It was the day before online classes were to begin, and the staff at the Block Island School were ready on a Sunday morning to hand out the technology and other learning materials for the students who would be attending class at home.
But the presence of Super Mario Brothers, Spider-Man, Batman and Elsa made the day festive.
Their presence was a gift from homeowner Mike Nolan, who works for a company that owns the licensing for these and many other famous characters.
“I owned a company, Nolan Glove Company, and donated gloves and hats to the Block Island School every winter,” Nolan said, who makes his year-round home in Chappaqua, N.Y. “In 2014, I sold my company to Bioworld Merchandising, which is based in Dallas. We’re a division of BioWorld. We acquired a couple of other companies and one is a backpack company and we make kids’ backpacks for Disney, Walmart, Target — everybody. We make samples and prototypes and end up with a large amount of bags and I thought it would be a nice idea to donate them to the Block Island School. I thought it would