Marion Mitchell, of Carbondale, poses for a portrait inside his workshop Wednesday after restoring his second horse tricycle.

The retired teacher, who considers himself a local expert on antique toys, said the pre-Depression era plaything was originally manufactured in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, before a production plant opened in Carbondale in 1930 where Mitchell said the final pony tricycle was made around the time of World War II.

“They were a high end toy, they were a class act, they were a Cadillac,” Mitchell said of the aluminum pony, which in 1929 sold for $17.50.

Advertisement

About 80 years later, Mitchell bought his first one for $10 and restored it for the University Museum where it now resides.

He and his wife, Polly Winkler-Mitchell, found the second pony, named Speedy, at a local yard sale just a few years ago.

Editor-in-Chief Anna Spoerre can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @annaspoerre. 

To stay up to date with all your SIU news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.

Advertisement