Fun & Games | On the Lawn
What do pop-up toasters, NERF balls, and the popular lawn game Bolo have in common? Answer: All were invented in the St. Croix Valley.

Bolo
Scott Gove began teaching Industrial Arts in School District #834 in 1995. He started developing an idea the following summer and in a relatively short time, Gove patented Bolo, which quickly became a popular lawn game. Maintaining the patent and developing the manufacturing proved very costly, so last year Gove relinquished the rights to his patent. It wasn’t too disappointing as he loves his job teaching junior high students. There is no lack of creative projects in his shop at Oak-land Junior High School.

Bolo will be the first stage on a tour-de-lawn of games.

NERF
Forty years ago, another creative group of young men, including Norton Cross of Stillwater was hired by a new toy and game development company. The team was working on a caveman game when one of them tried bouncing a foam ‘rock.’ The non-expanding recreational foam balls were sold to Parker Brothers in 1969 and NERF balls became an instant success.

Try your mad NERF skills out on the lawn. What’s the key?
It could be accuracy. It could be distance. It could be both!

Toast Toss
The pop-up toaster is attributed to Charles Strite, master mechanic in a Stillwater plant, who decided to do something about the burnt toast served in the company cafeteria. Bread had to be watched attentively as it toasted on one side and then flipped by hand. Strite incorporated springs and a variable timer and on May 29, 1919, he filed a patent application for the first pop-up toaster. Strite’s invention was universally accepted and in a short time was the proverbial “best thing since sliced bread.”

Strite’s invention will be feted by Toast Tossing across the lawn. No real toast will be harmed during the event.

More More & More Fun
In addition to the games, yard-side fun will include a community art project. Help create a banner that will remain on display at the library. Leslie Jones will contribute her own art project-- Face Painting with washable markers and glitter.

No old fashioned community festivities would be complete without a cakewalk. The “Sweet Slice of Stillwater Cakewalk” will feature cakes and treats from Liberty Café, Kowalskis, Fresh Fields, Joseph’s, Cub Foods, The Bikery, and more.