Hingham’s toymaking past featured on ‘Chronicle’ this Wednesday

December 15, by Carol Britton Meyer

Photos by Hingham Historical Society

Hingham and its toymaking past will be featured on Chronicle/WCVB Channel 5 this Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 7:30 p.m. in a seasonal program featuring toys in Massachusetts.

"Chronicle" visited the Hingham Heritage Museum late last month and interviewed Hingham Historical Society Executive Director Deirdre Anderson. She and the "Chronicle" team then visited Hersey Farm and Reuben Hersey's original toymaking shop, where Reporter and Producer Nicole Estaphan interviewed Peter Hersey about the world of wooden toys.

The toy shop at Hersey Farm is the last furnished cooper’s shop standing in Hingham and the only pre-Industrial toymaker’s shop still in existence in America.

The discovery of the toy shop in recent years inspired renewed interest from historians in the famous coopering and toymaking industries in Hingham. At one time, more  than 400 toymakers and coopers worked in Hingham, and their wares were sold all over the country.

Also during Wednesday's show, Estaphan will go behind the scenes of Pixar's "Toy Story" at the Museum of Science.  Also featured will be a larger-than-life toy train store in Malden, empowering dolls in Randolph, locally-constructed storybooks that "literally jump off the page," and "real kids in search of the hottest toys of the season."

Anderson knew when Estaphan called requesting an interview that no discussion of toymaking in Hingham would be complete without "Chronicle" seeing Reuben Hersey’s shop -- which graces the cover of the "Bucket Town: Woodenware and Wooden Toys of Hingham, 1635-1945" book by Derin Bray, a nationally recognized authority on American art and antiques -- so she gave Hersey a call.

A private person, Hersey had to think about the idea for a couple of days before saying "yes" to allowing "Chronicle" to film the toy shop. "His wife, Judi, was instrumental in convincing him to do so, provided we all followed COVID protocols," Anderson said. "Tragically, a few days after the filming, Judi passed on unexpectedly. I hope Wednesday's segment will provide the Hersey family some respite in their grief."