Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 1, 1993 TAG: 9312010351
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The second annual Doll House Show, presented by Center in the Square's docent guild, the Athenian Society for the Arts & Sciences, features 20 houses, rooms and furnishings lovingly crafted by local hobbyists. This year, the show also includes porcelain and collectible dolls and antique reproduction paper-doll Christmas tree ornaments from members of the Star City Doll Club of Virginia. Proceeds from the show will benefit Center in the Square, which on Sunday will mark its 10th anniversary with events throughout the building.
"There hadn't been a doll house show here for about 15 years until we did ours last year," said Athenian Society President Dolores Mitchell.
She said the idea was proposed by former society president Elizabeth Johnson. Johnson, who owned a doll house, had seen such a show at Cherry Hill, a South Roanoke mansion in which the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts was located between 1966 and 1983.
The exhibitors are a varied lot, including Roanoke City Councilman Howard Musser and the children of area artists George and Inga Solonevich. Mitchell said they were culled through word of mouth and through an ad in the "Nutshell News," a newsletter aimed at doll house enthusiasts.
The houses range from ordinary to ornate, but each has its own story and shows exceptional attention to - well, small details.
"Templeton's House," inhabited by miniature clothed mice, honors the mouse in "Charlotte's Web" and was made in 1968 by Mitchell's husband, James M. Mitchell, for their granddaughter, Donna Lynn.
"Our granddaughter didn't care much for doll houses; she was sort of a tomboy. But she loved the story `Charlotte's Web' and Templeton," Mitchell explained.
Exhibitor Jack Goodykuntz constructed and furnished - almost entirely with handmade items - six rooms set in a row rather than a house. The retiree, who has done woodworking most of his life, said he's been dabbling in this phase for about two or three years, ever since he built a doll house for a neighbor child's Christmas present.
"I don't know how long it takes. I don't watch my hours or production. I just play with things as the spirit moves me," Goodykuntz said.
Goodykuntz also is exhibiting a three-tiered dream structure for which he doesn't have a name. "Everybody can make their own story out of it," he suggested.
In his version, the old man sitting outside the structure on a deck is retired and mostly whiles away his time whittling. When he tires of that, he takes off either in his lobster boat or his dune buggy. He returns, plays a little Bach and Beethoven on his piano, takes a nap in his hammock, then goes up on the roof where he's got a full stock car race track.
Goodykuntz, who also exhibited last year, said he was "volunteered" by someone who knew about his hobby. Mitchell said that seven of the houses this year are new, though, including several from Lynchburg and Christiansburg.
Also new is the Star City Doll Club of Virginia's participation. Its complementary 36-doll exhibit was initiated by Pam Wright, a member of both the Athenians and the doll club.
The display includes about 15 porcelain dolls from President Kenna Bayer, whose works have won several blue ribbons from the International Federation of Doll Makers.
Vice President Mary Ann Cook is supplying the remaining dolls, which include several Madam Alexanders, a teddy bear, a porcelain Santa and a collection of antique reproduction paper-doll tree ornaments. Cook owns C&W Enterprises, which participates in doll shows and sells dolls and doll-related items through mail order.
Bayer said that the 12-year-old club, which is affiliated with the United Federation of Doll Clubs, is open to all doll collectors, but noncollectors also are welcome to attend meetings. Monthly programs at 7 p.m. on third Thursdays at the Preston Park Recreation Center include information on making, dressing, wigging, repairing and collecting dolls, as well as historical background.
"There are some very knowledgeable people among our members, including people who make their livings with dolls," Bayer said. "But there are also a lot of us who just do it for fun and for the camaraderie we share. Doll people understand each other."
The Athenian Society Doll House Show, on the fourth floor of Center in the Square, runs through Dec. 12. Tickets are $2 for adults, $1 for students and 50 cents for children under 12 years old. 342-5726.
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