Editor in Chief Mark Rosenzweig has received numerous kudos for his February column "We Need Another A.C. Gilbert." It's nice to see how readers found their inspiration to pursue a career in the chemical industry. . . and how fondly they remember their childhoods.

Below are a few letters from loyal readers (reprinted with permission) – enjoy!

Thanks for taking me down memory lane with this article about A.C. Gilbert.  It brought back memories of my childhood in Cuba and teen years. I had two of the A.C. Gilbert Chemistry Sets, an early one for youngsters and later a more advanced one for teens, so I started doing chemistry experiments at home long before my chemistry courses in High School in Havana thanks to Mr. Gilbert, he was a true genius!

I also owned three American Flyer Model Railroads by A.C. Gilbert, it awakened my interest in electricity and tinkering with electrical wiring and remote controls.  I was sad to have to leave my model railroad set layout behind when I left Cuba in 1958, but it helped the economy of my close relatives left behind as they were able to sell off the pieces for much needed food and other items they could barter including money.
 
So again, you write some very interesting editorials that I thoroughly enjoy. You are getting to be one of my favorite writers. Every issue of Chemical Processing means another interesting editorial.

Thank you and keep up the good work.
 
Regards,
Jose M. Sentmanat
Conroe, Texas

Thanks for your editorial about A.C. Gilbert and his toys.  I was of the age when Gilbert filled my toy box.  I still have my Erector set and my son played with it and later got his own Meccano.  Most instructions with the Erector Set consisted of just one drawing of the finished project and the challenge was to figure out how to build it from the jumble of parts and pieces.  One learned the lost art of “constructability” by doing this.
 
My son had a ton of Legos, which are loads of fun, but the instructions are multi-page, full color showing each piece step by step and even shading the completed sections.  There is minimal thinking involved.  Gilbert toys taught you to think.
 
You probably have a hundred e-mails, but the book worth reading is “The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made”.  It is a bio on A.C. Gilbert.
 
Thanks for reminding us.
Karl Zipf
Delaware Dept of Transportation