People Near Here; 304; Arto Monaco: Return to the Land of Makebelieve

Why what was Arto Monaco doing before He created the land of make believe in his own backyard. He was making toys toys that have been keeping kids all over the world happy for half a century. Move over Santa and make room for our the Monocles magical toy shop next on people near here. At

that three feet that thought the that the right thing. If you're a regular viewer of the people near here you'll certainly remember when a few

years ago we introduced you to Arto Monaco the Adirondack who built one of the country's first theme parks right in his own backyard. From the early 1950s to the late 1970s this was the place youngsters flocked to because here they could play out any wish any dream any fantasy. But it all went down the river literally when over 30 years. Devastating floods wiped out and eventually forced the closure of this magical place. Our original program concentrated on the rise and fall of the land of make believe and of the remarkable life of the man who made it all happen. But there's a lot more to the life of Arto Monaco than anybody could hope to get into one half hour television show. So videographer Paul Frederick and I have returned to the land of make believe to meet Argo again and to have him tell us about a fascinating

part of his life that had nothing to do with theme parks. Isn't this amazing. One of the largest private toy collections that we know of any any way anywhere in the Adirondacks. And what makes this collection even more amazing is that everything in this room whether the original toy or the prototype of the toy was built by our toe on a go. Now he's working in here somewhere today. Let's see if we can catch up with him Paul I think he's in the he's in the back room here where he stores most of his stuff. Yes. I already know. Oh my dear how are you. That's great if it is good so you know I this is like come into the Santa Claus's house this is wonderful what are you working on here. No I'm just cleaning this office

with the bucket I made for my nephew. You made that you know are it's wonderful. You've made a lot of toys in your lifetime haven't you. Thousands really and you started making probably three or four thousand. Really. And you started by making so-called educational choices that right after World War 2 I started to fight for my own wife and my brother and made educational toys. You have some on the spot here and I think up from National do it we got to see those I'd love to see him God show yourself. OK it's kind of hard to find a place to put it back. Yeah it's getting a little tight here. They's a collection I know there's some of the educational toys you may run up to war are Domonic close the famous preschool educational toys. Look at that. Tell me about these guys pick one up. Yeah tell me about how

she they come apart. And they're very simple but little kids had a good time taken apart all the things come out. Some are a little bit stuck right now but you know. So you guys made these here right after World War 2 and you know what I think is like a beautiful friend a show that finishes are amazing and the colors are great. And what makes this so interesting I think is an educational piece is when it came in the boxes came in boxes came unassembled and there were no instructions no instructions. So you got this as a birthday present or whatever and it was virtually all in pieces. And you as a child the child had to figure out what went where. Right and then when she got it together you knew it was a special train the trainer's most popular one. Yeah. So you had the train Moorpark and I will be right there. This is used to sell for a dollar. You know I mean this whole thing right here would be a

book about how would you make any money doing that. So I wonder now. Isn't that fabulous. Now right after World War 2 you got into this toy business but you also got into designing theme parks right. Yes and one of the first theme parks you did was fall. Yeah and when the first rooms and some some of the models were looking here were your models of what the park might look like. Sacrifice right. That's the prototype for the buildings in North and you built these. What are they made out of Argo. They're made of wood. Look at the detail in that. That's amazing. I want to take you to do that. Probably a week more sleigh a week and it's all and it's working. Oh yes. Everything we're just like your mortars and and you did the painting to where it's needed. It's fan. Where do you get the idea and where in your head is the idea that that little house should look like that.

Well I don't know I don't look at any research I just just completely out of my mind do it just make it out to be out of your mind. But boy a lot of people happy for a long long time. What else you know I look over here though and I see something in the middle of this room that's not a toy but you can't help but miss it when you first walk in here and that is this amazing stagecoach says land of make believe Express. It's a high scale copy of downing coach and it's it was part of the land to make a hash it was pulled by ponies. And you made this every bit of it with the exception of the Shirley was always a fellow I used to work for me he did they are ignored so long in here this only I mean it's a good metaphor derided all the rest of my village. Look at that you know you know it knocks me out are you about all your work here is the detail. Well I didn't have any plans

I just scaled up photographs so I'd be in I copy. So you'd start with that you say I want to make a stagecoach you find a photograph of a stagecoach. And I then I designed it from the photograph and you cut out all the pieces here all the pieces. Leather work. And I notice that this is one of the Florida long sewing machines used to do a three elsewhere. It's a beautiful little thong as a cuddly toy designed for ideal toy company really. Yeah and this would been the first one. Yes nice nice 55 you're all wonderful. That's just wonderful. Now I see along the side here some really wonderful things that you made but my eye also goes down here to these trains and these big toys these big hefty toys not to mention everything else in between these toys are carpet toys made just keep

play with them side I mean for my nephew and he took good care of them and never mass produced these no no's so we're looking at one of a kind here almost anything you see in here is one of a kind. How many pieces of wood say in this little truck right here do you have any idea. Probably about 100 hundred fifty a week train this little engine here is much more. Look at that's that's not around I can log in and there's probably 200 250 pieces of it and including little pieces of firewood in the lot in the lantern and little pieces of chain. And you know the patina on it I mean the paint job is amazing in the fire engine has got a lot of pieces in this one but it's written all over little mechanisms to use a pump. There's a lot of work in there and look at the dump truck down here. Can I move that.

Yes look at the Citadel. Look at this thing. Like I bring this up to you. Look at this. I don't want to. And even down to the park even goes up and down. Now that truck is tough and you have to get indoor outdoors or any place you like know all from scratch are off from school how long would it take you to build something like this. Why build on something that three days. So why you are making toys to make a living and designing theme parks. You were making toys to give to your kids your niece and nephew and it's Christmas and birthday presents right. There's there's a little there's Calliope harmony and then there's going to be a music box and there's the detail known as marvelous and Stagecoach which I'm

going to drive in it. It takes me about a week to do it. A model like that. And again when you start what you start with a photograph or you do a little drawing maybe I might make a little rough sketch and then just get busy with woodwork piece I will remember these things right from going to a circus maybe 60 70 years ago. I remember when it looked like but I don't run room looking at photographs or something to make it. But you make all the wheels I mean there's so much things here that yes I have to be really complicated the wheels would have one two three four five six seven eight nine 10 11 12 13 13 pieces of wood in that one wheel this one wheel right here in 3000 pieces and it you know and there are four wheels just on this one piece and you have a whole circus thing going here with two pieces and some more I saw in the other room.

When you cut things out on wood do you use a pattern you make a little paper pattern or anything you know use or just draw it on a word of what I read on the piece of wood. Yeah I should because I don't want to spend the time making a paper pattern I make it run in a wood directly so you cut it out. And I notice if you look real carefully you're using very thin C like with brass nails and those are like you know their buttons buttons but there Neal I mean they're But I see these these actions about these circus drivers are really authentic looking at how they were and the type of the type of boats and everything else and every rag and driver usually wears a different outfit. You really look like circuses and you really do a lot of kind of Western things for you. I love there or you just see what's up what about the all of us are so romantic for it I think it's just

the I think it's the outdoors the room an expansion room mansion I think yeah I mean on the whole Rush wasn't like it was in the movies. But nevertheless when I see a movie I'm right in that show with him. You are. And that's where you get a lot of your ideas your toys. I've always read an awful lot about Western history so I'm pretty well and you've always had horses or when I was writing a lot of Western towns I've designed it quite a few of them. Yeah you had a western and I also I love the West but I still love the oh medieval days. Well these castle very amazing to me because here it's the old west in this beautiful kind of Mexican style Mexican and will be home. What was this built for. Just for fun really. See the detail here is not little boards here all independently. Which I think is a lady who goes there and I love this little bird

here in the back of the garden. It's a fire that you did movie sets for a while too didn't you. He actually Hollywood movie I did quite a few of them in miniature and regular scale most of miniature scale. Yeah they build the miniatures and then they build a big set from them. This castle was built for fun or did you was this a project for a toy company that castle was built for fun. This castle was built for those who would get a great escape. The amusement park right. This was a model for others for their real castle. Full size gas. Oh there's a castle in the middle of great escape so you did a prototype model here. Yes I remember seeing that castle exactly how many pieces here is I do it like this is because if I take this into a fire I say no look you can do and then heaved.

So I think I like that there and I think I like that there and all of a sudden he's a designer and it makes him happy. Very clever. That's very clever. Lot of little pieces of wood here. Yeah. So he moves around a child so you know I like this over here so you know this would look better there and now he's part of the you kind of mining operation makes him feel good. You got him hooked right off the top of the castle behind this is something you built for a movie is that right or it was used in a movie well it was Brittany built just for my own pleasure. But a friend of mine who is a movie producer saw it and he wanted to use it for a movie title and he was in L.A. He was in Hollywood so you shipped it out there shipped it out there and it came by with not a mark on it and I thought sure it would be all smiles. But they took beautiful care of it. What is your fascination with councils. And I don't know maybe I'm just a romantic. Yeah right. Yeah. You know last night I dreamed of myself as a guy in a big white horse

running to save the damsel in this trash. I mean and here it is. And you can look right in there and you've had this. What does this mean. Here this is very realistic. This is all made. This is made a model automobile party real ready body bondo. Yeah I got a lot of that on my truck here so I got my truck up right now. So you just used bundle. What do you use Nessus like on Moss. You got out of the woods Yeah the woods or you can buy at any hobby child can you and the rest of it's all done in just wood and the water and stuff is fiberglass raising. It's very realistic looking water on the land so it is very and you know I see little money which would be in and little bits of rock here and there. You did you you must have had to make a drawing of this. NORDEN amazing. You just decided one day to build a big castle just study one day or just build a square.

So where oh you mean just the center spires. Yeah. And they said well I'm going to put this year and then I add on and then I can't get bigger bigger. Now I want to make one a little bit more elaborate. If I can find a dollar you know what's going to happen with all these toys What do you want the legacy of this toy collection to be. You know I honestly don't know. I had a great deal of fun making always sings and when I'm gone they can do whatever they want to will and a lot of these you made as we talked about earlier for a for a living. Yeah because somebody would come in to you and say oh yes we want you to build this thing right. So you'd build it in wood first. Well see. Even now if someone wanted a castle right some place I'd build a miniature castle so they can go ahead and have their engineers the Soyuz capsule. So you make the practical working model of it first which is the first step of making any toy. That's right. You show it to kids.

Do you let kids play with it before it leaves the this is a really cool Castle but the toys I quite often cast doubt on kids just to see if they really were one of the kids teacher. Well they're pretty honest kids they'll say oh I don't like it. And that may hurt your feelings but they know more about it and I don't what that's important is that this tell me about this this is a wonderful wonderful piece and this was never mass produced right. Tell me what this is no I it wasn't it hasn't been done but now you want me to you know put a music box in your national Charlie harsh Charlie. Now we didn't see this and it's something you need in your shop. Yes. Very clever very clever. I guess it's safe to say that if you're in your 30s or your

40s or even your 50s is a pretty good chance that as a kid we played with a toy that you designed probably did with your toys are all over the world I think they are China Germany Australia Canada Great Britain Italy. I don't know about Spain. Someone told me they were in Spain but I'm not sure your wife glad you said came through the shop the other day what did she say after looking around. He she said. I never realised you did so much work. And I said well then you gotta get around here more often. But God's always been very instrumental in the toy business. When I first started she used to work in the shop and what did you find more rewarding the toy business or the theme park. What did you get the biggest kick out of. The theme park this was sort of like a big toy to me

but the theme park because it was a lot of fun building it. And it was too bad to see it and you know but you got to get on with other things and now I understand you know I'm back to doing toys again. R Yeah. Circle will never be unbroken. I hope not. Can you show us your chess set. Yeah this is amazing. This is something very special in the back room here. Look at this though this train here. Look at this. That's amazing. That's just amazing. These are all that's a map for the Olympics. Yeah I mean one thing I mean even your peeps we're here in live has a story. Here's the land of make believe a map of the land of make believe it's here more tollways jagging the book. Those are you get a lot of game I always take for games to I always created a lot of books.

I did 17 coloring books. Really this is a little trash set in itself you. Yeah. Look at this this is one of a kind the you become a parent this is one of a kind All right this is the church and you this remember these were no reson or these are those are all resin and hand painted. What was the loser. There's a bronze plane a good suburban match if you'll notice. Oh I see everybody. You're on a brunette side among the branches. There's a little blonde girl. But no I've never played a game of chess and I don't know the rules. But you've made a chance at that. Then you should have got a little coal. I'm just going to show everybody here is the castle right here kind of your signature.

Brooks here I want to take you to do the most to take no one although it takes me a couple months to do those because they're all and painted and what are you going to what are you going to make next. Right now I'm making some oh more chess set. Yes this is a little shell the big castle or Sherman whose little castle she actually a little. I know you've made a lot of people happy for many a year. You must get a kick out of it. What I most really have made myself and I'm glad to hear that someone else is happy also but and you know what I heard I've been very fortunate. Why Eric.

Because how many people do you know all that just what they want to do in life. No I don't say I've been successful at everything but I did what I had a great deal of fun building all these things and maybe I'll keep on doing something so like a good nurse in class or do a lot of people I know and if you don't have them there are no Monaco's amazing guy. He's living proof that you should follow your dreams because when you do. Anything is possible for a videographer Paul Frederick I'm very near to saying thanks for watching and we hope that you'll tune in again next time when we'll introduce you to some more interesting people near here.