The Magic of A.C. Gilbert

You don’t have to look far for interesting topics. Alfred Carlton (A.C.) Gilbert was born in Salem, Oregon, about 60 miles from where I live. I knew nothing about him until I took my fourth grade class on a field trip to A.C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village, a hands-on museum, in Salem. There I started learning about this fascinating guy. The inventor of the Erector Set (a building kit that I had as a kid), A.C. was also a magician, Olympic champion, master toymaker, and “The Man Who Saved Christmas.” What a perfect topic for a book!