GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — There's a little shop in Grand Haven that's been giving new life to toys and making the season bright for kids for the past 35 years.
WATCH: Grand Haven toy shop gives new life to forgotten treasures just in time for Christmas
On her own island of misfit toys, Pamela Fritz has spent the past three decades finding homes for games and trinkets that were once forgotten at Toys Are Used.
Fritz started the consignment shop with her kids' old toys and games she found at garage sales. Now she says she has over 3,500 people bringing her toys every year.
"Now, after 35 years, it all comes to me, and it's getting to be a lot. I mean floor-to-ceiling toys," Fritz said.
Fritz has managed to pack thousands of toys inside two little buildings. Every day you can find her in one of those buildings cleaning the toys, making any needed repairs and testing them.
"I don't play, I test," Fritz said.
While all the testing, cleaning and repairing can make for long days, especially for a one-woman shop, Fritz says it's her customers — young and old — that keep her going.
"I have six grandchildren, and all of them want to come here," Fritz said. "But those old toys with the older customer that come in. They say 'oh I used to play with that when I was a kid!' And it just brings the kid out of them, it does."
This island of misfit toys isn't so misfit after all. It's an unintended consequence that's become a resource for families in the community, writing the perfect toy story.
"I'm just glad I'm here to help them," Fritz said.
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