Nostalgia

Fast forward to the summer of 1997. On a "Mom's day out" with my daughter Denise and grandson Sabre, we were browsing a toy store for future birthdays and Christmas "hints."

Well, "kids will be kids" and I ended up looking at dolls (for the first time after all those years) and then discovered Barbie Bazaar. I'd never seen it before and had to have it! I read it cover-to-cover and took it with me when we left the next week for a trip to Minnesota. On our return we passed near a town which I recognized as the location of one of the doll shops advertised in the magazine, and persuaded my husband to take a short detour. What fun!

The night before leaving on our trip I wrote a note to the president of the KC Barbie Club I found listed in the magazine. Her reply and an invitation to my first Barbie club meeting just three weeks later introduced me to a whole new vista of experiences. But I couldn't show up at my first meeting and not own a single Barbie! I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a "Splash 'n Color Barbie," a "Splash 'n Color Ken," and a "Teen Skipper." The day before the meeting I roamed our city-wide garage sale looking for Barbies. I found a few loose, played-with Barbies, then hit the jackpot. A "bucket" of Barbies! As I entered a garage and asked the lady if she had any Barbies, she pointed to a large, white, five-gallon bucket right inside the door opening. All you could see were legs! There were 9 blonde Barbies all standing on their heads in this bucket, and I went home with them, beaming at my jackpot.

Bucket of Barbies (recreation)

Now, three years later, I laugh at my "innocence"! These dolls were nothing really special, just the bent-arm, superstar face with messy hair. They have been fun to learn with though as later my best friend and I started having "Barbie Beauty Shop" days. But more on that later.

Another link in the chain occurred about the same time. We had just moved into a new house and as I was unpacking I discovered my old patterns and newsletters from nearly thirty years before. What a rush! But also sad at the loss of my precious dolls. I know I had several Barbies—a blonde ponytail (I'm not sure which one, except it wasn't a #1), a redheaded bubble cut, a twist n turn, Francie, Skipper, Tutti, Old Ken (painted, not flocked) and New Talking Ken, Alan, Ricky, Julia, Crissy, Velvet, 12" Shirley Temple, GI Joe, 6" Cheerful Tearful, Kiddles and a several others. In all, I had about 100 dolls. As of now, I have replaced many of these dolls, but never expected to own any vintage. I was amazed at the value and interest in them today. But I have had a few astonishing finds, such as the 12" Shirley Temple for $7 (marked "old doll"), a Midge for 25 cents, a 1968 Talking Barbie wearing PJ's orange and pink dress for 25 cents, another Midge for $20 and a titian Bubble Cut for $25. I've also picked up several other dolls at good prices and always keep my eyes open and my "doll radar" tuned.

What has been the most fun though came as the result of a "confession." About five months after all this started, I sheepishly said to my friend, Barbara, "You won't believe what I've been doing." Now, we had worked together earlier for about five years but occasionally got together for lunch. However, this disclosure was about to change things, big-time! She responded by telling me that her mother had come for a visit a while back and brought out her childhood dolls—a blonde #4 ponytail and a brunette Midge. She also had Shirley Temple, Ginny and some others. Wow! Well, that day has forever changed our lives. Barbara and her husband George have opened BGs DollHouse and are presently learning to repair and restore old dolls, as well learning to sculpt. We periodically have "Barbie days" which have included browsing antique malls and flea markets, having a beauty shop day where we clean up our finds, wash their hair, learned to reroot hair and eyelashes, try on clothes and brainstorm ideas. We are a club of two, partners in crime! If you don't have a doll buddy, you are missing out on a lot of fun. We are really like a couple of kids (just ask our husbands)!

Barbie Beauty Shop! Barb left, me right

After my "bucket of Barbies" find, I continued to buy just about anything that had blonde hair and "boobs"—but as I learned more through books, magazines and from the KC club members, I began to study differences in body styles and the way clothes fit. As a result, I've come full circle--my fondest possessions are the vintage dolls I've been able to pick up, as well as the reproductions. Besides the entire Barbie family, I've added other old favorites and it's also been fun to add dolls that I didn't have before, like SuperStar Barbie, Cinnamin, Chatty Cathy, the 30" Deluxe Reading, and Ginny. Of course, Gene has joined the group as the newest doll (and also have a Hayley), and I am considering whether to add any of the other new dolls. So many dolls--so little time!

Continue with "Keeping you in stitches..."