Making Doll Clothes

In the early 1960’s, there was a thriving cottage industry employing homemakers with time on their hands while the children were in school to cut out, sew and package doll clothes for local department stores like Woolworth’s and Kresge’s to sell. It was a great way for stay-at-home mothers to supplement the family income. My mother was one of those women.

The pre-cut fabric pieces were picked up by my mother from a home not far from our house in Richmond Hill, along with thread, trims, dome fasteners and instructions, which she sewed into finished pieces for various size dolls including Barbie and Tammy. The women received payment by the completed piece and they went to that home every Thursday to drop them off and a new stack ready to be sewn was picked up. Next the completed doll clothes went to the packagers who put them in cellophane bags and printed cardboard toppers were stapled on the top making them ready to deliver to stores.

Even as a child, I thought that some of the fabric selections were ‘interesting’, if not downright odd. But any child with a bit of change in their pocket could go to the store and pick out a new, unique outfit for their doll. They were much less expensive than the factory made clothes manufactured by the doll companies, and the preferred option for many parents on a tight budget. And the children were happy.

As the doll companies found ways to lower the production cost of their factory made clothes, the local cottage industry went by the wayside as it was no longer profitable for them.

Of course, virtually all of my doll clothes were homemade which I kind of resented at the time as some of my friends had factory made clothes for their dolls. Now, I am much more appreciative of the time and love that went into making them for me. I sure wish I still had that box of items my mother made but they were tossed out or given away long ago.

My First Barbie™ Doll

The path to getting my first Barbie™ doll was a long and winding road. My mother did not think the voluptuous and curvaceous doll was appropriate as a child’s toy. So, even though all my friends were getting a Barbie™, she tried to satisfy me with a number of alternatives.

The Ideal Toy Company’s answer to Barbie was the Tammy doll which it introduced in 1962. Tammy was 12 inches tall, and like Barbie, had a variety of ensembles and accessories which were sold separately. Ideal also offered companions and siblings for Tammy to play with, just as Barbie had Midge, Skipper, Ken, and others. Tammy’s body was much more realistically proportioned and more to my mother’s liking. To a six year old me, it was not the same though and I envied those who had a ‘real’ Barbie doll.

My mother tried again the following year to assuage my desire for Barbie by getting me her little sister, Skipper. She was 9.25 inches in height (compared to Barbie's 11.5 inches). Skipper was created, along with Midge, to counteract criticism that claimed Barbie was a sex symbol. Mine had red hair and blue eyes, and while I really loved the doll, she was not Barbie.

The year after that, she tried again with Tutti, the youngest sister of Barbie. She was 6 1/4 inches tall (mine had brunette hair) and was made of soft bendable rubber over a wire armature so that she could be easily posed. Because of this wire Tutti was quite a fragile doll, sometimes the wires would break and she would lose her poseability and sometimes it would pierce the rubber and stick out of her. That doll would never pass toy safety standards today.

Finally, in 1965, I got my Barbie doll! American Girl Barbie, named for her hair style, represented the peak of Barbie’s glamour and elegance. These dolls were issued from 1965 to 1966 only. Mine had brunette hair and she came with the new life-like bendable legs. I was delighted and the envy of all my friends who had straight leg Barbie dolls. Today these dolls are one of the more valuable ones even in used or played with condition. The vintage American Girl Barbie typically sells for around $1,000 these days. If you can find one still in the original box, the price is even higher.

I mention the value of the American Girl Barbie because I no longer have mine. As I grew older and stopped playing with dolls, she was packed in a box and stored in one of the closets. I got married and moved away, leaving her behind. When the doll collecting bug got me several years later and I went looking for her, she was nowhere to be found.

My youngest brother had to admit to doing unspeakable things to the doll, involving straight pins and markers, and throwing her out before my mother could see what he’d done. I was totally devastated but at that point, the deed was done and could not be undone. She was gone forever.

Story to be continued…

Happy New Year, 2025!

It sure has been a long time since I last posted on my blog. My intention is to change that in 2025, starting now.

The other day, while looking for my ‘toast buttering knife’, I remembered my father’s ‘sucky plate’. Firstly, yes, I do have a special knife that I always use to butter my toast. Is there any logical reason why I always use this particular knife? The answer is no, there is not.

I no longer have a full matching set of cutlery, just a hodge podge of various ones acquired over the years (much like the photo here). Some from when I was married, some from my parents and some from the local thrift stores. Any one of the knives would be perfectly adequate for buttering toast but I have one ‘special’ knife I always use.

That brings me back to my father’s ‘sucky plate’. It was a turquoise/blue melamine bread and butter size plate that I have no idea when or how it came into the house in the first place, but I was very young. My father always had to have his toast on this plate. For whatever reason, I do not know. There’s likely as much logic to it as me and my toast buttering knife.

It’s not like we did not have ‘proper’ dishes, we did. The first set I remember are the Pyrex dishes with red around the edges (see below) that my parents received as a wedding gift. Then there was the upgrade to Corelle dishes with the gold design around the rims when the family grew, and we no longer had a full set of the Pyrex ones due to breakage. So, we did have regular dishes to use.

I cannot explain my desire to use one special knife for buttering toast or my father’s need to use that melamine plate for his toast. I guess we all have funny quirks like that. What’s yours? Let me know in the comment section. We can have a chuckle together.

Ask The Questions – While You Can

Hindsight is 20/20. Never was a truer statement ever spoken. I wish that I’d asked my parents and grandparents more about our family histories. I really regret not doing that while I had the opportunity.

Charles Ash as an infant

So much knowledge has been lost because of that, knowledge that I will never be able to obtain. However, during my family research, I have learned a few things that I did not know before.

My grandfather, Charles Ash, always told me that the family was of German origin. I’d raised an eyebrow at the time, but did not argue with his claim. He seemed quite certain of his facts. To me, the surname Ash seemed very English sounding, not German at all. But that little bit of information was stored away in the back of my mind until I needed it years later when I started to investigate and record the family history.

Charles Ash as a
child

I discovered that my three times great grandparents, Johann and Rosina, immigrated to Canada sometime between 1843 and 1845 from Alsace, France with two (possibly three) small children. They settled in York County in the area today known as the City of Vaughan. Wait a minute, did I say France? Isn’t that interesting?

By doing further research into the history of Alsace, I found that the territory has long been disputed over by France and Germany and ‘possession’ of it went back and forth many times over the centuries. 

Charles Ash as a
young man

Now the pieces are starting to fall together. Apparently, the surname was originally spelled Esch, as well.. It also explains the first names that parents chose for their children, some very French and some very German sounding. 

During World War 1, there was a lot of anti-German sentiment around the world and many families with German sounding names Anglicized them to avoid persecution. Hence, Esch became Ash. 

So it turns out that my grandfather was right all along. The family does have German origins.

NOTE: You used to be able to attach a document to your blog but that does not seem to be an option anymore. If anyone in the family would like a copy of the file containing the Esch/Ash genealogy back to the 18th century, let me know and I will send it to you.

Family Ties

David and Sebbie, 1901

My great-grandparents, David Franklin Middleton and Sebbie Rowntree were married on September 26, 1901 in York County, ON. The official records do not specify the exact location. There are some interesting facts that do appear there, however, but I will get to that.

I was not aware that David and Sebbie were so closely related. They were first cousins, once removed. Robert and Ann Middleton had two children (perhaps more) Robert and Elizabeth. The younger Robert married Nancy Ann Emerson in 1867 in Pickering. Among their children was David. Elizabeth married George Topper and one of their daughters was Sarah Jane Topper who went on to marry Robert William Rowntree in 1878. Sebbie was their daughter. Hence, David was the grandson of Robert and Ann, while Sebbie was the great-granddaughter of Robert and Ann.

Now we go back to the official records, pictured here, with a close up of the entry about the marriage of David and Sebbie. You will see that Sebbie’s name is entered as Sylva. Her name was unusual and clerks filling out these official forms were unclear how to spell it. I’ve seen it written in various records as Bebbie, Libbie, Jebbie, Zebeah, Sophie, Zebbie, Sebbia and even Zebra. I also notice that their places of birth were ‘not given’ which seemed odd to me. Every other entry on the page has birth places entered. David and Sebbie certainly knew where they were born, so why did they not give them to the clerk to record?

Then I came to the column where their parents were listed.  For Sebbie, on the lines for both her mother and father was written ‘not given’. For David, his father is listed as Robert Middleton which is correct but his mothers’ name is listed as Sarah Jane Topper. That is Sebbie’s mother though, and the first cousin of David. I’m just speculating here but were they trying to hide the fact that they were cousins? Was it legal at the time to marry someone so closely related to you? I’m not sure.

David and Sebbie
in their later years

On top of that, I imagine it was a hastily arranged marriage when they discovered that Sebbie was pregnant, three months along. How do I know this? Let’s do the math together. David and Sebbie were married on September 26, 1901. Their first child, Robert (Bert) Edwin was born on March 26, 1902 which by my calculation was exactly six months after the nuptials. I’m not judging anyone, don’t get me wrong, just bringing the facts to light.

There is more of the story to tell, but I will leave that for future posts. Let me just say, that by all accounts their union was a happy one. And at the end of the day, that is all that really matters, isn't it?