Wooden Horse toy store celebrates 30 years in LG
By Shari Kaplan
The old maxim that warns against looking a gift horse in the mouth--teeth being a telltale indicator of age--was sage advice in days gone by, when people used the equines for barter and trade.
It doesn't apply much today, and it certainly has nothing to do with a horse of a very different color--a large Los Gatan named Willard. This wooden rocking horse was the inspiration for local businesswoman Karen Holland when she named her first toy store in June of 1971.
He's still around in 2001, and so is she, as Karen Scarvie (husband Bill Scarvie also helps run the business).
The Wooden Horse toy store, a fixture in the Old Town shopping center until it moved to the King's Court center in 1988, is celebrating its 30th birthday on July 28. As if to make up for its belated date, the party is a five-hour event that is free of charge and open to all members of the community.
How has The Wooden Horse managed to exist for three decades, while all around it large chain toy retailers have been growing and expanding? Store manager John Hornberger has some ideas.
"We thrive on being different and providing value instead of just 'stuff.' We're pretty strict about what we carry," Hornberger says. "Our philosophy is that toys are tools to help kids grow up to be healthy, intelligent adults. When you say 'educational toys,' some people are inclined to think of stuff that teaches reading or math."
"When we think of educational toys, we think of the whole person. Toys should help develop a child's gross motor and fine motors skills, their social and emotional skills and the ways they interact. And of course their intelligence too," adds Hornberger, who will become a first-time parent himself this summer.
Appealing to youths ranging from toddlers to teenagers, those toys include books, stuffed animals, dolls, blocks, puzzles, card games, board games, balls, boats, trains and musical instruments.
To make sure all employees are familiar with all of the merchandise, Hornberger says everyone attends what the Scarvies call "Wooden Horse University," which consists of fun yet informative workshops on every category in the store.
Festivities celebrating store's 30th anniversary
The Wooden Horse Birthday Bash runs 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and includes face-painting, crafts, drawings, rides on Willard, photo souvenirs, balloons, party favors, games and prizes. The live entertainment schedule is as follows:
- "Get Zany with Zun Zun" at 12:15 p.m. The husband-and-wife duo of Stephen and Gwynne give an interactive performance using native musical instruments of the Americas. Zun Zun also won the Children's Music Web Award for Best Multilingual Recording for their 1999 CD, titled Flabbergasted.
- "Move & Grove with Masankho" at 1:30 p.m. Masankho Banda will share stories and songs from his native Malawi and get the audience dancing. Banda, who also teaches intercultural dance at the Saratoga Recreation Department and speaks at schools to promote peace, was among 50 people worldwide to receive the Dalai Lama's Unsung Hero of Compassion Award this May.
The Wooden Horse is at 796 Blossom Hill Road in the King's Court Shopping Center. For more information, call 408.356.8821.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
