Only a handful of dolls in My Nana's Doll and Toy Museum are still in their original packaging. The rest are less-than-pristine " a sure sign they had been loved by a child. Someone who came to check out Margaret Parsons' life-long collection described it as "Disneyland in Smith Valley."
"Some dolls were found in a trunk, some at the dump and some at thrift stores," Parsons said. "Some are found treasures. We call them 'twice-loved dolls and bears.'"
There are anonymous dolls along with famous faces: Little Orphan Annie, Raggedy Ann, Shirley Temple as Heidi, Mickey and Minnie, Winnie-the-Pooh, Hello Kitty, the Raisinettes.
Parsons' collection started with the dolls of the world she had as a child and includes her friends' dolls, her children's and grandchildren's dolls. She said she doesn't have any idea how many dolls there are in the little white house on Highway 208.
Parsons, 83, was born in Smith Valley and has 10 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. A green doll house in her museum is a model of the house where she lived on River Road north of the Methodist church in Smith Valley.
She made the doll house and its furniture from scratch the way she remembered it. One room is a miniature replica of her bedroom she had until she was 16.
Details in the doll house include the woodburning stove in the kitchen where her grandson took his first steps and a wishing well in the yard.
"The wishing well is still there in the yard of the original house," Parsons said. "People come in and recognize this house. I'm upset that the original house now sits empty."
Parsons made some of the dolls and stuffed animals and carved the wooden heads and hands of some of her Pinocchio puppets. She buys different components, makes the bodies and fashions the arms.
"I can make things myself instead of spending $1,000," she said.
Besides dolls and stuffed animals, Parsons displays the cradle her father made when she was 8, doll carriages, a rocking horse, rocking chairs, children's books and tea sets.
The bathroom is decorated with books, dolls and stuffed animals. There's a doll bed, high chair and baby swing in the kitchen, which also functions as a real kitchen when tea parties are held for birthday parties and other special occasions.
"It's a very personal thing for me but I wanted to share this with people," she said. "How can anyone be upset in a place like this?"
My Nana's Doll and Toy Museum is at 2830 Highway 208, Wellington. They are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. Closed Tuesday and Friday. Call (775) 465-2481 about hosting a tea party at the doll museum.
n Contact People Editor Sharlene Irete at sirete@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 210.
