About the "Something Borrowed" at my wedding. . . .

When writing about getting ready for my wedding. I related how

my mother put into my hand the beautiful white handkerchief with

the delicate crocheted edging that she carried when she and my

father were married. It was the same handkerchief that her mother

had carried on her wedding day. She told me it was the "something

borrowed" I would carry to my wedding and that I would carry

it again when George and I were sealed in the temple.

For many years, my sisters and I shared in the joy of collecting

dolls. It was more than a hobby to us. It was something we all

loved and could do together. I have often reflected on the happy

times we shared as we searched together for that "perfect doll",

the one that was our heart's desire, the one that we just had to

have. Searching for that doll gave us an excuse to be together. It

fueled our excited phone calls late at night or very early in the

morning. It gave us the joy of receiving or sending, a spontaneous

gift to a beloved sister. I remember searching in England and Germany the summer I traveled there, for a doll for each of my sisters. I remember several occasions when I opened a

package from a sister and found a doll nestled lovingly in tissue

paper and smiling up at me as I looked at her.

I have loved going to my sister's homes and looking at their dolls

and the way they are displayed. I have particularly enjoyed

looking at the dolls in the hutch in my sister Delores' home. She

is the sister closest to my age and we were childhood playmates.

We did everything together. We often dressed alike and shared

many of the same friends. In her hutch, she has some of the same

dolls that I have displayed in my home. They speak to us of a

Christmas from our childhood. When I see her Doc doll from Snow

White and the Seven Dwarfs smiling at those who look at him, I

smile, because at home my Doc smiles at me and reminds me of

a gift from our brother Leo who bought him for us on a joyful day

in Provo, Utah, when we were little girls. We have loved him

since our childhood.

Edna didn't feel that she had money to buy dolls for her sisters,

so she began buying paper dolls for us. Soon, we all were adding

to our paper doll collections. It was a race to see who could find

the latest Hallmark paper doll birthday card for their sisters.

We enjoyed buying the modern paper dolls and searching in

gift shops and antique stores for old ones. We were always

trying different ways to exhibit them. Edna spent many hours

cataloging hers and putting them into albuums. Mine are carefully sorted but they are not on display. I look at them often but few

see them.

Besides collecting dolls, we all tried our hand at making a rag,

bisque, or composition doll. Some were better at this than others. We all dressed a doll, or dolls, in clothes we designed and sewed. Martha and Theresa were the most talented at designing and making the clothes. The rest of us benefited from their talent as they helped us in our endeavors.

Theresa is the sister who excelled in making rag dolls and teddy bears. She helped me make my first Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls

for my little nieces, Marsha and Ann, and later for my own children.

We spent many happy evenings embroidering the faces, stuffing

the bodies, and making their clothes. Mother was an expert in rag

doll making. My children were the recipients of sock monkeys and

stuffed animals. She lovingly made beautiful rag dolls for Rhonda

and her other grandaughters. I am sure that is where Theresa got

her love for making such beautiful rag dolls.

I never tried to make a Teddy Bear. I have several adorable bears that Theresa made for me in all sizes, from tiny two inches to eighteen inches. She dressed some of them and others came with beautifully crafted assessories like the stick horse the cowboy teddy bear has.

Martha excelled in making bisque and composition dolls. She was meticulous in making sure that they were accurate in every detail. She researched the hair and clothes before finishing a doll. She searched for hours for the perfect wig. If she was creating a vintage "antique" doll, she shopped antique stores for material for the clothes and if she couldn't find a dress or coat pattern she liked, she created her own. At one time or another, together or alone, we all made a bisque doll and dressed it. I also took a class and made a doll with my daughter-in-law, Joanne.

The pictures I have posted with this story are of a doll Martha made from the mold of a French Bru. She made one for each of us. She found the material for the dress at an antique store that stocked old vintage material. What makes this doll so special is the collar and the beautiful lace trim on the dress. After mother's death, Martha was going through an old trunk mother kept in the closet of our little home in Panaca. She found the beautiful white handkerchief, the one that was the "something borrowed" I carried at my wedding. She also found the dress my father wore when he was blessed in 1887. The dress had deteriorated and turned yellow with age but the lace trim was beautiful and unblemished. Martha cut the handkerchief into two pieces. She fashioned them into collars for the dresses. She added the three delicate blue bead flowers and some lace from Dad's christening dress to finish them. She then trimmed the skirt of the dress with more of the lace. The finished doll is beautiful. I will forever cherish it because my sister made her for me and because her clothes are finished with a collar made from the handkerchief carried by my grandmother at her wedding. Namie then gave it to my mother who carried it when she and my father were married in the Salt Lake Temple.

The tradition was then carried on as Mother gave it to me to carry at my wedding and to full fill a promise she made to me, that I would carry it again when George and I were sealed in the temple.

I did carry it on June 21, 1958. On that beautiful day, George and I kneeled at the alter and were sealed as husband and wife. Then Paul and Rhonda were brought in and sealed to us and we became a family sealed together in love, for time and all eternity. I remember looking at my mother holding Rhonda in her arms with Paul at her side. Uncle Viv and Aunt Wanda and Delores and Pete were there. Thank you. Martha, for such a special gift. This doll is very special to me. I will cherish her as long as I live and hope that after I am gone, Rhonda will take her and love her as I have.

My Celluloid Carnival Doll. . . .

When we moved to Mesa from Descanso, California, in 1989, I

packed an old trunk with dolls and things related to dolls. The

trunk sat in our storage unit until just a few months ago when

George brought it to the house so I could go through it and

decide what I am going to do with the things that are in it.

I opened it this morning for the first time since I packed it all of

those years ago. I did it with feelings of dread that the hot Mesa

summers had ruined everything that was in it. Laying on top

was a small tissue wrapped item with a sticker reading "Celluloid

Carnival Doll - Utah State Fair - 1939".

I opened it and saw a cute little Kewpie celluloid doll smiling at

me. Her feathers were disintegrating but otherwise she was

still in remarkable condition considering she is 72 years old.

Feelings of nostalgia overwhelmed me as I was assailed by my

memories of a visit to the Utah State Fair those many years

ago. I was visiting Theresa and LeGrande. The fair had opened.

I had never been to a large fair and they thought it would be fun

for us to spend the day there. I was in heaven! The sights, sounds,

and smells were amazing. I had my very first ride on the huge

double Ferris Wheel. We went to the area where the animals were

on exhibit. They bought me a candy apple, ice cream, and pink

cotton candy as we strolled the midway. We played some games

and LeGrande won a prize for me throwing coins into ashtrays.

I had my choice of several prizes and after agonizing over making

a decision, I chose this little celluloid doll. Originally, she was

fastened on a bamboo cane. I don't know what happened to it.

We looked through many buildings housing different exhibits. It

was a magical day for a little girl from the tiny town of Panaca.

After I became an adult and began to spend time with Theresa,

not as her little sister but as a best friend, fellow doll lover and

collector, we often talked of that day. Theresa asked me if I

remembered the last thing I did at the fair. She was laughing as

she shared it with me. As she talked, I did remember most of

what she told me.

This is her account of what happened. It was almost time for us

to go home and Theresa wanted to see the displays in the Home

Arts Building. This building was where the sewing, embroidery,

crocheting, knitting, quilting, and other fancy handiwork was

displayed. Theresa made beautiful clothing. She quilted and her

embroideried pieces were absolutely beautiful.

LeGrande was not interested in walking through those displays.

He told Theresa to go and enjoy herself and he would take me to

some of the Midway shows. When we met her later, I began to

tell her about the show we saw where a huge woman was dressed

in a costume made from balloons and feathers of all colors and sizes.

She sat on a throne which was on an elevated stage. A carnival barker

asked people in the audience a question and if they answered it

correctly, they could pop a balloon. I don't remember when we left

the show, but I do remember a lot of balloons were popped before

we did. With each balloon that was popped, more of this huge woman

in her feathers, was revealed.

Theresa became more and more angry as I told this story. She

said to LeGrande, "What on earth were you thinking taking a

child to that show?" LeGrande was blushing a little, but he was

smiling as he answered, "Well Sugar (he always called her Sugar),

there were a lot of kids there and they were loving all of the

balloons popping. It was not anything to worry about because I

knew we could leave before too many of them were popped, and

we didn't pop any. And then, he sweetly asked, "Did you enjoy the

Home and Fine Arts displays?"

Now, Theresa was the one who told me all of the dialogue that

was exchanged between her and LeGrande. Theresa visited me

when we lived in El Cajon and on two occasions we went to the fair

at the Delmar Race Track and Fairgrounds. She and Edna visited

me in Mesa and we went to the Arizona State Fair. Each time, as

we were walking through the Home Arts Building, Theresa would

tell the story again and we would laugh until we cried and had to

sit down.

Through the years, this has remained one of my favorite stories.

My little Celluloid Carnival Doll is very special to me. It is not just

that she has survived for 72 years, but because of the wonderful

memorie she evokes.

Celluloid being as fragile as it is, I am surprised that I still have

her. She has lived most of her life in a trunk. She was in

Mother's trunk in her closet until after I married and began

collecting dolls. She was on display for a time in Descanso and

then once again put into a trunk where she lay for 21 years.

Even without all of her feathers, I love her.

A little history about celluloid:

Celluloid is one of the first synthetic plastics ever created. It is

made from wood products that include cellulose nitrate and

camphor. It is not the perfect plastic since it is flammable and

deteriorates easily if exposed to moisture. It also can be prone to

denting, cracking and yellowing.

Bisque and china dolls were breakable, fragile, and expensive,

so in the 1830s, doll and toy makers began experimenting with

celluloid. It was easily molded and was generally inexpensive.

Some fine dolls were created by major doll manufacturers from

celluloid and by the early 1900s were plentiful. In the late 1930s

and 1940s, Japan and a few companies in the United States and

Europe found a market for the inexpensive lesser quality celluloid

used to make carnival dolls and the other cheap toys and trinkets

that began showing up at carnivals and fairs. The celluloid Kewpie

Carnival Doll was one of the more popular items offered as a game

prize on the midways of these events. These little vintage dolls like

mine are now a sought after collectible coveted by doll and toy

collectors.