of win
ming my top.
But if your top stayed in the
circle, I'd have the privilege of try
ing to hit it with my top. If ! sue
ceeded your top became mine. If I
hit your top squarely, of course, it
probably would split, and you'd be
out two tops-the one I'd broken
and the one you'd have to give me.
Naturally, it was something of an
honor to own a lot of SCARED tops.
They were evidence of your proweSs
as a top-spinner. And in every
neighborhood there was a boy who
was better at it than anybody else,
and all the other kids were kept
busy buying tops which wound up in
his collection.
Frankly, never was such a great
shakes as top-spinner. But I en-
joyed the sport, and I wish my
friend and I could find couple of
tops right now. I'd probably lose
my top to him, but before we got to
that, we'd undoubtedly have lot of
fun seeing If we could still make
our tops stand. jump, return and
whistle.
It may be, of course, that I'm
wrong in assuming that nobody
spins tops anymore. But if anybody
does spin them, they must do it un-
der cover. The nearest thing to a
top that I've seen in many year is
a yo-yo-and that isn't top at all.
So if you have top and want it
spun, or If you know where my
friend and can. get a couple of
tops, let us know-will you?
~
A story in last Sundays Junior
Star credited Mckinley High School
with having the oldest automobile
repair course among District high
schools. Two readers complained
that the statement was in error, that
T. s.at4
course in 1928 Well, check with
DR.. Chester w. Holmes, assistant
superintendent of schools, reveals
that both the j. S. and it's readers
were wrong. The first auto class,
says DR.. Holmes, was started at
Central in 1921 at the suggestion of
DR.. Robert A. Maurer, vice president
of the Board of Education, who was
then principal.
A Snowy Afternoon