Cabbage Patch Kids craze of 1983 | From the WNEP Archives

foreign these are the Cabbage Patch dolls they are according to toy store manager the toy this Christmas and are next to impossible to buy Newswatch 16 spent part of the day trying to find a few dollars just a photograph we finally found these which are for display purposes only stores like Boscov's in downtown Wilkes-Barre are getting up to 100 phone calls a day just asking for Cabbage Patch dolls okay one thing we suggest is just keep calling back and trying every so often okay toy department manager Henry zilkowski says the demand is far exceeding the supply they last minutes on the Shelf there's there's no shelf life to them at all they jump right off the shelf people are tickle to death when they get them and they don't even care about the price they'll just take them as long as they can get them they'll take them no matter what the price is marilago of wilkesbury is one of the many frustrated Shoppers unable to find the dolls after searching several stores they're out of them and how many stores have you tried three stories at the mall and I came here today what do you think the attraction is the kids just they're homemade they're handmade that's it that's what they say but after talking with a number of toy department managers and finding out that there's only going to be a few more of these Cabbage Patch dolls actually shipped into our area between now and Christmas chances are that the closest thing any of us are going to see to the actual dial is if we take one and cut it out of one of the newspaper ads Mark Davis Newswatch 16 Wilkes-Barre they were fighting for the ones they loved today at department stores in northeastern Pennsylvania it was parent against parent fighting each other to get those very popular and very hard to get dolls yes I speak of the Cabbage Patch Kids the manager of a department store in South Williamsport Lycoming County says the line outside his store started at 1 30 this morning and when the doors opened a stampede of about 500 people burst into the store in Wilkes-Barre it was described as mass hysteria at a department store when they got their new shipment in Newswatch 16's Jacqueline Carr was there braving the mob [Music] hey this was the scene in their department store in Wilkes-Barre Sunday morning as hundreds of people crowded up to encounter all but one little thing all of those people are pushing and shoving to get one of these they're Cabbage Patch dolls and I talked to some people to find out why they'd want to go through all this just to get a doll we've been out in line about five hours and my mother wants a doll for the grandchildren I have two boys you know but um everybody tells me they're going to be collectors items how long have you been standing up since four o'clock this morning it was worth it I got one why why because I have a granddaughter that's heart and soul Melissa France and she is just patiently waiting for her birthday with all the commotion Wilkes-Barre City police were standing by to keep treated and released from wilkes-barre's General Hospital with only 240 dollars and close to 600 people not everyone walked out of the store with a new little toy called a Cabbage Patch doll under their arms and winning since seven o'clock out there and I they just pushed in like cattle it was ungodly I'm very disappointed now my daughter won't have one for Christmas people I talked with that didn't get dolls say if they find them on sale somewhere else they'll stand in line all over again to try to get one Jacqueline car Newswatch 16 in Wilkes-Barre foreign to the workshop was predictable the house of fabrics in Royal Oak was jammed this morning with people waiting to buy material to make their own cabbage patch-like dolls and this reportedly is the only store around that has the materials all listed for sale above the counter Bonnie Sawyer is a doll maker and sawing instructor conducted today's workshop and says the dials are not expensive if you make your own but could be a little difficult for the beginning sore she says the basic instructions are all right here in the Tiny Tots doll making book it's something that takes a little time a lot of patience but it's a lot of fun and well worth the effort it costs about twenty dollars per doll for your first doll after that you can make one for about ten dollars I spend 12 to 15 hours per day depending on the hairstyle and the features now Detroit area citizens who missed today's Workshop need not despair if the Cabbage Patch craze continues the house of fabrics has generously agreed to host six-week courses starting in January to teach others this doll making technique the price twenty four dollars plus materials and this little fella tells me that's quite a bargain from Detroit this is Buzz Luttrell reporting for ABC News foreign the FBI has handled strange cases before but this is a strange one a counterfeit Cabbage Patch doll ring individual uh that we arrested in New Jersey claimed that he had already sold 30 000 of these counterfeit dolls this Cabbage Patch dolls which were allegedly selling for twelve dollars this is the real thing which is selling for eight or ten dollars more if you can find one can you find any differences between the two well the real doll has dimples the fake does not the real one has a navel the fake does not the real one has thumbs the fake does not and on the neck of the real one is a trademark which is difficult to show on camera but it is there the FBI agents moved in on this novelty store on Broadway and seized perhaps a thousand counterfeit Cabbage Patch dolls carrying them out by the case and inside they arrested Mr bhandar Wu who is charged with allegedly selling the dolls to an undercover investigator charge them with violation of the federal copyright statute which carries a maximum penalty of a thirty thousand dollar fine or one year in jail Josh Howell for ABC News New York krzfm the time has come I have to give up Steffy much as I care for her I'm going to give her to a good home right now call me toll-free 1-800-222-0985 dial carefully and I'm gonna pick a winner at random after that announcement and only a few hours of promotion this Wilkes-Barre radio station was literally flooded with phone calls everyone trying to be that random caller to win a Cabbage Patch Kid Steffy Ricky the winner came early it was a man from Wilkes-Barre the call was recorded for playback over the air and this is how it went great who's this this is Mike Dreyer hi Mike and what are you gonna do with the doll I'm going to give it to the Big Brother and big sister program from Luzerne County that's right Mike Dreyer won this most valuable doll and now he's giving it away to big brothers and big sisters even though Mike has a daughter of his own I wanted to win it for a good cause for Christmas time and to be able to give it away now Jane Feeney has the pleasure of making Christmas a little bit brighter for a little brother or little sister maybe just to put all the names of the little brothers and sisters in a hat and pull one for that child it'll be a Cabbage Patch Christmas as one person put it there is a Santa Claus after all Mark Davis Newswatch 16 Wilkes-Barre how do you like that oh she's got cavities There She Goes isn't she nice do you like her her friends give me a big smile man okay no it's not your typical baby picture but it may be the next logical step for Cabbage Patch doll lovers make a portrait of or with your new loved one Greenville photographer Tom guest ran an ad offering to take pictures of the dolls his Studio was filled with people willing to pay a little for what they call a lot of memories my sons think I'm crazy but that's what I want to do a little family picture to go on the Apple now Peyton Benham has been wanting to do this all week but what do you do with the picture I guess I'm gonna hang the picture in my room so I can remember them I can go down in history as being the person that photographed more Cabbage Patch babies than anybody else now hopefully we'll be able to continue this for as long as I make cabbage patch babies so with the flash of the camera a few dollars and two weeks for processing you can be the Envy of your Cabbage Patch friends Dale Weiss 4 ABC News Greenville South Carolina [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] thank you

Channel: WNEP

Views: 4,039

Keywords: holidays, home, news, channel 16, local news, nepa, newswatch 16, newswatch 16 1983, pennsylvania, retro news, scranton, tom clark, wilkes-barre, wnep, wnep 16, wnep 1983, wnep news, wnep tv, wnep tv channel 16 scranton pa, wnep-tv (tv station), Cabbage Patch Doll, 1983 Cabbage Patch Doll, 1983 cabbage patch doll riots, Zayre Cabbage Patch Dolls, cabbage patch dolls 1980s, Cabbage patch Doll 83, Wilkes-Barre Cabbage Patch Doll, Mark Davis

Id: qR0aVHlXpvM

Length: 10min 17sec (617 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 24 2023