THE MASK OF YOGI...

Back in the early '60s (around '63) my mother bought me a Yogi Bear Hallowe'en mask from Woolworth's.  It was made of cardboard, but it was shaped, not flat, and had the 3D contours of Yogi's front facial features, with his collar and the knot in his tie just like in the cartoon.  I remember the smell of it, but had forgotten until recently when something reminded me. However, more about that shortly.  (Oh, the suspense.) 

Sometime in 1964 I took it into school with me for some reason (not sure why after all these years) and placed it under my desk at the front of the class.  At some stage the pupils were circulating around the room (during a break perhaps) and I watched with alarm from a distance away as another pupil, under the pretence of trying to hoist himself up to sit on top of my desk and failing, squashed Yogi's fizzog with his foot as he came down again.  As I said, the mask was under my desk, so it could have been nothing less than a calculated, deliberate move on his part, the horrible little weasel.

He denied it when I confronted him and there wasn't a lot I could do but take poor Yogi home and try and manipulate his face back into shape.  For all the much-vaunted 'innocence of youth', there's a cruel, nasty, malicious streak that runs through the makeup of some children, and I believe I witnessed an example of it on that day.  I had something that the other boy didn't, and if he couldn't have it, he didn't want me to either.  Or perhaps it was just my obvious pride in the mask that set him off, and he just wanted to deflate me.  Sad, but there it is.

Anyway, another couple of houses and a school away, I got another Yogi mask from Woolies again, exactly the same as the previous one.  I no longer recall how long I had it, but I remember it fondly and would love to find another.  Due to the fragile nature of the mask though, I doubt that many (if any) of them survived.  However, two or three years back, I saw a plastic Yogi mask on ebay and bought it, though it was a more recent piece of merchandise than my original.  It was slightly contoured too, though without the collar of my original mask.  Still nice to have though.

The mask itself wasn't too expensive, but the postage from the States was (needlessly so in my opinion), but at least it was nice to have a Yogi mask again, even if I was never going to wear it anywhere.  Recently, I saw another modern Yogi mask (and when I say 'modern', I mean it could've been made anytime within the last 30 years or so), this time with his collar and tie knot, so I took the plunge and purchased it.  It's also plastic, but strangely, on the one time I held it over my face, it smelt like the cardboard one from my childhood (or at least enough like it to remind me of it).

The first and second pics are the seller's photos of my new mask, the third is my own photo of the one I got a wee while back.  You've probably already guessed that this post is just an excuse to ask if any of you might have an example of the '60s cardboard Yogi mask lying tucked away in a cupboard somewhere, and whether you'd like to sell it.  If so, let me know.  Even if nobody has one, do any of the older Crivvies out there (yes, I mean you, McS) remember the '60s mask at all, or was I the only kid in the world who had one (twice)?

Posted in: Cartoons