This is an IHeart podcast.

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories Stories and we tell stories about everything here on

the show including your stories send them to our American Stories.com. The Nostalgia

Awakens is an exhibit featuring every action figure toy made by Kenner Toys from

1978 to 1985 based on the original three Star Wars movies.

The Star Wars Toys on Displayer from Jared Roll, enthusiast and museum curator from Wisconsin.

He and his brother Kevin owned many of the toys when they were children.

As an adult, Jared collected the rest of the original toys.

And we're telling this story because on this day in 1977 and 1983, Star Wars and Return

of the Jedi premiered.

In part one of this two-part story, we learned that Star Wars was released in May of 1977

to just 32 theaters nationwide and how George Lucas's

movie revolutionized movie merchandising, licensing, and even how kids play.

Here's Jared Roll with the rest of the story.

One thing that toys allowed us to do is that we could carry on that story.

We could relive that story.

You know, we could be in control of that story that we saw on the big screen that one time.

I mean, this is before the days of VHS.

This is before the days of any way to replay this.

If you wanted to see Star Wars multiple times, you had to go to the theater.

And being a five-year-old kid, I didn't have any power over that. But the other thing to consider, too,

is that it was only at my theater for two weeks, and then it was gone, and then it came back in 78.

...