Written by Mary Jo White & Published by LSJ, December 21, 2010
Eighty-year-old Betty Gillison has something for everyone in her well-stocked Toy Village, 3105 W. Saginaw, west of the Lansing city limits, originally a centennial farmhouse, from the serious doll collector to the 5-year-old who has only a dollar to spend.
The company is now celebrating 50 years in business. And during that past half century Gillison has made sure that everything she sells is a solid, well-made, classic “something.”
You won’t find Barbie and Ken or anything Disney. There are no teenage Bratz dolls with their eyeshadow and lip gloss.
“We carry things proven through the years that children love,”Gillison said.
“We look for high-quality, safe toys that have been proven child-worthy.”
Toy Village overflows with sturdy wooden blocks, time-tested Playmobile items, dolls made of everything from felt and porcelain to wood and wax.
There’s a whole room with stacking rings and other safe items for the very young. Once a farmhouse bedroom, it still has its original wood floor.
The farmhouse kitchen is stuffed animal central, sporting everything from ferrets and seal pups to penguins, dinosaurs and a very large pheasant with bright plumage.
There’s a huge section devoted to board games, too, something Brigitte Todd, who only recently discovered Toy Village and was browsing last week, said she really appreciates because her family enjoys playing them together.
Todd’s daughter, Faith, 9, was more interested in playing with a set of wooden ramps for racing cars.
Welcoming children to play, in fact, is another customer draw.
Pam McJilton comes from Fowlerville to pick out toys for her grandchildren, sometimes bringing along her 5-year-old grandson who loves Thomas the Tank Engine.
“They’re tolerant of kids playing here,” McJilton said. “Everything lasts forever. They don’t sell junk.”
Family history
Gillison and her first husband, Howard Slagh, an accountant at Fisher Body, bought the farmhouse in 1962, putting an addition on two years later. They lived upstairs, and their two children, John and Cindy, worked the counter after school.
Six years after Slagh’s death from cancer in 1972, Gillison married Dow Gillison, a former district manager with Massey Ferguson, who used to joke that he went from dealing in iron to dealing in porcelain.
Dow Gillison died in 1995 and John Slagh began managing Toy Village.
Gillison remembers children from Windemere Park Elementary, now a charter school, walking the pedestrian overpass, now gone, to buy penny candy at her store.
Now she sees those children’s children. “What we have is second and third generation,” she said. “Parents say they want to show their kids where they came as kids.”
Gillison really has a soft spot in her heart for the dolls. The collectibles come from California, England, Switzerland and Germany.
There are fairies made of felt and an Alice in Wonderland with two playing cards.
There are dolls with hand-carved wooden bodies and porcelain heads, with hair made of mohair and hand-stitched clothes.
Asked which was her most expensive doll, Garrison said she once carried a doll looking at another doll in a window that retailed for $7,000.
Gillison wound up selling four of those dolls.
“If I like it,” she said, “I can usually sell it.”
Another favorite is the matryoshka nesting dolls from Russia, of which Gillison stocks plenty.
The store’s dollar section is important, too, with John Slagh spending a good deal of time carefully stocking it.
After all, a good toy store carries items kids can afford.
Over the years, Toy Village has expanded to include two adjacent buildings, now used for storage, a Website maintained by Gillison’s grandsons and a spot on Facebook. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, too, and form the perfect spot for the annual garden party when doll collectors and designers get together for a weekend. Gillison has a way of making employees part of the family, too.
Phyllis Whipple of DeWitt Township, for instance, has worked at Toy Village for almost 20 years and has no plans to retire. “I just enjoy it,” she said. “It keeps your mind busy and active.” Plus it’s a great place to find gifts for her 11 great-grandchildren. Gillison shows no signs of retiring. “As long as I can walk, I’ll be working,” she says.
Six years after Slagh’s death from cancer in 1972, Gillison married Dow Gillison, a former district manager with Massey Ferguson, who used to joke that he went from dealing in iron to dealing in porcelain.
Dow Gillison died in 1995 and John Slagh began managing Toy Village.
Gillison remembers children from Windemere Park Elementary, now a charter school, walking the pedestrian overpass, now gone, to buy penny candy at her store.
Now she sees those children’s children. “What we have is second and third generation,” she said. “Parents say they want to show their kids where they came as kids.”
Gillison really has a soft spot in her heart for the dolls. The collectibles come from California, England, Switzerland and Germany.
There are fairies made of felt and an Alice in Wonderland with two playing cards.
There are dolls with hand-carved wooden bodies and porcelain heads, with hair made of mohair and hand-stitched clothes.
Asked which was her most expensive doll, Garrison said she once carried a doll looking at another doll in a window that retailed for $7,000.
Gillison wound up selling four of those dolls.
“If I like it,” she said, “I can usually sell it.”
Another favorite is the matryoshka nesting dolls from Russia, of which Gillison stocks plenty.
The store’s dollar section is important, too, with John Slagh spending a good deal of time carefully stocking it.
After all, a good toy store carries items kids can afford.
Over the years, Toy Village has expanded to include two adjacent buildings, now used for storage, a Website maintained by Gillison’s grandsons and a spot on Facebook. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, too, and form the perfect spot for the annual garden party when doll collectors and designers get together for a weekend. Gillison has a way of making employees part of the family, too.
Phyllis Whipple of DeWitt Township, for instance, has worked at Toy Village for almost 20 years and has no plans to retire. “I just enjoy it,” she said. “It keeps your mind busy and active.” Plus it’s a great place to find gifts for her 11 great-grandchildren. Gillison shows no signs of retiring. “As long as I can walk, I’ll be working,” she says.
Eastwood Winter Wonderland
Annual holiday tradition, featuring Santa Claus, live reindeer and more. Visit Schuler Books for storytime with Mrs. Claus. “Countdown ’til the Holidays” Prize Extravaganza from 1-2:30 p.m. Nov. 26 in Center Court where the Radio Disney road crew will give away a prize every 10 minutes. Horse-drawn carriage ride from 1-4 p.m. Nov. 26 and 27, $1 per person with all proceeds donated to Capital Area Humane Society. Children ages 10 and younger ride free. Free gift wrap in Center Court from 1-4 p.m. Dec. 18 with refreshments and holiday music.
Ticket Pricing: Free
Eastwood Towne Center – 3003 Preyde Blvd, Lansing, MI 48912
