Rollicking Rufus is a limberjack operated a little differently than most of his limberjack pals. Most often the dancer is impaled on the end of a stick. How charming. Said impaled dancer is suspended over one end of a flexible paddle, the other end being held firmly in place by player’s posterior. By tapping the paddle the feet of the impaled dancer are struck causing wild and rhythmic gesticulation. A good time is had by all.
Rollicking Rufus is suspended from a flexible wire above a springboard. According to the article, “…this little manikin will cut amusing capers when the supporting wire is agitated.” Clearly agitating the supporting wire agitates Rollicking Rufus, but we all must suffer for our art.
Article found in “The young craftsman; descriptions of over 450 easy craft projects reprinted from past issues of Popular mechanics magazine, What-to-make,and other publications (1943)” courtesy of the always-wonderful Internet Archive.
They certainly are wonderful. How nice you have one your dad made for you!
Wonderful! Limberjacks are such cool objects–I have one my dad made when I was a kid–one of my most prized possessions.