The Doll Show

There I am, the one in the middle of the bottom row. I look at the clipping now and I can see all those smiling faces and wonder what has happened to all the hopeful little girls. They all look so carefully dressed. At that point in my life, I had chosen my clothes my self because my mother was "away" getting well from tuberculosis and my sister and I were cared for by my father. At the time it seemed like a "forever" deal but really it was only four months.

I remember seeing the sign on the school fence about the "Doll Show". The show was being held down in the basement of the school. I went down there and looked at the entries. There was a spot for doll's made by a child and that spot was empty. My heart skipped a little beat. It was calling to me and Buggy-too-Little. I ran home and looked for that little girl and (naturally) she was naked. So, I scouted around and found a set of overalls that my mother and sister had made and then to complete the outfit, I found a little knitted hat. The overalls were red and yellow plaid with a few lines of black and the hat was white and pink. Great color combinations but, hey, I was only nine and in a fit to get my doll in a doll show. I don't know if I told anyone about it. The only one that was there to tell was my sister and so, yes, I probably told her. I remember that my name came over the intercom at school and I was so excited to be called down to the basement and then we were all told that on the next day the city newspaper photographer would come and photograph us. Then, I must have told my grandmother because I actually looked fairly well dressed in the photo. It is one of my "highlight" moments of childhood. I am awfully glad that I found this clipping. What fun!!!