1960s Topps Video:The Hidden Treasure

Over the weekend a photograph of female employees working inside the Topps baseball card facility made the rounds on social media. I first saw the picture posted in the “Vintage Wax and Packs” Facebook group, and also saw it posted on Twitter. There was also a Reddit thread on this particular image that originally made its way to the Internet from Twitter user, @bsmile. This led to a search that found a 1960s Topps video.

There are not too many images of the interior of any Topps manufacturing facility. Since I have a subscription to Newspapers.com, I often enter search terms around Topps and baseball cards for content to post on Twitter.

Seeing this image had me logging into the Newspapers.com website entering Topps terms to find more pictures. This is one I found from the 1960’s of the Topps Company’s Duryea, Pennsylvania plant.

As I kept searching for images I stopped when I stumbled upon a photo of young collector Mark Celusniak in the December 8, 1968 edition of the Pittston Sunday Dispatch.

Celusniak was the young son of a Topps employee, Mary Celusniak. But what really captured my attention was the content in the photo caption. “Mark Celusniak, featured youngster in the Topps Chewing Gum film, ‘The Hidden Treasure.'” The Hidden Treasure was a 1960s Topps video.

Now I am intrigued, and I want to watch this film. The Hidden Treasure was an 11-minute film from Robert Braverman Productions. The plot of the educational film gives insight into the company’s inner workings, but is presented in an “action-adventure” format according to the article. It features Topps employees and their children, such as the young Celusniak.

The Hidden Treasure tells the story of a boy that finds a treasure map leading him to the Topps plant. Once there, he runs some of the equipment that makes Topps bubble gum products. The film was set to be shown in schools and on television. Other local stars in the film included: Joseph DeFazio from Avoca, PA; Peggy Driscoll of Exeter, PA; Lorraine Ferraro from Old Forge, PA; Deborah Harrison of Moosic, PA; and Lucy Lilli of Old Forge, PA. Topps decided to produce the film because it could not offer tours of the facility because it would cause a disruption.

Topps must have heard my call. The 1960s Topps video, The Hidden Treasure, was posted to Youtube. ENJOY!