An Ohio toy maker says the inventor of the famous red toy that generations of children drew on, shook up and started over has died in France. The Ohio Art Company based in Bryan in northwest Ohio says 86-year-old Andre Cassagnes died January 16 in a Paris suburb. The cause wasn't disclosed. Ohio Art president Larry Killgallon says the company will always be grateful for an invention that brought joy to so many. The Toy Industry Association says Cassagnes came upon the Etch A Sketch idea in the late 1950s. He peeled a translucent decal from a light switch plate and found pencil mark images transferred to the opposite face. The toy, with its gray screen and red frame, has two knobs that are twisted to create drawings. A shake erases the image.
Mike Foley joined WCBE in February 2000, coming from WUFT in Gainesville, Florida. Foley has worked in various roles, from producing news and feature stories to engineering Live From Studio A sessions. A series of music features Foley started in 2018 called Music Journeys has grown into a podcast and radio show. He also assists in developing other programs in WCBE's Podcast Experience. Foley hosts The Morning Mix, a weekday music show featuring emerging and established musicians, our Columbus-area and Ohio-based talent, and additional artists that inspire him.