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Chattanooga: Versatile little building blocks going strong after 50 years

By: Anne Braly
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Aaron Sneary

It’s been 50 years since the first Lego came into our homes, but the building blocks are still going strong.

“While the bricks have remained the same, people’s imaginations have changed, so they never get old,” said assistant brand manager Julie Stern.

Former Chattanoogan and Lego master model builder Aaron Sneary wasn’t around when Legos first came out in 1958, but he remembers the first time he picked one up. He was 3 years old when Legos turned 20.

“My first set was a firetruck set,” he said. “I think I like them so much because there were so many different things I could do with them. I could build a firetruck one day, then a castle the next and a spaceship the next day. All out of the same set of Legos.”

Mr. Sneary continued playing with his building blocks until he was 14. “Older than most,” he added. “But I loved the hands-on, tactile connection. Being able to make whatever came into my head. You have to realize, this was before computers. Legos gave me the ability to think something up in my head and put it out into the real world, make it come true.”

Ms. Stern said that was the original idea behind Legos. The company founder wanted to have something that would last through the rigors of childhood play “and something that would give children thousands of possibilities,” she said.

School eventually got in the way of Mr. Sneary’s Lego play. But following his marriage to wife Megan at age 23, he got into Legos again. She saw how much he enjoyed working with them and was impressed at his talent.

“She said it was a reasonable hobby,” Mr. Sneary recalled.

So he found a Lego enthusiast group in Washington, D.C., where he was living at the time. His involvement with the organization, with members of all ages, led to his entering a contest sponsored by Lego, the winner of which would be offered a position with the company as a master model builder at Legoland in California. He won on a regional level, then went on to win a national title and became one of three master model builders, a position he kept for one year before moving to Sierra Vista, Ariz., where he has been a systems certifier for the U.S. Army for the past three years.

“I’m still playing with Legos, though” he said.

And it’s a passion he’s now passing down to his son, Owen, 21/2 years old.

“His favorite is anything trucks and heavy equipment,” Mr. Sneary said. “But now, I’ve gotten into building towns. Legos come up with some really gorgeous brownstones and other downtown buildings aimed at adults set with prices around $200. They’re very complicated but so much fun with so many colors and details. It took me three days to complete one, but it’s nostalgic because it looks like something from downtown Chattanooga.”

In addition to the new sets of city Legos, the company also has released sets featuring scenes from Indiana Jones and spy-agent movies, Ms. Stern said.

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