It is with a very sad heart that I write what could be my last Editorial.
On June 24th I received news that Ray Haradin, owner and publisher of Old Toy Soldier magazine and of Old Toy Soldier Auctions, had passed away. Ray was a larger than life figure whose energy and enthusiasm enlivened our hobby. He will be greatly missed.
Ray was the driving force behind the various “Old Toy Soldier” businesses, as well as his related activities in many other areas of Antique American Toys, especially Banks. In his absence, the future
for Old Toy Soldier Auctions and the Old Toy Soldier magazine looks uncertain, unless someone steps
up to fill the breach, a very hard act to follow! I am pleased to report that Old Toy Soldier Auctions
will “soldier on” under the auspices of Morphy Auctions as reported on page 26.
At present, the future of the Magazine remains uncertain. The costs of maintaining a hard copy, physically mailed out to subscribers, is no longer sustainable. We will therefore explore alternative
options for continuing the magazine.
It was started, back in 1976, as a simple Newsletter by Roger Garfield, Don Pielin, Steve and JoEllen Sommers and Joe Wallis (see the accompanying image from 1983). Ray took over the magazine in 2000, appointing Norman Joplin as editor. Together, they introduced various changes, including most recently providing past copies of the magazine online for free. I took over the editorial reins in Winter 2020. It has been a pleasure working with Ray and the rest of the team over the past almost 5 years. Hopefully, we will be able to continue and celebrate our 50th Anniversary next year.
We start off this issue with an article by Norman recalling some of the many highlights of Ray’s life as a key figure in the hobby we all love. Other contributions in this issue are from regular contributors such as Bill Anderson, Will Beierwaltes, John Franklin and Gisbert Freber, as well as new author on the block, Nassim Medjaoui. It is an issue that I am sure Ray would have been very pleased to read. In addition, we have the usual Reconnaissance, Readers Messages and related pages, where various contributors keep us up to date with what is going on in the hobby.
Thanks to all these authors, as well as all previous contributors to the Magazine over the past almost 50 years. Hopefully, this will not be the end of the story, but to ensure that we need your input!
Rob Wilson, July 31st 2025