BUCKING THE TREND
Vintage Mobo riding horse still showing its mettle after more than 70 years.
Somewhere around 1949, at the age of 4 or 5, my husband, Joe, received a very interesting—and enduring—gift from his paternal Grandpa Andre: a metal riding horse Joe named Mobo. That was the maker’s name stamped on the stirrups, and Joe kept it. Mobo riding horses inch along, slowly, when the child presses down on the stirrups.
It’s hard work, but at least it’s a fairly safe ride.
We still have Mobo. We like to say in our family that everyone gets to own Mobo, but for a short time. All small children get to enjoy the ride and wonder over this antique and rather noisy mode of transportation. After all, Mobo is aged, so he’s cranky.
Joe loved Mobo, but his lasting memory of the toy is how his brother Vic, who was seven years younger, used to turn Mobo upside down and fiddle with the stirrups, wheels and gears, waking up Joe every morning with the racket. The boys shared a bedroom in a Bronx apartment, so there was nowhere for Joe to escape the noise.
Mobo entertained our daughters, especially our youngest, Maria, and then Vic’s children. He was back with Maria for her children for a while, and now he’s with
Vic’s children, who each have kids of their own. Mobo will outlive us all. We’ve never touched up or replaced his paint to preserve his original look. He ages naturally.