2010.84.2

A: green key, B: purple key, C: pink key, and D: green/yellow lanyard. One green plastic key attached by a metal clip to a green and yellow handmade lanyard upon which a pink plastic key and a purple plastic key are also attached by one chain. All three keys are in the shape of a crown and have the words "Magic Key to Children's Fairyland" on one side and "Lakeside Park, Oakland, Calif. Pat. Pend. A.V.I.D.. S.F." on the other side. They keys accessed the magic boxes throughout Children's Fairyland park which told stories. Excerpt from email from donor Susan Sugarman, June 14, 2010: "These are the keys that we bought for our three children - now ages 23-30, when they were Fairyland visitors as little girls. I think that they used to cost $1 each. I have fond memories of enjoying Fairyland when our children were preschool age. In fact one of them had a Fairyland Birthday party...We loved feeding the goats and the fish. The miniature "ferris wheel" and Merry-go-Round were out kids first "solo" rides. My middle daughter, Emily, works for Girls Inc. and recently took a group of Kindergarten students to Fairyland. She borrowed these keys (we have 5 of them) only to find out that the "magic boxes" that tell the stories have been modified and the old mechanical keys are obsolete. These keys have been hanging in our closets for decades on gymp lanyards that the kids made at camp."

Used: Children's Fairyland