By: Dwana Pinchock

Ralph “Pop” Aymin and his puppets have been entertaining and educating children for more than 30 years.   A member of the Puppeteers of America, he will be delighting children of all ages Saturday, December 7 at the Elizabeth Area Library with his Christmas show “Pop’s Puppets: Christmas Stories, Songs, and Fun with Pedro and His Friend.”

Good morning Mr. Aymin. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Yes. My name is Ralph Aymin, and my company is called Pop’s Puppets. I’ve been putting on puppet shows for children, for quite some time now.

What got you started doing puppetry?

When my daughter was in preschool. The teacher asked if the parents could get involved in helping the class. I couldn’t see myself doing cutting and pasting work in the classroom. So I came up with the idea of puppets. It was 1989, and they just put out a line of puppets that were based on the 1939 Judy Garland film, The Wizard of Oz. It was the 50th anniversary of the movie, so they had a lot of puppets modeled after the characters. My daughter loved the movie, so I got the puppets and put on a show for her.

And the rest was history?

Yes. That’s right.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you come up with your programs for the libraries?

I try to put a lot of variety into the shows. I use a lot of music and some comedy, and I try to keep the sequences very short to keep it moving along. That way, it keeps the children excited and involved. One unique thing that I do is I have the children actually help to work the puppets themselves. As far as I know, I’ve never run into another puppeteer that does it that way. It’s kind of nice way the children get to be hands on, and the parents like to see their children getting involved in the show that way too.

That’s wonderful! One of the one of the things that we like to do is ask what people are reading.  What kinds of books do you like?

Well, I read almost exclusively nonfiction. My favorite fiction author would be Hemingway but nonfiction is my preference.

Really? What’s your favorite genre in nonfiction?

I like Biographies. I try to read a wide variety of biographies of people in different walks of life, I just prefer to hear stories that actually happened to people as opposed to reading fiction. You can learn a lot from other people’s lives.

What are some of your recent favorite biographies?

I recently read “How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions.” It was written by his granddaughter [Susan Eisenhower]. I also like audiobooks when I’m doing some exercise in the park or going for a walk. It’s a good way to do whatever I’m doing but also catch up on reading.

Audiobooks are amazing, aren’t they? Especially on road trips.

Yes. I’m originally from Pittsburgh, and I’ve need them sometimes when I’ve done that trip. I was, born and raised in South Hills.

X You’re a fellow “Yinzer!”

Right! I also went to Duquesne University.  After, Duquesne, I was in the Air Force. I was in Vietnam, and also in the Persian Gulf War.

It sounds like you have amazing stories of your own to share.

Oh, I guess I should write a book.

Well, if you do, please keep us in mind!

You can see Pop’s Puppets: Christmas Stories, Songs, and Fun with Pedro and His Friends at Elizabethville Area Library on December 7 at 10:30 am, then again at 12:30pm. Register in advance at https://www.dcls.org/eventscalendar/.