Our families did not take it well.

Gloria Kimmell's daughter reminded her the dangers of meeting strangers from the internet. Rene Mandel's son reminded her that people are not always what they seem on the net: if we didn't like each other, we were stuck for the whole weekend. Ed Welsh, Roma's husband, was dubious about inviting a bunch of strangers into his home, and Mark, Rene's husband, went along for the ride, not just because of the distance, but, perhaps with some idea of protecting her at need.

But Roma's so glad that we had the opportunity to meet in person. "I'm still in awe that we all went against the grain and everything that we were taught about strangers, but by the time we all met....we were not strangers, right?"

Right. We were doll enthusiasts and collectors who had communicated through the Doll Collecting Forum at About.com for months. We talked about dolls and our interests, but, gradually, we all talked a bit about ourselves. Roma and her best buddy Carol Phillips live in Central New York. Mary Hornbuckle lives not too far away. Gloria and her best bud, Irene Ledouceur, live in New York State near the Canadian border. Rene lives in central Massachusetts, Chris Weatherly in North Carolina, but with family in New York State. Somehow, it seemed we weren't all that far away!

Then Gloria, a long-time doll collector, who counts doll appraisal among her many skills, told us about the Strong Museum, in Rochester, New York. Margaret Strong had collected dolls; thousands of them are on display in the museum. It is a truly magnificent collection. And so the plan began to form.

The Invitation

Roma invited everyone to her house, an act of extraordinary kindness and daring. Gloria and Irene could make a long drive down from upstate to Roma's house on Saturday and be part way home when they left Rochester on Sunday. Rene and Mark would do the opposite: 3 1/2 hours to Roma on Saturday morning, 2 hours to the museum, then a long drive home Sunday evening. Chris would take vacation time and drive up from North Carolina, visiting friends and family along the way.  Carol had to work on Sunday and couldn't go to the museum, but would meet us all at Roma's on Saturday. Mary couldn't make it Saturday, but would meet us at the museum
on Sunday. Somehow, gradually, miraculously, this vague idea became a working plan.

As the letters went back and forth, other things became clear, too. Both Mark and Ed were science fiction fans, and were content to spend time together talking and watching videos while their wives chatted about dolls. Mark was asked to bring his guitar, too, and sing for us, and Ed turned out to be politically active in his community, an interest Mark shared. Ed cooks, Mark eats: what more can you ask to begin a friendship?

The First Meeting

Roma says: "Rene and Mark were the first to arrive on Saturday afternoon. The weather was cold and raining. I ran out in the driveway to greet them and asked Rene if I could help her carry some of her dolls into the house. She gave me the box that Alex was in, and said 'Take her! I don't want her to get wet!'...  spoken like a true collector!

"A few minutes later Chris arrived, shivering from the cold: after all, she had just arrived from North Carolina. We whisked her into the house, introduced everybody, and right away began talking about everything! Chris is the Vice President of the Sir Walter Raleigh Doll Club and we have had many interesting discussions about our doll clubs.

"And a few minutes after that Gloria and Irene arrived. Each time I had run out in the rain to greet everybody. I was a little upset that it was raining and concerned because everyone was coming a great distance. When the van pulled up to my house I could hardly contain myself. I was like a little kid, all happy and giddy. I was so happy that the 'dolly story teller' and her friend were here! Gloria and I have been communicating for quite some time now and she even lives in my neck of the woods, where I went to college and where my dad's family lives. We discovered all this while talking one day on this doll forum.  Well, one thing led to another and we couldn't believe that we had so much in common.  She truly is very knowledgeable about our doll hobby and a plethora of information... like a walking encyclopedia."

Actually, Gloria and Irene were a little later than expected, and everyone else was just starting to get worried. Turned out they'd been stopping at garage sales. It was an omen!

The Estate Sale

Roma had gotten a call saying that there was an estate sale in her neighborhood, and that there were dolls. So right after lunch, we walked over, because, even though it was pouring rain, we needed the exercise. Uh-huh. Much had been sold, and most of the dolls left seemed overpriced. Chris got a lovely book about dolls, but the rest of us left empty-handed -- except for Irene, who, for a long time, didn't leave at all. When she finally joined us, she was toting a large garbage bag. She had purchased some stuff for her mother, but she had also gotten for $20 two dolls that were marked $20 *each*. She went back later and got another doll, marked at $50, for $20: after two days, these folks really wanted to end the sale. So Irene taught the rest of us the first lesson of estate or garage sale shopping: if something looks like it's priced higher than you want to pay, always ask if the price is negotiable. If it is, offer an amount a little below what you're willing to pay, and see if you can negotiate to your deal price.

At the sale, everyone had seen some old, inexpensive photo albums lying around:  Irene was the one who looked into them. What she found were albums put together by the owner, who had been a doll dealer: loads of pictures of the dolls she had purchased and sold over the years! Fascinating, fascinating stuff, which Irene got for about $1 an album. So, lesson two: snoop, snoop, snoop! You never know what you'll find!

Part II!:  Martha Chase Dolls For $25 and The Strong Museum

Photo Gallery from the Doll Visit!
 

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