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Aborted Landing Shakes Up Passengers 
Delta Flight Headed Into Avoca 
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Wednesday, November 30, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1C 





A powerful phemonenon &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Steven Powell, of Wilkes-Barre, looks over the selection of Power Rangers
toys at Hills Department Store at the East End Shopping Centre recently &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TIMES LEADER PHOTOS/FRED ADAMS &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Can't find that perfect Power Ranger? Perhaps a spin-off such as Power
Bots, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 above, or Atomic Ranger Warriors will do &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Six superheroes called Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have captured the
imagination and wallets of America's preteens. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By MARK E. JONES &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Times Leader Staff Writer &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 FLASHBACK 1983: Cabbage Patch dolls are the nation's most coveted Christmas
toy, sold with "birth certificates" and a manufacturer's claim that no two are
alike. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Every kid wants one. Coleco Industries doesn't have enough. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sound familiar? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 This season -- 11 years after America endured a Cabbage Patch craze that
spawned a riot in Wilkes-Barre -- the country finds itself immersed in another
toy-buying tumult. Call this one Morphin-mania. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Six superheroes called Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have captured the
imagination of America's preteens. Bandai America makes the toys and markets
them with the help of a 30-minute TV program seen six days a week on Fox
television. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 So far, there have been no near-riots, as happened in 1983 when parents
brawled over Cabbage Patch dolls at stores not only in Wilkes-Barre, but in
Charleston, Des Moines and Miami, to name just a few. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Could it happen again? Will the Ranger frenzy lead to fisticuffs? Most
local sources say `Let's hope not.' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Retailers are being more cautious this year, keeping Power Ranger toys
under lock and key, rationing them and taking "rain checks." And marketing
experts say the nation isn't gripped in the same Ron Reagan-era
"greed-is-good" philosophy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Yet the similarities between '83 and '94 are evident. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Every kid wants a Power Ranger. Local stores gripe that they can't get
enough. "They sell as quick as they come in," says Bob Lehnert, a manager at
Hills Department Store in Wilkes-Barre's East End Centre. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With each new shipment, shoppers line up at Hills' locked doors. At the
sound of the latch, they sprint to the Ranger display in hopes of getting the
toy in their child's favorite color. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "You ask the people to be as civil as possible," Lehnert says, "but there's
only so much control you have over them." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 FLASHBACK 1983: The pump is primed for disaster when 1,000 shoppers jam
into Zayre Department Store in Wilkes-Barre. Many stand in line for hours,
waiting for the store to open. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The 240 available dolls sell in half an hour. Store managers are tense. The
crowd is tense. Someone snaps. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An unidentified man shoves Kingston resident Dorothy Swainbank to the
floor, snatching a Cabbage Patch Kid from her arms, breaking her leg and
cracking three ribs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The man dashes toward an exit. Bystanders rescue the chubby-cheeked doll.
The mugger escapes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He knocked the daylights out of me," says Swainbank, whose five-month
recovery was spent in a cast and wheelchair. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On a brighter note, store employees retrieved the Cabbage Patch Kid and
saved it for Swainbank. On Christmas Day, she presented it to her
granddaughter, now 14 years old. The doll, and three others, are currently
kept in an attic. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As for Swainbank, now 58, the hunt continues this season for Power Rangers.
About a month ago, her sister-in-law stood in line at a local department
store. "She said it was a madhouse," Swainbank says. "They opened the door,
and people just ran. They ran to the back like the house was on fire." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Today, some three weeks before Christmas, your chances of finding a Jason
the Red Ranger or Kimberly the Pink Ranger are slimmer than stripes on a candy
cane. "They don't make enough of them," says Plains resident Laura Sorokas,
shopping on behalf of 4-year-old Samantha. "I've been looking and they never
have the pink one." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bandai America has 16 factories pumping out the toys, according to the
latest reports. Merchants say that the Power Rangers' supply will catch up to
demand -- eventually -- but perhaps not until after Christmas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They ask customers to be patient. If you can't find a Mighty Morphin action
figure, how about substituting other Power Rangers merchandise: rings,
erasers, luggage, sleeping bags, toothbrushes, talking gloves, inflatable TV
armchairs, walkie-talkies or "Morph into Reading" workbooks? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For less discriminating buyers, there are also spin-off products called
Atomic Ranger Warriors and Power Bots. Merchants hope its enough to satisfy
panicked parents and their pleading kids. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 FLASHBACK 1983: The New York Times, Newsweek, U.S. News &amp; World Report and
People magazine, among other major news media, duly note the leg-drubbing
incident at Zayre's. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For weeks, a dark cloud of national notoriety hangs over Wilkes-Barre. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In recent months, the Power Rangers craze has sparked several ugly
incidents. In California, a truck carrying the toys was held up at gunpoint.
Collectors try to horde them. Elsewhere, a black market has arisen. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The eight-inch action figures, which retail for less than $15, are being
sold in some areas for more than $40. That's not surprising to Chris
Alexander, a King's College assistant professor of marketing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Parents want their kids to be happy," he says. "And they'll go to great
lengths to make them happy -- whether its driving to Philadelphia to get one,
or paying three times what it's worth." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Alexander predicts the current Ranger rage will fade without major
incidents locally because, among other reasons, the Wyoming Valley has more
shopping outlets than in 1983. For example, Toys-R-Us entered the Wilkes-Barre
retailing scene post-Cabbage Patch. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He also says Rangers, despite their popularity, have not generated the same
pre-holiday furor as the rotund dolls of a decade ago. "It was such a frenzy
-- that's the only way to describe it," Alexander says. "It was a no-holds
barred atmosphere ... and I don't sense that this time." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Since their heyday in the mid-80s, Coleco's dolls have virtually been
tossed from the Cabbage Patch to the compost heap, along with forerunners like
hula hoops, pet rocks and Transformers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Undoubtedly, the Power Rangers phenomenon will fade too. But don't expect
it to happen very soon, says Delia Sumrall, a University of Scranton assistant
professor of marketing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The (television) show is not something that will die overnight," she says.
"So the products won't die overnight either." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 FLASHBACK 1983: In its Dec. 12 edition, Time magazine pondered how those
cuddly Cabbage Patch Kids could spawn fights among grown-ups, focusing on the
Zayre's brawl. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Departmental Manager William Shigo could provide no explanation either,"
the article says. "He armed himself with a baseball bat to defend his position
behind the counter. Said he: `Get back, you're breaking my legs.' " &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Zayre's riot was a result of a process known as "de-individuation,"
says Carl Kallgren, an associate professor of psychology at the Penn State
Erie campu

A Powerful Phemonenon 
Steven Powell, Of Wilkes-barre, Looks Over The Selection Of Power Rangers Toys 
At Hills Department Store At The East End Shopping Centre Recently 
Times Leader Photos/fred Adams 
Can't Find That Perfect Power Ranger? Perhaps A Spin-off Such As Power Bots, 
Above, Or Atomic Ranger Warriors Will Do 
Six Superheroes Called Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Have Captured The