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The Fisher-Price Collectors Club publishes our newsletter usually
three times a year for our club members. The newsletter is called The Gabby Goose, which
is named after one of the very first wooden toys ever made by Fisher-Price! Usually there is
a winter/early spring issue; an early July issue; and
a Fall issue. The spring or early July issue contains the invitations to the annual dinner and other annual convention news.
The newsletter is either emailed digitally, or mailed in envelopes to club members.
The Gabby Goose was first published in 1993, and as of October 2024, there were 93
issues published.
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The October 2024 issue of the Gabby Goose newsletter was mailed out in late October. Canadian members will get their
copy in November (takes longer to get there!). This issue is 12 pages and in full color. The newsletter has the following
articles: All about Convention 2024 and all the fun we had; first part of an interview with "Mr. V", a designer for Fisher-Price
who worked on the Husky and Adventure People lines in the 1980's; the new 2024 Nifty station wagon and roller skates Hallmark Ornaments;
meet 2 of our board members; membership renewal information; info on the club's 2024 charitable contributions; and
sadly, memories of 2 long-time club members we lost recently (Frank H. and Ted M.).
If any club members are looking to renew membership for the 2024-2025 year, visit our new
Membership Info and Renewal Page. As always, we very much appreciate your support!
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The May 2024 Gabby Goose newsletter was mailed out in late May/early June.
Unfortunately due to an oversight, many details of the upcoming convention were omitted. Club members, please
see our Convention 2024 page for the schedule of events. The club is
holding tours, a social hour, annual dinner and of course, the annual toy sale!
This issue was mailed in a plain white envelope
with an Arizona return address, so if you see an envelope fitting this description, that's it! The newsletter
has the invitation to the annual dinner inside. The dinner is on Saturday July 26th at 6:00 pm at the
American Legion in East Aurora NY. Dinner is $25 a person, and club members can bring as many
guests as they like, also $25 a person. For club members who want to attend, fill out the invitation and
mail to the address listed on the invitation, along with your check. Club members can also use ZELLE or
Paypal for dinner reservations; the address to use is fpcc1993@gmail.com.
The Gabby Goose newsletter contains the following articles: President's welcome; Fisher-Price Little People
and their attempt to get into the Toy Hall of Fame (reprint from 2005); A look at Fisher-Price lunch boxes;
A Collector's Story; In Remembrance: Bruce Iglis and Jacquie Hamblin; and info on the upcoming raffle and
tote bags for sale.
The convention is set for Friday July 26th and Saturday July 27th in East Aurora NY. See our
Convention 2024 Page and our Toy Sale Page
for up-to-date information. Club members, we would love to see you there!
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The October 2023 Gabby Goose Newsletter was mailed out to club members the week of October 23rd.
Depending on recorded preferences with the club, the newsletter was either mailed or emailed to all
club members. This issue's features include: meeting
our new president (who everyone already knows!!); a write-up from our 2023 July convention including displays from
Fisher-Price's earliest days; an article about Churchville NY (and how it ALMOST became the "Toy Capital" of the
nation); a member of the club shares their collecting story; an article about modern day toymakers; and tote bags
available to club members. If you would like a tote bag, visit our Paypal Page to see photos of
the bags, and the link for using Paypal to purchase one.
Now that the club is fully back up and running after covid, we are looking to fill vacancies on the board. An
application was included in the newsletter for any club member who is interested!
If you have not done so and
want to renew your membership, use our
PayPal Page. Dues are $25 a year. We thank everyone very much for supporting the club!
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The June 2023 edition of the Gabby Goose newsletter was mailed out to all club members in mid June. Some newsletters
were mailed in envelopes, and some members got a digital one. This issue is one we send with a heavy heart, as
we recently lost long-time club member Ted Furcht. Ted fought kidney disease for many years, and sadly
passed in October 2022. Ted was an amazing man, affectionally known as the
"Radio Guy". He knew absolute everything about Fisher-Price wind-up radios and musical mechanisms. His
wealth of knowledge was astonishing. This issue pays tribute to Ted, and how much we will miss him.
The newsletter also has the following articles: the President's message; Memories of a child's first visit to
Toyfest; Ted Furcht's previously written article about Fisher-Price catalogs; Little People displays in
retail stores; Getting a club tote bag; the schedule of events for Convention 2023; and recent Ebay sales.
Included also is the invitations to the annual dinner on Friday July 28th. If you would like to attend,
fill out the form and mail payment to the address included on the invitation; or use zelle or Paypal to the
address listed. We need to know by July 15th so we can give the restaurant a headcount!
The club is getting ready for membership renewal for the 2023-2024 year. If you would like to renew now,
visit our
PayPal Page. Dues are $25 a year. Thank you very much for supporting the club as we enter our 30th year!
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The December 2022 Gabby Goose newsletter was printed and mailed to club members in late December.
This issue has articles by our 2022 convention speaker Catherine, also one by our club president, plus
some older articles about Fisher-Price toys. If you would like an official Fisher-Price tote bag,
follow the instructions on page 3 of the newsletter. They are pretty cool!
The newsletter also includes a note about membership renewal for the 2022-2023 year. If you have already
renewed, awesome! If you have not done so and
want to renew, follow the instructions on the note, or use our
PayPal Page. Dues are $25 a year. We thank everyone very much for supporting the club!
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The July 2022 Gabby Goose newsletter was printed and mailed to club members in late June 2022! Inside are the invitations
to the annual dinner on Friday July 29th. Follow the instructions on the invitation to attend (either mail
your invitation, use Paypal here on this site, or use Zelle). The newsletter also contained other information about the upcoming convention, plus
other articles as well.
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During Covid, the Fisher-Price Collectors Club was in "suspended animation" as we waited
for the world to improve. We had no convention in 2020 during lockdowns.
We automatically renewed all membership an extra year. The Gabby Goose was postponed as well.
During 2021, there were digital copies emailed to club members. Paper copies resumed later
in 2021/early 2022.
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The editor did double duty this time!
The most recent Gabby Goose Newsletters (November 2019 and
December 2019) were mailed together during the third week of December 2019.
The November 2019 issue has articles about our past July Convention, plus photos and information about
a unique (and somewhat mysterious topic), Fisher-Price Little People toys released in other
countries. These non-American toys had different boxes, some different sets (Like the #910 European Farm),
and even had the Little People toys produced by other companies (like Plastimarx). Very cool!
The December 2019 is all about Christmas ornaments! This issue is one to savor - it's in full color
and is 12 pages long! There are pages and pages of full color photos of the ornaments. The issue covers
many of the Hallmark ornaments, Department 56 ornaments, and even some employee-exclusive ornaments.
The editor did a fantastic job researching and putting this all together!!
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The March 2019 Gabby Goose newsletter and a bonus Easter newsletter were mailed out together
to all club members in mid-March.
The March 2019 issue contains the following articles: Information all about the upcoming Convention in July
(when and where all the events are taking place); an article looking at the Little People baby figure through
the years; a look at the rare 1943 medical chest made by Fisher-Price during WW2 (yes, you read that right! They stopped
toy production to help the war effort); membership renewal information; and sadly the loss of 2 long-time
members, Stirling Muck and Diane Minton.
The bonus 2019 April Easter edition is in full color, featuring all the Fisher-Price Easter Bunny cart toys
made through the years! This issue has beautiful photos and the editor took a lot of time researching all the
many Easter toys! Many thanks to editor Tammy and all who helped her make 2 wonderful newsletters!
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The June 2018 newsletter was mailed out the end of June.
This issue also contains the form to fill out to attend the 2018 Convention dinner, plus club renewal for 2018-2019, and
also some raffle tickets. If you want to come to the annual dinner, it is $25 a person this year, and
club members are welcomed to bring their family and guests. To attend the dinner, fill out the form and
send your check to Tammy's address listed on the form. To enter the raffle, fill out your name on each ticket
and mail the signed part back with your $$ (it's $1 a ticket or 6 for $5) to Tammy (you keep the "Keep this Coupon" part).
If you just want to renew membership, just fill out that portion of the form and send back with your check.
Members can also use our Paypal Link to pay as well!
Also in this issue is "Prior Employee Spotlight" featuring retired factory workers; a look at the
Chatter Phone and it's first version, The Talk-Back Telephone; and a fun article about the dilemma: If you find
an unopened Little People box at a yard sale and buy it for a steal, do you open it????? Do you keep it sealed?
What to do??? We find out in the next issue what a collector in this exact scenario did!
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We have a new editor taking over the Gabby Goose, and the club is thrilled to welcome Tammy
to the task! Her first newsletter as editor was mailed out to club members in early March 2018.
It took some time for her to get up and running, so there was a delay getting her first newsletter done, and
she apologizes for that. She hopes to send an extra newsletter or two in 2018 to make up for it!
The March 2018 newsletter contains information about the upcoming 2018 Convention (July 27 - 28, 2018);
Changes in the officers and board (the prior president has resigned); membership updates; online groups and pages;
and a multi-page feature article, an interview with a former employee from Fisher-Price, and some of his
favorite pieces!
Invitations to the club dinner and more information about selling at the sale will be mailed out
to all club members in the spring. Stayed tuned!
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The July 2017 newsletter was mailed out around July 21st. Apologies for mailing the newsletter so close
the convention; the editor simply had no free time to work on it, and the print shop had equipment breaking down
which delayed the job for 4 days. For the first time in years, the Gabby Goose is a 12-page newsletter (usually
it's 8 pages). This newsletter contains the following articles: the straight-ahead July 2017 Convention with
info on events (the Convention 2017 webpage also has details);
Online Facebook pages and groups; Well wishes for 2 former club members; a new vintage Playskool Facebook group;
Meet the new Soft Li'L Snoopy; Possible changes to future Toy Sales; the feature article "Focus
on an Obscure Toy" looks at the #72774 Chatter Phone, the only push-button chatter phone made (no rotary dial!);
and our very special 4-page article by long-time member Gloria, who writes about her entire life with
Fisher-price toys! (Gloria was looking to sell her collection, which she later successfully did in 2018).
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The April 2017 newsletter was mailed out around April 8th. This newsletter featured the following
articles: all about the upcoming July 2017 Convention (see Convention 2017 webpage for
updates as they come); 3 new miniature Fisher-Price toys made by World's Smallest (school bus, chatterphone and rock-a-stack);
an article answering the question "Did Fisher-Price make an alcohol-themed toy called the Happy Hour Playset"?
(Well, I will tell you now - NOOOOO THEY DID NOT!!); online Facebook groups and blogs; membership news update; and
this issue's "Focus on an Obscure Toy" looks at the very rare 1970's #765 Humpty Dumpty Pocket Radio!
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The December 2016 newsletter is one that is very special, as it is dedicated to long-time club member
Sandy Rose, who passed away after complications from surgery in November 2016 at age 71. Sandy and her
husband were club members for over 20 years, and the club will always cherish the memories we have with them.
The newsletter articles include: a dedication to Sandy along with photos of her and her family throughout
the years with the club; the Little People FINALLY make it into the Toy Hall of Fame; write-up of this past
July's convention; new Mickey Hallmark Keepsake ornament that looks very familiar; Dept 56 Fisher-Price ornaments;
online blogs and groups; and the Adventure People and their Crossword Puzzle - solve the puzzle by
using your knowledge of Adventure People sets and figures (you know who Brainoid is, right???).
For club members who need help with the Adventure People Crossword Puzzle,
see the solution click here!
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The July 2016 newsletter featured the following articles: Everything about the upcoming Convention 2016 -
the dinner, sale, raffle, social hour, plus maps to the venues; Online FP Facebook groups and blogs;
Renewing Membership; "Help the Husky Trucks Find their Garage" Maze; The new Basic Fun Tuggy Tooter reproduction toy;
and a new feature article "Focus on an Obscure Toy", which takes an in-depth look at the super duper obscure 1961-1962
Talk-Back Telephone!
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The February 2016 newsletter featured the following articles: Details about the upcoming 2016 Convention
(with new venues for the dinner and sale); Round-up and photos from last July's 2015 Convention;
Photos from the Fisher-Price Little People display at the Cincinnati Children's Museum;
Long-time member Sandy's thank-you letter; The club's youngest member becomes a big brother;
Fisher-Price Facebook groups and blogs to visit; and an in-depth look at the new reproduction
"Chunky" Ferris Wheel, made by the company Basic Fun!
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The July 2015 newsletter featured the following articles: The club's online sites, blogs, and Facebook groups;
Information about the upcoming 2015 Convention; One member's experience
with 3-D printing compatible FP parts (and how things did not go exactly as planned); upcoming Little People display at
the Cincinnati Museum; new Paypal service for club members;
two members show collection photos;
and the "Set The Table" quiz, where you name the set that each Little People table came from!
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The April 2015 newsletter featured the following articles: The club's Facebook groups and pages; the passing of author
Brad Cassity; Convention 2015 news; Disney/Pixar's use of Fisher-Price toys in one of their Toy Story cartoons; A message
from long-time member Jacquie;
Basic Fun's new replica of the classic Snoopy pull toy; and a word game called "Name that Lithograph" from classic
Little People toys!
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| The Gabby Goose newsletter is usually between 8 - 12 pages long filled with
articles about the club (upcoming events, toy sales etc), and also about the Fisher-Price toys we love. The
articles are written by club members themselves; and we encourage
club members to submit articles about their favorite topics - write about your displays; your favorite toys; or what
got you started in toy collecting! Most newsletters also have historical articles about the Fisher-Price company or
a line of toys. We also share news about members (new grandkids, weddings in the family, sadly the occasional
obituary, etc.). The newsletter is
usually printed in black and white, but occasionally we do a color publishing. Some more recent newsletters
have also included word games and puzzles like the "Pull-Toy Crossword Puzzle" and a "Classic Little People Word Search"!
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