Doll News Fall 2016 - 5

President's Message Thoughts from the Doll Room Of Dolls and Dogs Why own a doll? There's a danger you know, You can't own just one, for the craving will grow. There's no doubt they're addictive, wherein lies the danger. While living with lots, you'll grow poorer and stranger. Author Unknown I took some liberties with the above poem. I changed one word. In the original wording it asked "Why own a dog?" I was struck by how the poem could be applied to both dolls and dogs. Among the things in my life that bring me great joy there are two that both begin with the letter "d". The ﬁrst is my doll collection and the second, my two little Havanese dogs, Maisy and Pippa. Often when I am meeting people for the ﬁrst time and I am asked what I do I usually respond that I am the president of a collectors' organization. "What do you collect?" I am inevitably asked. "Dolls," I reply. "Dogs?" they respond. "No, dolls." "What kind of dogs?" "No, dolls!" Perhaps it's not so surprising that the two are confused. Among my many doll friends I have noted that many of them are pet owners. Horses, dogs, cats, birds, ﬁsh; the variety is endless but the commonality is in the care and nurturing of a living entity. I have also observed that many doll collectors come from professions like teaching or nursing. Professions that again focus on care and nurturing. The attraction to doll collecting is not unrelated. It involves the same instinct to take care of and protect something. I see this same desire in our members to protect and nurture our organization. It is one of the qualities that our members share and one of the reasons why the UFDC has achieved so much. There are many different breeds of dogs but all breeds are dogs. However, there are two types of dolls, the non-living and the human variety! The latter could be found in Washington, D.C., working hard to make sure convention is a success. They worked doggedly to keep the complex machine that is convention running smoothly. To all the volunteers who helped out, and there were around four hundred of you, I extend my sincere thanks. The fall promises to be a busy season for the UFDC. The Region 6 Conference in Billings, Montana, starts off the fall. The UFDC headquarters will see a lot of trafﬁc with an Alice Leverett workshop and the ﬁrst symposium organized by the Collections Oversight Committee focusing on the artistry of Dewees Cochran. The ofﬁcers and board will also be meeting in Kansas City. The ofﬁcers will convene for their annual fall meeting, and this will be followed with training for our new RDs. The rest of the Board will follow for a two-day symposium looking at membership issues and strategies. This will be the ﬁrst time the whole Board will have met in Kansas City since 2005. The issues they will be discussing are important ones in determining the future success and survival of the UFDC. I learned recently that, sadly, another one of the great doll museums will be closing soon. This highlights why our museum is such an important one to support and ensure that, not only the collection, but the research materials and archives housed in our headquarters, survive for the future. I would like to close with another quote I found. Again I took the liberty of substituting the word "dogs" with "dolls." Somehow, for me at least, it works both ways! Dolls are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. Roger Caras (photographer and writer) Until the next time, Your President, Janet DOLL NEWS * UFDC.ORG 5 http://www.ufdc.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Doll News Fall 2016