The public is invited to tour a phenomenal toy collection on May 17, and it is housed right here in Tioga County. Notably, the owner believes it is the largest and most varied, privately owned toy collection in the country. The collection, a 50-year accumulation, includes thousands of toys and child-related items in every category imaginable.

The tour is scheduled for Saturday, May 17, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The last admittance will be at 3:30 p.m. Thousands of toys will be on display, and more than you’ve ever seen in any one place. You’ll want to consider taking at least an hour for the tour.

Local resident Tom McEnteer, an avid collector of all things related to toys, and also a history enthusiast, is offering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the public to view his collection for the very first time.
McEnteer is a retired OA Schools teacher, and has been a volunteer and trustee of the Tioga County Historical Society for nearly five decades. McEnteer, along with his late wife Sally, owned and operated an antique business in downtown Owego for over 20 years. If you have been to the annual O’Tannenbaum Exhibit at the Tioga County Historical Society Museum, then you most likely have seen a small portion of McEnteer’s vast toy collection. For 20 years, McEnteer has displayed toys from his collection during the popular holiday event.

“There was a different toy theme each of the twenty years of O’Tannenbaum, and no toy was ever repeated.”
McEnteer shares about the May 17 tour, “There are toys for all to enjoy, and every category you can think of is well-represented,” adding, “There are one hundred years’ worth of toys to see in nearly each category.”
From teddy bears to robots, Hot Wheels to fire trucks, robots to space-related toys, and then wooden blocks made by a company out of Albany, N.Y., to circus-style toys, and even a model biplane, the Curtiss Jenny, styled from an early Hammondsport, N.Y. airplane company, guests will undoubtedly experience many “wow moments” during the expansive tour.

Tour tickets can be purchased on the day of the tour, and proceeds will benefit programs and activities for the Charles H. Bassett Youth Foundation. The foundation conducts local youth leadership programs and offers scholarships to students in Tioga and Broome Counties.

Tickets at the door are $10 for adults and youth age 12 and up. Children under 12 are free when accompanied by a parent or guardian. There will be a family rate of $20.

To view a preview of the toy collection, you can watch a series of short videos available via the local PBS station, WSKG. The 18 episode series, Timeless Toys, can be viewed at https://www.wskg.org/timeless-toys.