I love dolls. I think I have loved dolls from the moment I was born. Every Christmas growing up I asked Santa for a doll. All year I would get excited thinking about which doll I wanted to ask him for. I remember the year I asked for the Pebbles doll. I also wanted Bamm Bamm, but I wanted Pebbles more. I knew not to be greedy and ask for too much. Santa must have thought I was extra good that year because I got BOTH the dolls! That was a thrilling Christmas.
I had a lot of dolls. My dolls weren't the collectible kind. They were dolls that you could PLAY with. And I did! I loved to play Mommy with my baby dolls. I loved dressing up my Barbie, Ken, Skipper and Scooter dolls and acting out scenarios. I even liked to play school with my dolls. Of course, I was always the teacher.
When the miniature dolls like Liddle Kiddles came out, I could not wait to get hold of all those little dolls with their tiny clothes and accessories. We always drew names at Christmas time for our Porter family party. Everyone got one gift from the person who drew your name. We kept it a secret until Christmas Eve when we had our party and exchanged our gifts. Finding out who had your name was almost as exciting as finding out what gift you would receive! One of my memorable gifts was a Liddle Kiddle baby doll that came with a tiny pink crib, blanket and pillow. My cousin, Patty, had drawn my name and she knew me well! It was so cute. I spent many hours through the years playing with this tiny baby. I am pretty sure I still have her in a zippered Liddle Kiddles case in a closet at Mom's house.
I also loved paper dolls. I don't think kids play with paper dolls any more. I loved to cut out the clothes and put them on the dolls. I remember McCall's Magazine had a paper doll (named Betsy McCall) with an outfit in it each month. If my mom didn't get the magazine that month, her friend Edith usually did. Once they finished reading the magazine, either Mom or Edith gave the magazine to me so that I could cut out the paper doll and her outfits. I looked forward to seeing what theme they would choose for the paper doll each month I think paper dolls must have led to my love of cutting and pasting....literally.....not on the computer. I seriously love to cut and paste. When I worked at the dance studio, I was often teased about that. I always volunteered to do the jobs that involved cutting and pasting. I guess it's just a little carry-over from childhood that I find comforting.
I think most girls in the 1960s had a Chatty Cathy doll. This was a doll that talked to you with a simple pull of the cord on her back. That was pretty amazing technology for those days! I loved my Chatty Cathy doll. She came in handy when I was alone and needed a "friend" to help break the silence. By 1963, Chatty Cathy had an 18 phrase vocabulary. I may have gotten my doll before then, because I don't remember her being quite that "chatty!" She said things like "I love you," "Please take me with you," and "Let's Play School." She was truly a great companion.
When I was in high school, I became slightly obsessed with Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy. I think that I felt like I could "get away with" those dolls. They were not considered childish. I remember being about 13 or 14 when Mom suggested I pack up the tons of dolls that decorated my beds. I think she thought that since I had started having boys come over (in the form of a boyfriend) perhaps it was time to put the dolls aside. I reluctantly packed them up and let Daddy put them in the attic for storage. So, the Raggedy dolls became a nice replacement. I guess I never wanted to give up on having dolls!
I had the really huge Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. I also had the regular sized ones and the tiny little ones. The unique feature of the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls was the heart on their chests that said "I love you." I thought that was the coolest thing! I took my Raggedy Ann and Andy collection to Elon with me and they decorated my dorm room bed. I must have packed them up and traded those in for Jim! I haven't felt compelled to get the dolls out since.
You can just imagine how thrilled I was when one of Mom's friends gave HER a doll for her birthday one year. The doll was a Poor Pitiful Pearl doll. She found a home on Mom's bed. Now both of us had dolls as decoration on our beds! I would go into Mom's room and sit on her bed and play with her Poor Pitiful Pearl. I loved that doll with her pudgy cheeks, tattered dress and bandanna that she wore on her head. I thought she was precious.
My Mom's mom was named Pearl Kennedy Humphries. I think that's the reason why Mom received the Poor Pitiful Pearl.....the doll was a namesake. I think Poor Pitiful Pearl also reminded Mom of growing up in the country in Zoar and having lots of brothers and sisters to play with rather than fancy toys. I'm sure they had as much fun as anyone. Who needs a lot of toys when you could be having fun romping through the countryside with your siblings?
The name Pearl comes from an English word that represents the gemstones that are found living inside shelled mollusks. Pearls have been associated with innocence and modesty. I think that makes it such a fitting name for Mom's doll.
Interestingly, Pearl was among the 50 most popular names for girls born in the United States between 1880 and 1911, remained among the top 100 most popular names for girls between 1911 and 1926 and still remained among the top 500 most popular names for girls in the United States until 1960.
Poor Pitiful Pearl was manufactured in the United States from the 1950s through the 1970s. The doll was based on a cartoon character created by William Steig. I never knew that Poor Pitiful Pearl had been based on a cartoon character. She seemed very "real" to me! And I never saw her as "pitiful." I saw her as adorable and in need of a friend....and I was always happy to oblige!
My daughter also shared my love of playing with dolls. Madeline loved to pretend (or 'prend' as she would say). Dolls are great props to use during a day of pretending! I started a doll collection for Madeline when she was born. Those dolls are now packed away in the top of her closet, but for most of her growing up years they were on display in her room. They were various dolls that had the label "August" which is Madeline's birth month. She has several Madame Alexander dolls that were from different monthly series. I love her collectible dolls. But she also had dolls to play with. She had baby dolls that she would stroll around in a doll stroller and hold like an infant to feed a bottle. She had little dolls and stuffed dolls. She had dolls that walked and talked. She had dolls you could take with you into the bathtub. But I think Madeline's favorite was Barbie dolls.
By the time Madeline was born, Barbie had evolved into quite a rage. It is hard to believe that Barbie turned 50 in 2009, and she is still all the rage. My sister actually got a Barbie the first year she came out. There wasn't much choice for Barbie other than Blond or Brunette. The original Barbie wore a zebra striped swimsuit and had her hair in a ponytail. In Madeline's case, the choices were many. There was Surfer Barbie, Malibu Barbie, Supermodel Barbie, Ballerina Barbie, Princess Barbie, and a host of others. Every time you turned around there was a new type of Barbie.
I suppose a love of Barbie never ends. My mom didn't save a lot of toys or things that my sister and I had, but she did save the Barbies. They are in their old-fashioned cases complete with accessories and clothes. Martha got the Barbie car when it first came out. I guess that got passed down to me. That was also saved. These Barbie things reside on the top shelf of a closet in one of the bedrooms in Mom's house. Whenever we go to visit, Madeline pulls them down. She loves the "old school" Barbies and their outfits. Martha and I had a lot of Barbie clothes made by Mom's friend, Betsy. She made evening gowns, dresses, pajamas and bathrobes for our Barbies. I think those homemade clothes are some of my favorites....and Madeline's too! Madeline would take everything out of the cases, set the dolls and all the accessories up and organize them, dress each of the dolls and then lovingly put them away. She has done this for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure she pulled them out on the last couple of visits, however. I guess Madeline's finally getting too old for dolls, but hopefully Mom will hang onto those Barbies. There just might be another generation to come along and want to play with these treasures someday.
Dolls, like people, come in all shapes, sizes and types. They range from beautiful and elegant like Barbie, to simple and plain like Poor Pitiful Pearl. I still stand by my view that Poor Pitiful Pearl was neither poor nor pitiful. She was simply a representation of those who have been untouched by material things. I'd say being one of the "chosen" ones who was loved unconditionally makes her very wealthy......and certainly NOT pitiful.
You can just imagine how thrilled I was when one of Mom's friends gave HER a doll for her birthday one year. The doll was a Poor Pitiful Pearl doll. She found a home on Mom's bed. Now both of us had dolls as decoration on our beds! I would go into Mom's room and sit on her bed and play with her Poor Pitiful Pearl. I loved that doll with her pudgy cheeks, tattered dress and bandanna that she wore on her head. I thought she was precious.
My Mom's mom was named Pearl Kennedy Humphries. I think that's the reason why Mom received the Poor Pitiful Pearl.....the doll was a namesake. I think Poor Pitiful Pearl also reminded Mom of growing up in the country in Zoar and having lots of brothers and sisters to play with rather than fancy toys. I'm sure they had as much fun as anyone. Who needs a lot of toys when you could be having fun romping through the countryside with your siblings?
The name Pearl comes from an English word that represents the gemstones that are found living inside shelled mollusks. Pearls have been associated with innocence and modesty. I think that makes it such a fitting name for Mom's doll.
Interestingly, Pearl was among the 50 most popular names for girls born in the United States between 1880 and 1911, remained among the top 100 most popular names for girls between 1911 and 1926 and still remained among the top 500 most popular names for girls in the United States until 1960.
Poor Pitiful Pearl was manufactured in the United States from the 1950s through the 1970s. The doll was based on a cartoon character created by William Steig. I never knew that Poor Pitiful Pearl had been based on a cartoon character. She seemed very "real" to me! And I never saw her as "pitiful." I saw her as adorable and in need of a friend....and I was always happy to oblige!
My daughter also shared my love of playing with dolls. Madeline loved to pretend (or 'prend' as she would say). Dolls are great props to use during a day of pretending! I started a doll collection for Madeline when she was born. Those dolls are now packed away in the top of her closet, but for most of her growing up years they were on display in her room. They were various dolls that had the label "August" which is Madeline's birth month. She has several Madame Alexander dolls that were from different monthly series. I love her collectible dolls. But she also had dolls to play with. She had baby dolls that she would stroll around in a doll stroller and hold like an infant to feed a bottle. She had little dolls and stuffed dolls. She had dolls that walked and talked. She had dolls you could take with you into the bathtub. But I think Madeline's favorite was Barbie dolls.
By the time Madeline was born, Barbie had evolved into quite a rage. It is hard to believe that Barbie turned 50 in 2009, and she is still all the rage. My sister actually got a Barbie the first year she came out. There wasn't much choice for Barbie other than Blond or Brunette. The original Barbie wore a zebra striped swimsuit and had her hair in a ponytail. In Madeline's case, the choices were many. There was Surfer Barbie, Malibu Barbie, Supermodel Barbie, Ballerina Barbie, Princess Barbie, and a host of others. Every time you turned around there was a new type of Barbie.
I suppose a love of Barbie never ends. My mom didn't save a lot of toys or things that my sister and I had, but she did save the Barbies. They are in their old-fashioned cases complete with accessories and clothes. Martha got the Barbie car when it first came out. I guess that got passed down to me. That was also saved. These Barbie things reside on the top shelf of a closet in one of the bedrooms in Mom's house. Whenever we go to visit, Madeline pulls them down. She loves the "old school" Barbies and their outfits. Martha and I had a lot of Barbie clothes made by Mom's friend, Betsy. She made evening gowns, dresses, pajamas and bathrobes for our Barbies. I think those homemade clothes are some of my favorites....and Madeline's too! Madeline would take everything out of the cases, set the dolls and all the accessories up and organize them, dress each of the dolls and then lovingly put them away. She has done this for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure she pulled them out on the last couple of visits, however. I guess Madeline's finally getting too old for dolls, but hopefully Mom will hang onto those Barbies. There just might be another generation to come along and want to play with these treasures someday.
Dolls, like people, come in all shapes, sizes and types. They range from beautiful and elegant like Barbie, to simple and plain like Poor Pitiful Pearl. I still stand by my view that Poor Pitiful Pearl was neither poor nor pitiful. She was simply a representation of those who have been untouched by material things. I'd say being one of the "chosen" ones who was loved unconditionally makes her very wealthy......and certainly NOT pitiful.
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| Poor Pitiful Pearl Doll |
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| So cute and so loved |
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| Pearl is Precious |
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| McCall's Paper Doll |
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| Treasures on these shelves: Barbies and Liddle Kiddles |
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| Liddle Kiddle |
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| Original Blond Barbie |
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| Chatty Cathy |
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| (My heart belongs to) Raggedy Ann and Andy |
I remember the hours of paperdolls on Woodside Drive. I
ReplyDeletealso remember how we would have the trade days and all those rabbit fur stuffed cats we collected. I cant forget the crayfish we
would catch or the Eskridges ponys in your back yard. Nor can I
forget Chrystals Poor Pitiful Pearl doll stached away somewhere stashed away in Moms attic. Remember our first day of school newspaper shot? I still have a copy!