I found this little car just the other day. It was stashed away in a kitchen drawer.
Take a good look. It is the sole survivor of a huge convoy of Matchbox cars, Hot Wheels, Tonka trucks, and other motor vehicles that belonged to my son Nick when he was a little boy.
And the vast majority of his fleet came from the Village Toy Shop in downtown Winnetka.
Right from the get go, Nick had the “collector” gene, and this enchanting store was his favorite place on earth- and thus a regular stop for me.
(Not us- but you get the picture.)
From the time he was three and knee high to a toy fire truck, Nick would purposefully stride in, head straight for the back room on the left, and belly up to the racks and racks of the Matchbox cars and trucks on display.
He would then peruse the shelves with an intensity of gaze the likes of which I never saw given to anything else. Then, in a feat of prodigious memory, (that’s my boy!) he would instantly point out the latest addition to the fleet.
Back then, the owner of this wonderful place, Pat Berwanger, was always amazed by his Mr. Memory demonstration of mnemonics.
“He knows the inventory better than I do,” she’d marvel. “He can always spot the new arrival.”
That was thirty-two years ago. But these days, it’s Pat and her wonderful shop that is still marvelous.
It’s now operated by her daughter Elizabeth, but Pat is still around, making sure that special toy gets into the hands of your special boy or girl.
(The Village Toy Shop has been in business for sixty-eight years, btw. Doubly impressive when you think how Amazon has changed the face of shopping.)
But this “Mom and Daughter” emporium has defied the odds with its attention to detail, terrific customer service and its signature polka dot wrapping paper.
Sherlock Holmes Sidebar: This photo reads “Natasha, Christmas 1982.” Nick was two and Natasha was just four, and yet they were both highly suspicious. They wanted to know why the presents from Santa bore the exact same wrapping paper as the Village Toy Shop.
I had to think on my feet. I told them that Santa and his elves used the same stuff at the North Pole. They bought that for a very long time. (In fact, I think Nick still believes it.)
From the beginning, Village Toy Shop was my resource – my motivational tool- for getting certain behaviors out of my collector.
Take the first time I left him for pre-school at Crow Island’s three year old program.
On the first day of three year old class in September, it was time for the moms to leave the tots. (Natasha’s leave-taking a few years before had NOT gone well, and the memory was still fresh in my mind. At Thanksgiving, I was the only mother left in the room.)
So I was braced for some pushback on the part of my second-born. I nervously got up to leave. Nicky glanced up from the cars he was maneuvering with a question mark on his little face.
“Well, I’ve got to go now, honey, but I’ll be back soon. I’m going to Lakeside and then I’ll go to the toy store. What do you want?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, he gave me his shopping list.
“I want an am-bu-lance.”
Done.
That was cinchy.
And then there were the swimming lessons. Both my kids were swimming by age three. And I kept them at it indoors over the winter so they wouldn’t forget how.
But the first day back in the pool the following summer, Nicky was flailing.
“I can’t swim!” he said as he splashed around unconvincingly in the deep end.
“You can, too,” I countered. “You swam perfectly just last week,”
“No, I don’t know how,” he maintained helplessly.
But I knew my customer.
“Okay, Nick, when you can do one width of this pool, I’ll buy you anything you want.”
“I want a truck with logs on it,” he stated instantly.
And then he put his head down and swam a length
Then there was the case of the stitches at Evanston Hospital. In first grade Nick had split his chin tripping on a ball.
I got the call from the school nurse and off to the ER we flew. Nicky was a trooper throughout the painful sewing procedure but…
He had to see me call the VTS from the “clean” phone in the OR.
They kept the toy shop open late just for us. It was an emergency, after all.
All of these memories came flooding back when I picked up that little car. And so I picked up the phone and called Pat to do some fact-checking.
She remembered us. I’m not surprised.
“How old is Nick now?” she asked.
“Thirty-five. And I want to to know that he turned out fine. Both the kids did. Even after all that shopping I did.”
“You were careful,” she told me. “You didn’t indulge them really. I noticed that.”
“I was careful,” I had to agree. “I didn’t want to ruin them.”
And I was touched. It meant a lot to me to hear that I had done a pretty good job on the world’s hardest job.
Pat and I chatted for a few more minutes as I caught up with her doings and she caught up with mine.
Ah, such sweet souvenirs of my kids’ precious childhood. When I hung up the phone, somehow the room had gotten a little misty.
Nick, my collector, this post is for you.
With much love from the Village Toy Shop.
And your mom.
All wrapped up in polka dots.
Ellen, that post sure was a change of pace … car … from recent ones. Nic(k)ly done!
Thanks, Doc. And what was your favorite childhood toy? A Gilbert chemistry set?
That’s easy: Lego, from a time when kids were actually expected to use their imaginations, rather than assemble prefabricated components in accordance with complicated instruction sheets that are clearly not written by anyone for whom English is the native language.
I heartily approve your choice. That was Nick’s other passion, btw, and deserving of a post of its own. To be continued…
Was in Village Toy this week for Delia. Love giving them business. I have for almost 61 of their 67 years. Such memories.
Thanks, ML. Still the best. I can’t wait to send something to Boston from Winnetka. (And HB again to Delia Dee.)
You had VTS in Winnetka and we had Wieneckes Toy Shop next to the Hardware store in Glencoe.(Long gone!) Jill amassed a collection of miniature Madame Alexander dolls…Come to think of it, I loved the dolls dressed from different countries but Jill could care less. I kept them in their box and am ready to give to my granddaughter when she will appreciate their beauty.
My son, James collected Star War figures and had me running to KMart in Highland Park, each time they would announce the release of another..R2D2 , where are you? No where in my drawers.:(..Thanks for evoking memories, Ellen…
Thank you, Diane. I bought Natasha Madame Alexander dolls. They were just for show. She couldn’t play with them – and she never wanted to. Oh well. Now our daughters have live dolls to play with named Ava and Sam.
Amazing the flood of memories that can come back when you pick up a perfect 3 inch assembly of metal, plastic, glittery paint and true to life decals. Oh the hours spent studying the curves, lines, moldings and trim. And the feeling when you see (in person) the life sized version of that precious piece. For some reason they all invoke deep memories. I’ll bet Nicky can still tell you how that one got separated from the rest of the collection.
My favorite was the mustang. Any of them. Not sure why.
Our collection had two El Caminos. Because of that, I didn’t particularly like the toy because it seemed too common. Of course, it wasn’t a very common car on the streets, even back then when it still existed. I remember the feeling seeing one on the streets and thinking that it was a replica of the two we had in our collection. Loved today’s entry Ellen. Thanks for the memories.
Thanks, Dicky. I was hoping today’s post would strike a chord with a fellow enthusiast. I loved your recollections of a precious collection- and even more- treasured memories. Glad you approved. 🚑
Ellen, you jogged my memory of my collectibles. When I was a kid, I had 2 fantastic collections…baseball cards and marbles. Almost all of my allowance (do parents still give their kids allowance today?) went to purchasing those things. I even saved some of the (unchewed) bubble gum that came with the baseball cards. To my utter amazement, when I was away at college, my Mom decided to clean out our house and gave my baseball cards to my nephew. I never saw those cards again. She gave away my retirement plan! I’m sure there had to be at least one or two cards worth millions. She also threw out all my purees, cats eyes, boulders etc. which is, of course, why my thought process is so skewed today because (drum roll)……. that’s when I completely lost my marbles!
A sad tale. And a Wow finish. Thanks for recollections, Steve. My dad’s mother gave away his baseball card collection when he went off to college. 60 some years later, he was still wondering whatever happened to it. Glad you got an anecdote out of your tragic loss. ⚾️
I didn’t move to Wilmette until high school, so I never set foot in the toy shop in Winnetka. However growing up in St. Louis with 4 of the St. Louis Cardinals living within 2 blocks of my house, baseball cards were ever present in my room. Not only the cards though, Lincoln Logs, Superman comics, and little army men were my favorites and would keep me occupied for hours and I could never get enough of them. I still love old toys today and still have a collection of cast iron cars and trucks that were handed down from my Dad and eventually will be handed down to my son (as soon as I am done playing with them).
I love those cast iron beauties and Lincoln Logs, too. Did you see my photos on the North Shore Group site? If not, I’ll email them to you. Great minds….And thanks for the comment.