Tracy Keagle eyes a pile of stacked toys, ready to be cleaned and inspected.
She’s more than happy to do so, but she also sees a store window in dire need of decorating.
“It’s like my ADHD and my OCD are fighting,” she says with a laugh. “I want to clean toys, and I want to decorate.”
For the past several weeks, Keagle has been working nonstop to once again open Santa’s Toy Shop in downtown Iola.
By the time Dec. 18 arrives — the date the Toy Shop opens in the space formerly occupied by Party Girls, 7 E. Madison — youngsters of all ages will experience holiday giving of the best kind.
Each child will get to walk through the lavishly decorated shop where they will be able to enjoy a treat, select a book, meet Santa, and come away with a toy of their selection.
“The big misconception is this is for needy kids,” Keagle explained. “It’s for everybody.”
Too many times to count, Keagle has heard stories of parents working long, hard hours in order to bring in a few extra dollars to buy gifts for their children.
“I really want parents to stop that,” she said. “Please don’t spend any money. Stop by here instead.”
THE TOY shop’s origins, oddly enough, weren’t holiday-themed at all.
Instead, its genesis stemmed from Hurricane Sandy, which deluged New York City and other metropolitan areas along the Northeast in the fall of 2012.
Keagle’s daughter was living in New York at the time, and shared photos of the damage.
“I don’t think people here had any idea of how bad it was,” she said.
So as Keagle is wont to do, she decided to gather up donations for hurricane victims.
“I asked for anything: clothing, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, gloves, hats, whatever,” she said.
As those supplies arrived, another photo caught Keagle’s eye, that of a young child displaced by Sandy, clutching an obviously damaged toy.
So Keagle shifted gears.
“By then, it was right around Christmas time, so we told people to bring toys,” she said.
Again, donors overwhelmed her with their generosity.
Keagle jokes the donors usually don’t have much of a choice.
“I always think people are going to give,” she said, before pausing. “I never think they’re not going to. That’s probably why nobody ever tells me ‘no.’
“Of course, some see me and run,” she added with a laugh. “A few see me and just start reaching into their back pocket.”
Keagle received enough toys and supplies to fill a semi-trailer — and then some.
“When we were done, done, we had all these toys left over,” she recalled. “So I left a Facebook message, ‘if you’d like to have Santa deliver a toy to your house, leave me a message.’”
By the next morning, she’d received 150 messages.
The local requests prompted Keagle to shift her focus to Iola. In a matter of hours she had moved the toys to a vacant building owned by David Toland.
Keagle wasn’t sure how many would take advantage of her offer that first year. More than 1,000 did.
In 2013, Keagle repeated the endeavor. Again, another 1,000 or so kids came in.
In 2014, illness almost derailed her efforts, but other volunteers stepped up to hand out toys in her stead.
“When that was done, I said, ‘I’m done. This is it.’”
Not only is it grueling to spend countless hours cleaning and disinfecting the toys that people bring in, Keagle also found herself spending more and more on batteries and other necessities.
“I had to replace my washing machine, even though it was only two years old,” she said. “It was running nonstop. My utility bills were quite a bit higher, too. And it seems like every toy takes four or five batteries.”
BUT SANTA has a way of working around such problems.
A friend told Keagle about the Allen County Community Foundation’s Seed Grant program, which benefited local volunteer organizations.
“I agreed that if I got a Seed Grant, I’d go ahead and do (the toy shop) again,” Keagle said.
In June she learned the Toy Shop was awarded $1,500.
KEAGLE continues to amass donations, preferably used toys. “If you bring in a new toy, I’m just going to open it and put it next to the used ones,” she said.
All toys, new or used, go through the same process. She cleans and disinfects them all, and replaces all of the batteries on each electronic device to ensure it works.
“If there’s one thing wrong with a toy, I won’t put it out,” she said. “I don’t want a kid to get a toy, and say ‘but this doesn’t work.”
That, too, is easier said than done.
“I don’t know how a lot of these toys are supposed to work,” she laughed.
Luckily, Keagle also has a cadre of grandchildren, eager to serve as volunteer testers.
THE TOY shop’s grand opening on Dec. 18 will come with a party beginning at 5 p.m.
Santa will arrive with a parade, leading from South Jefferson Avenue before winding its way to the toy shop.
Youngsters are invited to partake in the parade’s kazoo band. Those who arrive at the intersection of Jefferson and Broadway will be given a kazoo to play along the route. The parde starts at 5:30; the toy shop opens at 6.
To be in the parade, contact Keagle via Facebook, or call (620) 333-2477.
Two families will be admitted at a time, so youngsters can fully enjoy the experience. A photographer also will be on hand.
The toy shop will be open from 6 to 9 Dec. 18, and from 5 to 8 — or later — Dec. 19 and 20. “If there are still kids out there, we’ll stay open,” she said.
Keagle also will open the toy shop by appointment Dec. 21, for youngsters with special allowances. Just give her a call.
“Maybe a kid just doesn’t handle noise or other kids very well,” Keagle said. “We want to prevent anything that keeps a parent from saying, ‘we can’t go.’”
