There’s lots to see this weekend at the Great Falls Gun & Antique Show, including guns, books, jewelry, and especially dolls.
There are 24 tables full of an array of dolls like porcelain dolls, barbie dolls, and baby dolls, with some dating back to 1910.
Linda Oeleis is the Region Six Director of the United Federation of Doll Clubs, a nonprofit organization and the largest doll club organization in the world, with a mission of education, conservation, and appreciation of dolls.
She says, “A lot of people get into collecting dolls because they're trying to recap memories of childhood, maybe a doll that mom gave away or a brother broke the head off of."
Linda has been collecting dolls for 35 years, as well as teaching preserving and restoration methods. She says dolls particularly dating from the 1950s and 60s are getting harder to find.
She explains, “They were made of a particular plastic, very susceptible to hot and cold temperature so they can start to do what's called melting, which means they get kind of a glossy feel on them and feel like they're slippery. You can't do anything to save that doll, but you can put something like cornstarch on it and then brush it off and that will keep the doll from deteriorating more."
According to Linda, the best dolls to collect are from before 1948 and after 1963.
She is the president of two doll collectors clubs, Treasure State Doll’ers and Russell Country Doll’ers, which each meet once a month.
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Linda says, “We always have a learning program during the month and people always bring their favorite doll to show and share”.
You can see all the types of dolls for yourself, pick up a gift for the holidays, or learn more about local doll clubs at the Great Falls Gun & Antique Show Friday, September 27th through Sunday, the 29th at Montana ExpoPark located at 400 3rd Street NW in Great Falls.
If you’re interested in learning more about doll collectors clubs, you can visit the UFDC website by clicking here.
