Thanks to all, I found the info under Document Tutorial ---Layers and objects Tool and the trick is **the pencil must be on a layer that is hidden** and then one can turn the layer on and off. If the pencil is not on that layer you can't make the layer reappear (eye won't turn on) . All is well
I ordered boards alst night and they had a sale on them.
Electron
7.1.14
Windows
10
EasyEDA
6.3.53