Mumpy Terri Lee, as Tam would call her. I always get a big LOL out of that, but if one stops to think, Tam is actually right! When I was a little kid and I'd go on a pouting bender Mama would snap "Quit that poutin'. I can out-pout you!" And she could! But seriously, even back in the forties critics said the doll wouldn't sell because she had a "funny face," but they were quickly proven wrong. Terri Lee proved VERY popular, and a bit (a lot?) groundbreaking as she had a couple'a black friends (Bonnie Lou and Benji) and brown eyes instead of the blue eyes that were standard for dolls then. Probably her small-town persona helped some too; Terri Lee was a product of a family-owned company in Lincoln, Nebraska, a sizeable but not ridiculously big town, and her creators never made any bones about her rural heritage. Hold up a bit...my mistake, she started off in Lincoln, but the factory burned down. For reasons I can't remember the company retained roots in Lincoln, but opened up a new factory in California. There they continued their success (with some hiccups) until some a-hole burned down the California factory. That proved to be the beginning of the end for Terri Lee's heyday, though she saw a revival during my adolescence. My favorite reproduction was always this one, made by the one and only Robert Tonner, with sherbet-colored clothes and a yellow mohair wig. Tonner called that hair "chick," I think, and the doll herself was entitled "Daisy Chain." Terri Lee's full-tilt nitty gritty history can be found here. Melanie O. at Doll Land includes some additional information about what happened to Terri Lee after the 1960s. To my horror, Miss Melanie fell victim to Parkinson's in 2019 and had to quit collecting and blogging. I wonder where she is and how she is now...I have friends with Parkinson's, and it's a terrifying, frustrating ailment. I hope to God I don't get it, and I hope none of y'all do either.
Right, back to matters at hand. Even now Terri Lee has her fans (like me) and her naysayers (Mama, LOL). And yet...I know I've mentioned in the past that I like these dolls, but I've gotta admit that one of these stern-looking dolls gave me a turn. My family was at our favorite antique mall many years back, where I got many of my best dolls back in the day. I was in my usual place, ogling Crissy and Toni and a brunette Chatty Cathy and a Malibu Skipper in a pretty red dress, when I suddenly saw this cranky little poppet glowering at me!
I'm predicting that these two will get along about as well as Rose Tyler and Sara Jane Smith did. Even though Mary Jane was created to rival Terri Lee, these two are pretty different. Their faces are the most obvious difference; Terri Lee has the aforementioned mumpy cheeks and painted eyes, while Mary Jane has jowly cheeks and inset eyes that flirt and sleep. Terri Lee is blonde and brown-eyed, while Mary Jane has deep auburn hair and blue eyes.
Right, back to matters at hand. Even now Terri Lee has her fans (like me) and her naysayers (Mama, LOL). And yet...I know I've mentioned in the past that I like these dolls, but I've gotta admit that one of these stern-looking dolls gave me a turn. My family was at our favorite antique mall many years back, where I got many of my best dolls back in the day. I was in my usual place, ogling Crissy and Toni and a brunette Chatty Cathy and a Malibu Skipper in a pretty red dress, when I suddenly saw this cranky little poppet glowering at me!
Maybe she was mad because I hadn't noticed her right off the bat. How I could've overlooked her is anyone's guess, but I did. I was so startled that I shrieked and jumped back, to my sister's great amusement. The little doll had pretty face paint, but she's obviously rewigged and her price was a little high, so I said no thank you to that one. The doll I have now has a rub on her upper lip, but her coloring is prettier than the pale poppet at the antique store so I think I did pretty well. A rub is easily mended.
She's a little ruffed up all over, like vintage dolls will be, but that doesn't matter to me. I've got a Terri Lee doll, and that's what matters. How about some clothes to cover those cute little britches, chica?
That dress fits more like a nightgown than a dress, but it'll do for now. To my considerable chagrin there are not a lot of things available on Etsy for Terri Lee, but Vee's Victorians has one dress available in three color variations, and Sherry's Terri Lee Doll Clinic has some things, and eBay and Jan's Doll Closet also have some odds and ends. Whatever, I love a challenge.
Of course I can't talk about Terri Lee without bringing her rival Mary Jane into the mix.
Terri Lee: What the...??? What are YOU doing here???
Mary Jane: ;-)
I'm predicting that these two will get along about as well as Rose Tyler and Sara Jane Smith did. Even though Mary Jane was created to rival Terri Lee, these two are pretty different. Their faces are the most obvious difference; Terri Lee has the aforementioned mumpy cheeks and painted eyes, while Mary Jane has jowly cheeks and inset eyes that flirt and sleep. Terri Lee is blonde and brown-eyed, while Mary Jane has deep auburn hair and blue eyes.
Mary Jane is a hard plastic walker, while Terri Lee is just hard plastic, a kind that feels cheaper than the stuff Mary Jane is made of. More importantly, Mary Jane has slimmer limbs and shorter arms than Terri Lee. Presumably this renders clothes sharing out of the question.
That's kind of a pain in the butt that these two can't share clothes, because it isn't easy to find clothes for either of these dolls. MAKING them wouldn't be so bad, but finding them ready-made isn't easy, especially for Mary Jane, who had a very short production run.
Since I made such a big to-do about the weather yesterday, here's a recap. Malden and the majority of the Bootheel made it through unscathed, though I figure there's some damage to siding, trees, and car windows here and there. Arkansas and Iowa did not make it out nearly as well; Little Rock and Wynne (both Arkansas towns that I've never been to but know of quite well) both got hit hard, and at least four fatalities have been reported at Wynne. Someone also died at a crowded theater in Belvidere, Illinois, who is no stranger to violent tornadoes. As for Iowa, I don't know of any fatalities there, but one of those tornadoes was a friggin' BEAST. It was beautiful in a perverse sort of way, as tornadoes often are, but one can't ignore the cloud of debris it kicked up. As for me, well...I honestly was expecting to wake up facedown in a puddle of mud, having been blown out of my house and into the backyard. That's how bad all the weather stations, from our local meteorologist on up to Ryan Hall and Reed Timmer, were making it out to be. I spent the day and part of the evening with my heaviest boots lashed to my feet and my purse and Rita Cheryl's go-go bag at the ready. But Malden didn't get hit and I am very thankful, though I am keeping the less fortunate in my prayers, just as I did last week when Rolling Fork got hit. Oh, and did I mention that my sister drove to Fayetteville, Arkansas and back in all this crap??? She did, and she made it just fine until she got to Poplar Bluff. Then she had to stop and wait out a tornado-warned thunderstorm before completing her last leg of her trip (Jackson, Missouri was her destination). To give y'all an idea of how far she had to travel in two days, Fayetteville is in the northwest corner of Arkansas, not too far from Joplin, and Jackson is eighty miles north of Malden, very close to the Mississippi River. It was ten P.M. when she got home, to "a clean house, a warm meal, and a hot shower," as her husband put it. He's a keeper, that husband! So things could've been worse for my family, and they could've been way better for some other poor folks. And spring is just getting started.
Since I made such a big to-do about the weather yesterday, here's a recap. Malden and the majority of the Bootheel made it through unscathed, though I figure there's some damage to siding, trees, and car windows here and there. Arkansas and Iowa did not make it out nearly as well; Little Rock and Wynne (both Arkansas towns that I've never been to but know of quite well) both got hit hard, and at least four fatalities have been reported at Wynne. Someone also died at a crowded theater in Belvidere, Illinois, who is no stranger to violent tornadoes. As for Iowa, I don't know of any fatalities there, but one of those tornadoes was a friggin' BEAST. It was beautiful in a perverse sort of way, as tornadoes often are, but one can't ignore the cloud of debris it kicked up. As for me, well...I honestly was expecting to wake up facedown in a puddle of mud, having been blown out of my house and into the backyard. That's how bad all the weather stations, from our local meteorologist on up to Ryan Hall and Reed Timmer, were making it out to be. I spent the day and part of the evening with my heaviest boots lashed to my feet and my purse and Rita Cheryl's go-go bag at the ready. But Malden didn't get hit and I am very thankful, though I am keeping the less fortunate in my prayers, just as I did last week when Rolling Fork got hit. Oh, and did I mention that my sister drove to Fayetteville, Arkansas and back in all this crap??? She did, and she made it just fine until she got to Poplar Bluff. Then she had to stop and wait out a tornado-warned thunderstorm before completing her last leg of her trip (Jackson, Missouri was her destination). To give y'all an idea of how far she had to travel in two days, Fayetteville is in the northwest corner of Arkansas, not too far from Joplin, and Jackson is eighty miles north of Malden, very close to the Mississippi River. It was ten P.M. when she got home, to "a clean house, a warm meal, and a hot shower," as her husband put it. He's a keeper, that husband! So things could've been worse for my family, and they could've been way better for some other poor folks. And spring is just getting started.
Wish me luck with my grumpy little girls! I've already got my hands full with Felicity and Amazing Maddie, and Sila Clops is also still pissed with me.
Hugs,
RagingMoon1987
Hugs,
RagingMoon1987
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