52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy - Timmy Bear and Ginny Doll

This is a difficult topic, because I had a number of favorite toys. I loved to play dolls, and had many in which I lined up on chairs with small tables and taught them school.  I spent hours playing with my metal dollhouse, and then paper dolls were all the rage.  But I over the years two special toys are still with me.

When I was six years old I had my tonsils out.  After the surgery my throat was so sore! I couldn’t talk and didn’t even appreciate the Ginger Ale and ice cream I was allowed to eat.  The day after my surgery, my parents arrived with a Gund Teddy Bear. He was black with pink around his face and chest. His eyes opened and closed. I remember being so happy to receive this bear, and so frustrated that I couldn’t say, “Thank You” out loud to my parents. But they knew I had tried. I named that bear Timmy and he is still with me today, showing much wear from much love over the years.  It wasn’t too long ago that my mother told me the story behind Timmy.  She and my father were walking through Kresge’s Department Store in Ithaca, NY that morning and saw these Teddy Bears displayed.  Looking at the price tag my mother said she thought they were just too expensive; my father said he was getting one for me anyway.  Timmy was always my favorite and I dressed him up just like my dolls.

Timmy and I
75th Street Duplex
Anna Maria Island, Florida

 And then about fifth grade Ginny dolls were all the rage. I was given one with a couple of outfits. My blond haired Ginny had leg and arm joints that moved, and she was so much fun to dress up in her various outfits. At that time new outfits were $1.25 on up. My mother felt this was too much money to spend so she made a number of Ginny’s outfits out of scrap material. Mom commented that it was easier to make a dress for herself than one for Ginny since the pattern was so tiny.  A year later Ginny was joined by her long-legged sister, Jill.  I still have these two dolls and most of their outfits. A few years ago my sister was kind enough to purchase for me a real honest to goodness Ginny trunk in which I could keep my favorite doll and her wardrobe.