It's amazing how my mood changes with the weather!! Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday the sun was bright, the skies were blue! I was energetic. There were dozens of outside projects I wanted to work on. Today it is raining, cold, and gloomy. I cannot get in the mood to do anything but, (as mama used to say), "hunt and search" the cabinets for something to eat!! Maybe posting something will cheer me up and get me out of the kitchen...
I have loved dolls my whole life. My sister still tells the story about the time she wanted me to go to a movie with her and her boyfriend, and another boy. A double date. I was sixteen. My answer to her was, "I don't want to, I had planned to dress up all my dolls tonight". Imagine that!! Sixteen years old!! Not in this day and time!! Or maybe there was something wrong with me!!!
This picture was taken when we lived in Summerville, SC. My sister, my brother, and me (asleep on the end). Mid 1940's.
One of my first dolls. Looks like chickens in the background. I don't remember that.
I was about 10 years old in this next picture. Mama didn't go anywhere without me, if I had anything to say about it! I loved being with mama. She was my favorite person in this world!! She was just the BEST! Is this a 1950's kitchen or what??
It makes me happy to talk about mama and daddy. Thank you for listening. I do have one other picture. Poppy bought me an old Saucy Walker doll last Christmas. She is not exactly like the one I had, but enough so that it brings back lots of good memories.
Henny Penny
I'm a regular reader of Lynn's blog, just so you know where I came from. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy grandma loved dolls, too. She had dolls everywhere in her house. We'd have to move them to be able to sit on her couch. :) Dolls and miniature tea sets were her two biggest collectables. I miss her bunches.
Thanks for sharing your dolls and stories. :)
Dear Lesa,
DeleteThank you for looking at my blog and leaving a comment. Lynn has such a good blog. I love reading her posts and seeing her pictures. That's funny about your grandma's dolls being everywhere. I finally had to pack up some dolls from out of my sewing room. I was buying thrift store dolls and dressing them. I felt sorry for them!!! I wish I had all my dolls from my childhood but like you said about your doll, I have no idea where they are now. Oh, I loved tea sets too, but I don't have any. Thanks again!
Love,
Henny Penny
Oh and I had a walker doll, too, at some point in my childhood. I haven't a clue where she is now but I distinctly remember having one. :)
ReplyDeleteDear Henny,
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post! My mama had a Joann Paluka doll that looked very similar to this one you've posted. Have you ever heard of that name?
I always loved dolls too and spent many happy days playing with them out among the pines. We'd make tents over the clothes line and weigh the edges down with bricks. Our dolls slept in cardboard boxes with a pillow in the bottom and a doll sized quilt over that. How many boxes of Nilla wafers were consumed as we pretended to be pioneer women on the frontier, protecting our littles from wolves and worse.
You were a darling little girl. The pictures in this post were delightful. Thanks for sharing them.
Love,
Jen
Dear Jen,
DeleteThank you! I have never heard of the Joann Paluka doll. It took me some time to find out that the doll I had was a Saucy Walker. I kept thinking it was something like Suzy, in fact that's what I had named my doll. I'll have to look up the Joann Paluka doll. I love your story about playing dolls. Do girls play like that anymore? There was nothing as fun as building a playhouse. Mama always gave me a closet that was my very own and that was my permanent doll house inside. I think about the quilts my sister and I left out in the rain many times!!! I love your story! Thank you, Jen.
Love,
Henny Penny
Dear Henny,
ReplyDeleteSome research of my own after this fascinating post led me to the conclusion that Mama's doll was also a Saucy Walker!! Imagine my surprise after hearing it called a Joann Paluka doll my whole life. I looked that up and it was a different spelling and I had never seen one that looked like that.
Fun memories, and you removed some of the leg work for me should I ever decide to look for one in the future. <3
Love,
Jen
Dear Jen,
DeleteI also searched for Joann Paluka and found Joan Palooka. The Joan Palooka doll was the daughter of comic strip character, Joe Palooka. In the 1950's I had a Bonnie Braids doll who was the daughter of comic strip characters Dick Tracy and Tess Trueheart. So I learned something too. When I first saw the "Joan Palooka" and "Bonnie Braids" dolls for sale on ebay today, I thought they both were Bonnie Braids dolls. I'm confusing myself!!! Anyway, it was fun finding this information. I'm glad your Mother had a Saucy Walker too.
Love,
Henny Penny
I know this is an old post but I wanted to add my two cents as I just found it. :)
ReplyDeleteI had a Saucy Walker doll too. I think I was 9 or 10 when I got it. Mine had a wig of honey brown hair. I think it came braided low behind her ears. At least that is how I kept her hair. :) She had a navy cloth coat and hat with a brim when I got her. My Aunt came Christmas day and brought clothes she had bought her friend made for it too. The original print dress was sleeveless I think, and I remember it had bloomers sewn into the dress. I loved her. One year my Aunt who had given me the doll clothes, was trying to find toys for a family who had little. I reluctantly gave up my Saucy Walker to help her.
I am pretty sure my older sister's doll that year was also a Saucy Walker but a bit bigger than mine. Did they combine two sizes? I remember girl's played with dolls till at least 12. We got a doll each Christmas. I can name what each was called still today and I am 71. I loved being a girl! I had a playmate who never played with her dolls. She got one each Christmas and they stayed in the box they came in in the rafters of her nice basement. Her parents always thought someday she would want to play with them. The only doll I remember she got for sure was a Campbell's Soup doll. I have no idea why she didn't want to play dolls but she always played with us and was such fun to be around. My little sister got a Gerber baby doll one year and another older friend got a doll that was supposed to be the baby in the Dick Tracy cartoon. I had Betsy Wetsy doll and a at 6 Tiny Tears with the black curly wig. Later a plastic Sherry Temple doll about 10" and the small Betsy McCall doll and a small Ginger doll which was a cheaper knock off of the little Ginnie dolls Madam Alexander had. My older sister had the Littlest Angel I think they called her by Madam Alexander. One year I so wanted this beautiful bride doll but it was too dear for my parents to buy. They did get me a bride doll but she was not half as pretty....but I fell in love with her immediately anyway and started Christmas day to make her more clothes so she had things to wear besides her bridal dress!! :-))) Now all I have are some of my daughters dolls the grandchildren play with. The wonderful memories of dolls I will always have with me. Sarah