B. B. Maurer WV Folklife Award, 2001:
Dick Schnacke, Mountain Toy Maker

      Richard N. (Dick) Schnacke is the recipient of the B.B. Maurer West Virginia Folklife Award, 2001 sponsored by the West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State College.

      In 1999, the Foundation of Fairmont State College honored Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia as a WV Folklife Scholar in accordance with the newly developed WV Folklife Center, established to promote the identification, preservation, and perpetuation of our region's rich cultural heritage. Uniting scholars from various disciplines, as well as artists, writers, and musicians, the Folklife Center provides education, research, publications, and programs to the academic community and general public. Fairmont State College has also established an undergraduate Folklore Studies Academic Minor as a vital part of the Folklife Center. The Minor and Center are housed in the School of Language and Literature.

      The WV Folklife Center is pleased to continue to recognize people who have made outstanding cultural contributions with the renaming of the award in honor of Dr. B.B. Maurer, considered the father of cultural studies in West Virginia and a devoted friend and patron of the WV Folklife Center at Fairmont State College. B. B. Maurer, Professor Emeritus at West Virginia University, was an Extension Specialist for Cultural and Clergy Education at WVU for twenty-five years, spreading the message of mountain culture to teachers throughout the state.

      Dick Schnacke has brought back into American awareness such words as "whimmydiddle," "flipperdinger," and "whirligig." Children of the past would have recognized these terms had they an uncle or a grandpa who was handy with his Barlow knife, for these are names of some of the dozens of folk toys popular long ago that Schnacke is producing today.

      An engineer for thirty-one years, Schnacke researches traditional toys all over America, perfects the designs, then produces over 100,000 toys a year at his Mountain Craft Shop in New Martinsville, West Virginia, for the delight of children today. His designs are presented in his book, American Folk Toys: Eighty-Five American Folk Toys and How to Make Them. His work has been featured in many publications, such as Smithsonian magazine, Mid-Atlantic Country, and the up-coming issue of Country Journal (March/April) which characterizes Schnacke as "The Folklorist of Fun."

      In the "Preface" to his book, Schnacke looks back to the days before Barbie and G.I. Joe Dolls when children made their own toys: "They were proud of their ingenious creations and they played with them." In many ways, he feels, those homemade toys were more "spontaneous, forthright, and genuine" than our modern factory-made gadgets. It is appropriate that Schnacke receive the B. B. Maurer Folklife Award, as the two met at the first Mountain State Arts and Crafts Fair at Ripley, West Virginia, in 1963. Schnacke was the Founder and first President, and he and Dr. Maurer served on the first Board of Directors for Ripley in the early days of its development. Mr. Schnacke has exhibited at Ripley and other fairs throughout the region for thirty-eight years. He was also the Founder and past President of the West Virginia Artists and Craftsmen's Guild. From his "Storybook House" and Mountain Craft Shop on 156 acres of land in New Martinsville, he has operated since 1963, the largest folk toy cottage industry in the United States which supplies toys to gift shops in many museums, national parks, and theme parks in all fifty states. His appearances on TV shows include Today Show, David Frost Show, To Tell the Truth, and CNN News. In his spare time, Mr. Schnacke has also been a devoted public servant in such civic affairs as a nine year member of the West Virginia State Board of Education and its President in 1985 and for twenty years as a member of the Wetzel County Board of Education. In 1945, he became the National AAU Champion in High Jump.

      Even though Dick Schnacke was born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, he is most certainly our adopted West Virginia son. An inventor, scientist, and artist, Mr. Schnacke is "America's Master Toy Maker."