Fun for Kids

The Peace Fair has much to occupy young children with fun activities that promote harmony at very reasonable prices (3 tickets for $1). Some of our attractions include:

Fish for Peace. Everyone gets a prize at the Fish Pond! 2 tickets

Toss for Peace. Everyone wins at the beanbag toss! 1 ticket

Bowl for Peace. Score a strike for Peace! 1 ticket

Ducks Fly Home. Help our little ducks find their pond! 1 ticket

Face Painting by Young Friends

The legendary Peace Train is a child-sized human-powered railroad that has entertained Fair guests for generations. It’s more than a half century old, yet it has the ultimate modern “green” power source—you! Height and weight (60 lbs.) restrictions apply. 1 ticket for three laps.

More About Our Train

Our “Peace Train” is actually part of the Yardbird backyard railway system built by the Charles William Doepke Manufacturing Company of Rossmoyne, Ohio between 1956 and 1959. From the Wikipedia page on Doepke: “Being so soon after the conclusion of World War II, many toys available at the time reflected a war theme. In contrast to this trend, the Doepkes [brothers Charles and Frederick] were encouraged by their grandmother to create toys that were not war-related.” How appropriate!

Set number 2024, which included the handcar and 40 feet of track, sold for $39.95, or about $355 today. In addition to the handcar we have, a trailing flatcar and many accessories, including additional track and switches (but not a mountain!), were available. An electric or gas powered Super Yardbird was later sold (which kind of defeats the purpose, we think!) Doepke (pronounced “Dep-key”) also produced other metal toys of outstanding quality, but due to competition from inferior lower-priced toys the company was forced to close in 1959. A Yardbird is part of the permanent collection of the National Toy Train Museum in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. More information on the Yardbird can be found at http://www.tnttoytrucks.com/DPKRR1.html