News From the Director

What comes to mind when you hear the words “travel doll”?

Once upon a time (and not so long ago), a travel doll was a specific type of popular souvenir. You would take a trip overseas, or send a loved one on an international adventure, and you’d have a specially designed souvenir doll to bring back as a memory of travel.

Summer is often a special time to think about adventures and dream of international trips—we’re certainly dreaming of overseas escapes as we plan our annual doll luncheon in September centered on all things Switzerland!

But your summer adventures may be smaller in scale. Maybe you’re planning to attend an out-of-state convention or gathering this summer. Or perhaps you’re just planning a special trip to the movies with the whole family!

These days, a “travel doll” often means a beloved companion who you slip into your handbag or backpack to bring you joy on your next adventure.

Whether you are venturing near or far this summer, and whether you plan to visit Majorca or our museum, a travel doll can be a special source of comfort and a constant companion who will never judge you for indulging in a second gelato on a sunny summer day.

Dolls are so versatile—it’s one of the things we love most about them. They can be travel companions, projects, playthings, artistic expressions, perfect summer fun buddies, or all of the above.

Do you have a travel doll who always comes with you on your adventures? We want to meet them!

Post a picture and tag us on Facebook or Instagram @ncdollmuseum or send us an email!

Beth M. Nance

Founder and Executive Director

Upcoming Events

Fill-a-Bag Doll Sale on World Doll Day

June 14

Buy an empty bag (or bags) from us and fill up with all the dolls, doll accessories, and doll clothing of your choice! It's a fill-a-bag bonanza at our epic June 14 Bag Sale!

Sat, June 14

10 am to 4 pm

at the First Community Center of Spencer

215 5th Street

Spencer, NC 28159

$5 Admission or Free for Museum Members

$10 Per Bag - No Limit!

Pay at the Door (Cash or Card)

Bag Sale Sneak Peek:

Never Been to a Bag Sale Before?

Let Kathy, Nancy & Perry Show You How It's Done!



Video:

World Doll Day

June 14

Free Admission to the Museum!

Before or after you shop the Bag Sale, head over to the museum for FREE ADMISSION and a full day of fun as we celebrate World Doll Day!

Sat, June 14

10 am to 4 pm

Free doll for every guest.

Free admission to the museum.

at the NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures

440 South Salisbury Ave

Spencer, NC 28159

No registration required.

New Summer Dates!

Afternoon Tea & Family Fun

We have an exciting new spin on our Afternoon Tea events this summer!

Join us in June, July, and August for Afternoon Tea & Family Fun events that include the afternoon tea experience you love with an added family film!

All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Sat, June 7

2 pm to 4 pm

Sat, July 5

2 pm to 4 pm

Sat, August 2

2 pm to 4 pm

All ages!

$5 for museum members.

$10 for non-members plus museum admission.

at the NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures

440 South Salisbury Ave

Spencer, NC 28159

Call us to RSVP: (704) 762-9359

In addition to offer free and discounted admission to SNAP recipients through the Museums for All program year-round, we are proud to participate in the national Blue Star Museums program, offering free admission to the museum to all active duty military families from May 17 to September 1, 2025.

This nationwide Blue Star Museums program is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and museums like our across America.

Active duty service members from the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, Space Force, as well as members of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, and NOAA Commissioned Corps, along with up to five family members, are eligible for free admission by presenting appropriate identification.

Accepted forms of ID include the Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), DD Form 1173-1 ID card, or the Next Generation Uniformed Services (Real) ID card.

We are proud to be the only museum in Rowan County to take part in this program.

Recap:

Annual Live Auction

Our annual Treasures of the Past Live Auction is an important fundraiser for the museum, but it's also one of our community's favorite gatherings with stunning dolls and other items up for grabs.

We want to thank everyone who made our 2025 live auction a BIG success! We got so much positive feedback about it, and it wouldn't have been possible without the help of our auctioneer, photographer, staff and board, volunteers, and (of course) all our guests!

Museum Moment:

Sir Spencer in Oak Island

In our last newsletter, we shared that Sir Spencer had made his way to a British town...well just look where he is now!

Sir Spencer hitched a ride with our Society member Lynn Montgomery to Oak Island!

Thank you, Lynn, for sending us this amazing photo to share!

We want YOU to take Sir Spencer with you on your next adventure! Reach out to us if you'd like to purchase a Diana Vining Sir Spencer paper doll. We promise, he's a very affable traveler. Just $2 in the museum gift shop or we can ship him to you for $4.

Museum Moments:

International Intrigue

It is always incredible when the museum receives visitors from so far beyond our own backyard. This spring, we welcomed visitors to the museum all the way from China and Costa Rica!

Museum Moments:

Donations from the Heart

There would be nothing for our visitors to see without the generosity of our donors!

Beth is pictured below with Lois Davis, who has been a generous museum donor for years. She brought in an extra-special donation recently. This vintage cat plush has a zipper on her tummy. When you unzip it, there are three little kittens inside!

The cat is well-loved: in fact, she has been in Lois's possession for 50 years! Thank you, Lois, for all your support over the years and for entrusting this sweet kitty to the museum.

If you've attended any of our museum events or simply keep up with our newsletters and social posts, you'll recognize Linda Tancordo Behrendt - a dedicated museum supporter and a past Volunteer of the Year award recipient.

Linda made a special donation this spring: some lovely ladies who have joined the museum's collection.

"My brother asked me why these dolls were my favorite," Linda explained. "I said to him because, at that time, these were the only teenage dolls in the stores - a few years before the Barbie doll. They had lipstick, high heels and stockings, too."

Museum Moment:

Who's That Lady?

A lot of people who visit the museum wonder, "who are these two ladies?" when they see two dressed-up, one-of-a-kind art dolls with their fancy hats.

Lou Wilson is a longtime museum supporter who has a dolly likeness at the museum. Now you know that the real-life Lou's smile lights up the whole room, just like the doll version - and her hats are second to none.

Collection Spotlight:

Memorial Day 2025

In celebrating Memorial Day in May, we took a moment to recognize a veteran and the doll that intersected his life and service.

William Muir Bucher served in World War II. His regiment was almost wiped out, and Bill himself was taken prisoner and liberated. He was just 19 years old.

He experienced extreme hardship in serving his country. In 1945, he was hospitalized, during which he purchased or received the Belgian Army doll you see here.

Bill hand-embroidered the doll as a gift for his sister, who was in high school.

Years after Bill passed away, his son, Bill Jr. (who is local to our area of Salisbury), found an almost identical doll and purchased it.

These dolls represent selflessness in service, pride for our veterans, and the power of these kinds of items to represent not just a period of our shared history but also one individual’s life and legacy.

Collection Highlights

Dolly-versaries

On April 23, we celebrated Shirley Temple's birthday. Did you know that our museum has the largest Shirley Temple doll collection on the east coast?

Shirley became a national film phenomenon in 1934 at six years old. That's also the year iconic Shirley Temple dolls were launched.

Shirley Temple dolls became the most popular celebrity dolls ever made.

On May 28, we also recognized the birthday of the Dionne quintuplets - five Canadian sisters born two months premature who became the first quints to survive past infancy.

They captured the world’s wonder and inspired extensive lines of dolls, toys, and merchandise. In 2018, the Canadian government recognized their birth as a nationally historic event.

The Madame Alexander Doll Company got the sole rights to creating Dionne quints dolls and released composition likenesses in 1936. 

Miniature Magic

A Dollhouse Donation

A huge thank-you to Steve and his wife for donating several stunning miniature houses to the museum this spring.

Stay tuned, mini lovers: our next newsletter will include amazing sights at the Lakeland Miniature Show plus registration for our 2025 annual miniature luncheon!

Trains, Trucks & More

Lionel Coal Elevators

Featured items for our train collection at the museum are Lionel’s No. 96 and No. 97 coal elevators. Both are operating accessories designed to enhance the operation of a Lionel toy train layout.

Looking at the picture, one must look closely to see the difference: the primary difference is that the No. 96 has a manually operated chain that brings buckets of coal up to the yellow storage bin. If you look closely at the picture, you can see a small hand crank in the black base on the side of the elevator. It drives the chain that brings the buckets up to the storage bin.

The No. 97 elevator operates automatically with a motor driving a chain that brings the small buckets carrying the coal up to the storage bin.

Both coal elevators were designed and made during the Lionel Pre-War era (1900 to 1942).

The No. 96 was only made from 1938 to 1940. The No. 97 was made between 1939 and 1942, then again from 1946 to 1950 during what is known as the Lionel Post-War era. It was introduced again in 1999 as model number 97-32921.

Lionel had stopped making toy trains during the war and concentrated on making items primarily for the Navy.

Both the elevator structure and the structure supporting the coal storage bin were normally painted aluminum/silver on all models and all years.  However, in 1942, those structures on the elevator were painted gray due to wartime restrictions on aluminum/silver paint. The 1942 models are very rare and hard to find.

These coal elevators were prototypical of actual elevators of the time (not an exact design, but similar looking).

The train operator would pull a train up alongside the bin at the front of the elevator and dump artificial coal into the bin at the base of the elevator.

Then the coal would be transported in small buckets up to the yellow bin (manually or automatically, depending on the model).

After the bin was full, another train would pull up to the other side of the elevator. The train operator would then push a button to open a door at the base of the storage bin.

The coal would dump into the waiting hopper car (as depicted in the picture) or other coal-carrying train cars.

As always, we send a HUGE thanks to Ed Klebaur and our volunteer train team for their assistance in sharing the love of model trains with our community both in-person at the museum and digitally through our newsletter and social media posts.

Museum Memberships

This membership list was last updated on May 15, 2025.

Your annual membership provides critical funding for our maintenance, acquisitions, and programming. To see the different levels of membership we offer and sign up, click here.

You can pay your dues by mailing in a check, or you can pay online.

Thank You! 

Thanks to you, our mission continues to preserve history, enrich the community, and spread joy.

Reply to this email if you’d like to connect with a member of our staff, volunteer, share feedback, or make a suggestion. We love hearing from you!