Toy Loan to Mark 50th Anniversary

Open house for the Los Angeles County Toy Loan’s 50th anniversary will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdayat Toy Loan headquarters, 2200 N. Humboldt St., Los Angeles.

Last year 15,000 children borrowed 50,000 toys from the county’s 32 toy loan lending libraries and 115 outreach sites. The program is sponsored by the Department of Public Social Services.

Toy Loan was founded by 87th Street School Principal Gertrude Peddie in 1935 during the Great Depression. The Toy Loan Library concept has since spread throughout the nation and to many foreign countries.

Betsy Barnhart, chairman of the Toy Loan Advisory Board, will be mistress of ceremonies at a 10:30 a.m. program. Jane Donelson, director of the county’s toy loan program, and Supervisor Ed Edelman will speak and the Highland Park Children’s Dance Theater will perform.