Another Very Unique Team-Up Promotion

Thornbury's teamed up with Oscar Ewing in a summer ad offering a Thorny Buck on the side of a drink carton. Simply cut out the Thorny Buck to spend at Thornbury's Toys. Oh, don't forget to first finish the carton of juice.

What's In Your Wallet? It Better Be Thorny Bucks

When you started collecting Thorny Bucks, you had to have this particular wallet to keep them in. The more toys that were purchased, the more Thorny Bucks were accumulated.  It was a thrill to come into the store and open your wallet to buy your very own toy. This picture shows the front and the back of the Thorny Bucks wallet.

Memories Found Online, Part 2: "One Saturday Afternoon"

The image above and narrative below were posted here in October 2014. The program "Three's A Crowd" aired on WAVE-TV in the mid 1960s as this ticket shows. Three people claimed to have the same occupation, such as fireman or lawyer and the kids would have to guess which one was for real and which ones were impostors. Of course, the prizes were toys from Thornbury's!

One Saturday afternoon 

Our teacher received a stack of these tickets with a general invitation to her class to attend a local TV kid game show called Three's A Crowd. The half hour program aired Saturdays at noon on the local NBC affiliate. The format of the program was modeled directly on the CBS network's To Tell The Truth.

My dad and I drove downtown for the show. Once we were all settled in the studio, a random drawing was held to select 8 kids from the audience to serve as on-air panelists for the show's two games. This was shortly before air time. Classmates Gail, Bruce, Sharon and I were picked for the first half of the show. I don't think any of us had time to think about becoming nervous.

Sharon swept that day's first game, correctly identifying the real-life fireman after about ten minutes of interrogation by the four of us. Her prize was a ton of Thorny Bucks, funny money redeemable only at Thornbury's Toys. (This Baby Boomer currency must be very rare by now.)

Thornbury's Toys was owned by Jim Thornbury, a frequent, instantly recognizable guest on local kid TV during the '60s, who was known as Uncle Jim. Thornbury's closed in the early '90s.

In 2001, a Thornbury nephew opened a local, specialized toy store, dealing in high quality and educational toys. [end]
Other posts by the author of above, 'Smiley Derleth', can be viewed here. Included among his many posts are interesting photos, ads, and commentary about vintage toys and children's books.  Derleth, in related correspondence about this post, wrote further that "Thornbury's has a place in the heart of those of us who remember that we will carry with us all our lives." Thanks for sharing those lovely sentiments and your rare "Three's A Crowd" ephemera!

Another Uncle Jim Promotion-1964 Thorny Club

Cover of 1964 Thorny Club Official Members Book

You know all the characters on the Thorny Bucks pictured here, don't you?  On the bottom left, you have the one and only, Uncle Jim.  His $10.00 Thornybuck was worth a nickel.  Fireman Bill is on the $1.00 buck, Trigger Tom is on the $3.00 buck and Amy, the charming Queen of Toys out did them all on the $50.00 buck.

Queen of Toys

Here is the Queen of Toys!  She is one of many characters that appear on Thorny Bucks. Do you remember them? If you spent $1.00 at Thornbury's Toys, you would receive 2 Thorny Bucks.  You could save them up and then buy a toy of your choice.  The store also would feature "Thorny Buck Specials" so your Thorny dollar would buy more.