Little Bobby and The Kiddie Kar

The Kiddie Kar

As we continue our saga of Little Bobby, we find ourselves on a warm, summer day in the late 1930s. Standing in the hot sun, in the middle of a paved residential street, we watch a noisy group of eight small children playing. The
children, ages ranging from three years to about seven, are excitedly playing with whatever bits and pieces of wood and wheels they could cobble together to make pretend cars, scooters and bicycles.

Our story takes place during the period when the Great Depression is just winding down and families have very little money for real toys. The children know little of the financial world. They only know that pieces of old wooden crates and discarded roller-skate wheels can magically become high speed racers and delivery bikes.

There never seems to be enough old crates or wheels to make wheeled toys for all the children. Some of the children remain on the sidelines waiting for their turn to ride the imaginary racer or the make-believe high speed bike.

Our hero’s father, an unemployed factory worker with four children, has the talent to be able to make respectable replicas of the toys he has seen in stores but can’t afford to buy. He spent many hours, between looking for work and trying to feed his family in these depressed times, making a three-wheeled vehicle for his youngest: a shy little girl. Let’s call her Bev.

The vehicle, or "Kiddie Kar" as it was christened by little Bev, was made entirely out of scrap wood. The seat, frame and handles were all fashioned carefully by the skilled hands of their father. The wheels, actually circles of wood, were cut and whittled entirely by hand using his small collection of saws and knives. There were no pedals on this vehicle. Power was supplied by the feet of the driver. Sitting on the hard wooden seat, the driver used foot motion to propel the vehicle to whatever speed the power
of the little feet could provide.

This Kiddie Kar, a wooden tricycle about 18 inches long and 16 inches high, is intended for someone the size of 4 year old Bev and is her pride and joy. This pretend cycle gives Bev the freedom to ride with her dolls to any place she wants without waiting for a turn on the make-shift toys of the bigger kids. The fragile wooden frame was never intended for someone the size of our hero.

On our fateful day, Bobby grows tired of taking short turns on the pretend vehicles of the others and when Bev isn’t looking, Bobby, a full two years older than his sister, grabs the Kiddie Kar and, sitting in the seat, uses his long legs to propel the Kar on the hard concrete to speeds never before reached by the frail little three-wheeled vehicle.

Within minutes the fragile wooden axle snaps under the force of his weight and the speed of the vehicle. With a sharp ‘c r a c k’ the wood of the light seat splits down the middle. Little Bobby’s full weight comes down and shatters the brittle wooden frame.

Miraculously unhurt, Bobby looks at his little sister and sees the tears in her eyes as she looks at the remains of her prized Kiddie Kar. His childish mind sees the hurt, the despair she is feeling. Her world is shattered and he is
responsible.

A feeling of hopelessness comes over Bobby as he inspects the broken remains of the little tricycle and he realizes he can never repair the wooden parts and their father will never again have the time to build another such a fine three-wheeled toy. Bobby vows to his sobbing sister that he will find a way to fix or replace her favourite toy.

Today, many years later, Bob and Beverly are separated by many miles but during their infrequent phone talks, Bev often playfully reminds Bob of the broken Kiddie Kar and of his un-kept promise.