Date: Fri 30-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

doll-collectors-Lind-Furse

Full Text:

Dolls & Their Followers Continue A Newtown Tradition

(with cuts)

BY SHANNON HICKS

Hundreds of doll enthusiasts took a break from the incredible weather of last

Sunday to go indoors for a few hours, to visit the 11th Annual Newtown Antique

and Collectible Doll Show. The event was presented at The Fireside Inn in

Newtown, and its sponsors say this year's show was another success.

"It was our first venture like this for the club, and it went very, very

well," Regina Shertmire said this week. Ms Shertmire is president of the Jenny

Lind Doll Club of Connecticut. The doll club became the Newtown show's new

sponsor for the first time this year after "Aunt Mary" Furse decided ten years

of coordinating the show on her own was enough.

Ms Furse, a Newtown resident and also a member of the Jenny Lind Club, created

the show in 1987. This year she helped club members on a consultant basis, but

enjoyed her own doll show for the first time as "simply a vendor."

Ms Furse was one of the first booths visitors to the show encountered last

week. By early afternoon, she was enjoying the show by not only presenting her

own display of antique dolls, but also exploring the booths of the over three

dozen fellow vendors and making a few purchases this year.

While the Jenny Lind Club had taken over sponsoring the show, the organizers

had promised visitors they would not see huge changes in the show's

presentation or offerings. Sure enough, in Booth #2 there was Doris DiZinno

offering doll repairs; and in Booth #4, Dolores Gilbert was back this year to

offer doll appraisals.

Additionally, vendors were offering everything from antique to contemporary

dolls, including vinyl, plastic and composition creations, limited editions,

modern reproductions, china head and bisque dolls, and

internationally-recognized names like Barbie and G.I. Joe.

A few booths presented strictly accessories, such as Pam Lembo and Evelyn

Podesla, while others offered reference books on dolls and other related

collectibles.

Ms Shertmire felt the efforts of her club members certainly paid off when

Sunday's one-day event began.

"We coordinated our efforts and worked as a team, which made all the

difference in the world," she said, "although it certainly helped that we had

a club member [Mary Furse] who could offer us a lot of insights." Additional

advertising also paid off, after receipts showed visitors from not only across

Connecticut, but some who traveled from New York, Massachusetts and even Rhode

Island.

With this kind of success, is the club ready to repeat its sponsorship of the

Newtown show?

"We're talking about it, yes, but it's a bit like having a baby," Ms Shertmire

laughed. "You have to wait for the pain to subside before you start talking

about having about one."

CONTACT NAMES & NUMBERS, all members of CT Jenny Lind Doll Club

Regina Shertmire (current Jenny Lind president), 203/866-3349

Pam Conboy (past president), 263-2220

Paula Brown (former contemporary doll collector, now antique doll collector),

881-1369

Maria Grossman (antique doll collector), 375-1501