posted on September 10, 2000 02:50:03 PM new
I bought a bank at the sales this weekend and was going to list it but I cannot find any info on this company all it says on the botton is 1984 small world imports made in hong kong it is a monkey on a skateboard holding ballons. yellow and green cap with a necktie that is white with purple dots it kinda looks like curious george but not exactly like it. Bank is hard plastic
posted on September 10, 2000 03:49:18 PM new
Wow.
Yes, I do. Small World Imports was one of the endeavors of an entrepenuer in Marin county,CA who's name was Walt Brown. He's an old friend of my family.
He served in Europe in WW2 and came out of the army in 1946 with nothing in his pockets but a great deal of energy and a wild hustler/trader's skills or talent.
There was a feed store on the corner of 4th and Lincoln in San Rafael, CA, and Walt applied for a job there. The owner turned him down saying he couldn't afford to pay anyone. Walt bought a newspaper and saw that in Petaluma, CA the chicken growers were having to kill hundreds of thousands of baby chicks because they had lost their contracts with the government to supply chickens for food for soldiers.
Walt went back to the feed store and offered to work for nothing except half of any increase in business that resulted from his being there. The owner saw nothing to harm him in that, and took him on. The first day Walt put a sign in the window advertizing that all comers who purchased ten pounds of feed would receive free ten baby chickens, commencing on the next Saturday.
On Saturday morning the owner came to open the store and found customers lined up around the block and far down the street. Rationing was over. Walt had borrowed a truck, driven up to Petaluma, and loaded up on baby chicks.
At the end of the day the owner gave Walt $500. By the end of six months Walt had bought him out and renamed the place "Small World Feed".
He went on from there to open Small World Ford, Small World Auto Rental, Small World Auto Leasing, Small World Bicycles, Small World Imports, Small World Moving and Van Line, and I don't know what else. Eventually it was all incorporated under 'Small World Enterprises" He considered the name "Small World" as his lucky omen and named every business he ever had Small World something.
I don't know if he's alive. Last I saw him was in 1972 and he was in his fifties then.
There were hundred of items imported to Small World Enterprises in the sixties, he and his wife travelled all over the world buying them and arranging to bring them here.
posted on September 10, 2000 04:46:23 PM new
Boy its a Small World huh? Walt
(Brown) not Disney owns the rights and also
created the Its A Small World theme in Disneyland.
posted on September 10, 2000 05:06:45 PM new
Barry (maybe a little too early for Christmas humor) Barris -No never too early for any Christmas humor... even Dana Scully or Skelly loves Christmas though she rarely smiles, I personally know she's into Elves and Santa
