Spending a long weekend in Red Wing on Wayback, we wondered what to do on a rainy Friday morning. Some time ago, a work associate had mentioned to us that we should drop down to the small town of Kellogg to visit a unique toy store when we find ourselves with a rainy morning in Wabasha . We just had never had the occasion to do so in the past. Or, frankly, the inclination. A toy store? Really? Bonnie did a little web searching and found out that this toy store, called Lark Toys, is rated among the top ten. In the world. Number 6, just behind the likes of Hamleys in London and FAO Schwartz in New York (see http://www.readersdigest.ca/world-travel/10-coolest-toy-stores-world/#GGVQe8EHyptYLGi8.97). In Kellogg, a small and only suburb of Wabasha, which in itself is a small town? How did USA Today and Readers Digest even find it?
We hopped into the car we had ferried to Red Wing earlier and found what was a complex of toy store, workshop, restaurant, museum, merry-go-round, and mini-golf course. Lot’s to do for a family, especially with kids. As we entered the doors, we turned left directly into the museum. Had we turned right, we would have entered the vast toy store, with it’s multiple sections and rooms. The cleverness of their layout was that if you didn’t want the children running loose in the store, you could avoid it completely by proceeding through the museum into the open area that contained the restaurant, merry-go-round, and doors to mini-golf. The museum was a series of closet sized displays protected by glass that brought all the pristine and themed toys up close for the looking, but well preserved from the touching. Very artfully and thoughtfully arranged and presented, all the displays were quite interesting. For those of us that still remember Erector Sets and Tinker Toys, it certainly brought back a lot of memories. And because it was limited to about a dozen of these closets, you came out the other end without feeling overwhelmed or bored, as so often can be the case with museums.
We had a Gyros sandwich and milk shake at the restaurant table while watching the kids and adults and seniors mount the all wood carved merry-go-round for the two minute ride offered every 30 minutes. Though they paid $2, everyone looked as though they felt privileged to have had the opportunity, as the carousel was so beautifully crafted and constructed. The smiles on those kids brought us back to a simpler time.
The store was expansive, with only a relatively small section dedicated to the actual Lark "heirloom" all-wood toys made right on site. Those pull toys and puzzles were quite simply constructed and decorated. Many of the other more finely constructed toys were from exclusive toy makers from around the world. And there are sections with less expensive but classic toys. Walking further into the store brings you to a rather large book store filled mostly with children’s books. However, I did find a long sought simple field guide to Birds of Prey of the Midwest. We escaped the store with that book and a couple of other baby toys relatively unscathed, but could imagine quite a different outcome with a different impact on the checking account.
Among the distinctive features we noticed throughout the complex was the liberal use of wood, both painted and varnished - in the displays, the racks, and, of course, the toys. We also noticed that everything was dustless and spotless. That's amazing when you think of all the thousands of toys and board feet of wood and 20,000 square feet of space. It would be a tremendous amount of work for the two of us to keep our home to that level of cleanliness.
If ever you're touring the Mississippi River valley, be sure to stop by this toy store. Even if you don't have children or grandchildren that could benefit from the unique toys, it's worth the stop just to see.
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