‘These are the toys you’re looking for’: Nostalgia Awakens invites Star Wars fans to remember
In a span of five months… in a public museum not so far away… Nostalgia Awakens. The Oshkosh Public Museum is currently hosting an exhibit of every action figure, vehicle, creature, and playset made for the original three Star Wars movies. The exhibit showcases original Kenner toys made from 1977 to 1985, and it was carefully put together by Jarrod Roll. Curator of the display and director of the Monroe County History Room and Museum, Roll painstakingly created the exhibition for his own museum in 2015 and soon discovered it was quite popular.
“I was asked by somebody about a year later from another organization if they could borrow it,” he said. “Since then, it’s been traveling to different venues in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. It’s on loan to the Oshkosh Public Museum from my collection.”
The display is home to more than just the characters and monsters from the fantasy world of Star Wars. English teacher Brett Hartman visited the exhibit, and appreciated the additional features besides the toys, features that made it more entertaining to walk through.
“They had TVs playing the original commercials for some of the toys, and sets from the 70s and 80s which was pretty cool,” he said. “My friend and I sat and watched, and spent more time there than we probably needed to, but it was fun.”
Roll’s passion for the movie series dates back to when the first movie was released, and as a child, he was immediately enthralled. Getting his first Star Wars toy was a special moment for him, and it was the first purchase of many.
“The first toy I got was Chewbacca,” he said. “That’s the one that started it all. It’s why when you go to the store, you’ll see that he’s the only one in the package. I bought that figure in the package for this exhibit because I wanted to pay homage to that experience.”
Half of the toys in Roll’s exhibition belonged to him as a child, and the other half he collected after high school. It wasn’t a quick and easy process to collect all the original Kenner products, and before the internet facilitated the buying and selling process, Roll had to make use of other methods to find the hidden treasures.
“I made paper flyers and hung them up in common areas like laundromats and grocery stores,” he said. “I also did a radio call-in show in my hometown where you called in and it was a buy, sell, and swap show. Later, in 2015, I was part of the new phenomenon in popular culture of adults collecting toys, and toy companies making toys for adult audiences.”
It was challenging for Roll to locate original toys that were also in good condition since most of the original toys have been broken or messed up in some way.
“Kenner Toy Company made hundreds of thousands of Darth Vaders so he’s not rare,” he said. “However, if you have a Darth Vader that has his original cape with no tears in the armpits, in pristine condition with his original lightsaber, and it doesn’t have a broken off tint to it, that figure is worth a fair amount. For every one complete, unbroken, mint condition Darth Vader, there are hundreds of them not like that for sale on eBay.”
Sophomore and Star Wars fan Liam Wolbers walked through the rooms of toys, and found that it was true to its name; the display gave him a glimpse into the past.
“I thought it was very enjoyable to walk through,” he said. “It gave me some insight as to what figurines used to look like, and it brought back memories of the first time I’ve ever seen those movies, which was probably sometime around 2009-2010.”
Having enjoyed Star Wars since he was young, Wolbers was eager to see places and lesser-known characters from his favorite scenes.
“My favorite toy was the sandcrawler; it was such a detailed toy for its time and I’ve always been a fan of the Jawas,” he said. “My favorite part of walking through was just getting to see that they took almost every single character in Star Wars, from Luke Skywalker to Cantina members that people have never heard of, and made them into toys.”
Math teacher Steven Seidl has been interested in Star Wars since elementary school, and for him, nothing compares to the classic franchise.
“When you’re younger, you don’t think of these stories and possibilities,” he said. “The weird science fiction stories in the movies were so different and unique, which is why I was really attached to Star Wars. I don’t know if I’ll see an equivalent to Star Wars in the future. Those types of things, you only get to see it for the first time once.”
Star Wars has been a constant part of Hartman’s life throughout his childhood and adult years, and this exhibit only magnified the fondness he has for the series.
“They’re some of the first movies I remember seeing and really watching and getting into,” he said. “It’s something I think the whole family is big on, and seeing the toys at the exhibit just brought back all the nostalgia and my childhood memories of being able to have fun with all of that stuff.”
Star Wars has had an enormous impact, not only on Roll’s life and the movie and toy industries, but the world at large. The movie franchise has provided unparalleled amounts of pleasure and nostalgia for people of all ages, and Roll’s exhibition gives people a small window to peer through back into the world of lightsabers and Death Stars.
“Star Wars created the close connection between toys and movies,” he said. “It all started here, and it’s fun to see the exhibit because it’s recent history. It’s 40 years ago, but it’s still our history.”
by Abby Furcy
Published March 25, 2021
Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue VI