Doll show to raise funds for wounded soldiers' charity

Roberta Dowler, of Latrobe, likes pretty faces and warm smiles.

Those were the features that captivated her as a child when she would see a doll. She didn't know then that at the age of 88, she still would be drawn to the delicate faces.

"I played with dolls a lot as a child and had always been interested in them," Dowler says. "But it was when I had been given some pretty valuable dolls as gifts as an adult that I started really getting in to it."

Today, Dowler has about 125 dolls in her collection, including a Patsy doll she received when she was 11 years old. She joined the Laurel Highlands Doll Club in 1978. The club, now almost 20 members strong, has been a place for Dowler and the other participants to learn more about the pieces in their collections.

The club also has become a place where the members can turn their hobby into charitable contributions during the Laurel Highlands Doll Show, set for Sunday at Mountain View Inn, near Greensburg.

Sue Brightwell, president of the doll club this year, says this show will benefit several charities, including the Wounded Warrior Fund, which raises money for wounded American servicemen and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Part of the proceeds also will help children of fallen servicemen and women with college education expenses.

"We are very much interested in helping these people get the help they need," says Brightwell, of New Brighton. "They put their lives on the line for us, and they deserve the support from us."

During the show, appraisals will be available for those who would like to find out how much their dolls are worth.

Doll club member Mary Ann Gradisek, of Greensburg, is a doll appraiser and collector. The appeal for her goes beyond just adding to her collection, which already includes about 500 dolls.

She says through books, publications, Internet research and her interest in dolls, she has learned to assess the value of a doll based on rarity, condition and original state. It's the history behind the collectibles that adds to the excitement, as well as the anticipation of stumbling upon a rare find.

"There are some dolls for hundreds of thousands of dollars," Gradisek says. "And I have appraised some local dolls for a couple thousand dollars."

Dealers with antique dolls to ones fresh off the toy store shelves will be at the show. Brightwell says visitors can expect to see everything from dolls from the 1700s, to collectible Barbies to Russian dolls. Doll club members also will have some dolls on display and for sale.

For Carolyn Skotnicki of Greensburg collecting dolls has become a way of filling a void.

"My husband passed away, and my boys are grown and gone. So I dragged all my dolls out, and now I am never alone," says Skotnicki, 60, who has more than 500 dolls in her collection. "I buy them, because I fall in love with them. It's like adopting a new baby every time."

Although Middleton dolls are a favorite of Skotnicki, she says that she often will buy or adopt a doll with little or no value if she likes it.

"A lot of dolls I have bring back a lot of childhood memories," Skotnicki says. "It's just fun. I think it's great to see a bunch of people still playing with dolls. I am not a spring chicken, and I still think dolls are a lot of fun."

Brightwell, who works in social services, says collecting dolls and helping to organize the show has become an outlet for her from the daily stresses of life.

"Something like this is so important when life is filled with frustrations. When you think of everything going on like war and the bad economy, it's nice to have an interest like this," she says. "This has been a savior for me."