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Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, November 29, 1978 5 Hafnd-crafted Do ils Hae Perf-zson alti esÊ Ail Theler tuOwna1 'm Gladys Ashton with a collection of her applehead dolls made to look like Snow White and the Sevlen Dwarfs. By Lynne Ainsworth On school holidays the Ashton home on Saunders Street in Bowmanville is a popular place for neigh- bouring children to visit. That's because Gladys Ashton has a collection of dolîs a seven-year-old would envy. In fact, she has so many she's running out- of places to put them. But these aren't ordinary dolîs. Each one i s special because it has been carefully and Iovingly handmade. Stuffed, carved or molded, the doils bear the stamp of a true craftsman. Each is representative of an age when toys were not mass-manufactured in the likeness of a famous personality, but hand- made with an indivi- duality ahl their own. Va'*ety Mrs. Ashton h s made every type of dol imaginable. Included in her collection are stuffed favorites like Raggedy Annand Andy, dols from pioneer days carved from wood or made from corn husks, clothespins, old stock- ings, apples or corn-. starch and flour. She's' even made a European upside down doîl where the skirt of one character hides the face of another until you turn it upside down. Although some of the dolîs, like the apple- heads or the stocking dolîs, aren't as cute or cuddly as the soft plastic toys today's children are used to, they do have a distinct look all their own. The applehead is believed to have originated with the first pioneers whose ingenuity turned an ordinary apple and a piece of stuffed cloth into a doîl. The' doll's head is made from an apple which,, when dried, takes on the- facial characteristics of a very old person.. It takes six weeks for each head to dry, says Mrs. Ashton, and until those six weeks are up you neyer know just what the head will look like. Natural Materials Like the pioneers, Mrs. Ashton tries to use as many natural materials las she can. Authenticity in both the design and the construc- tion of the dolîs is something she works hard to achieve. While the applehead, dolîs with their wrinkled faces and whimsical expressions appeal to adults, the stuffed characters ike Pipp Longstockings, Littfl Orphan Annie and her dog ' Sandy are children's favorites, says Mrs. Ashton. "I1 make more Raggedy Anns; and Andys than any of the others. Children just don't seem to get tired of them," she says. It seems fitting that her most popular ýdolîs are the ones she made, first. Her three-year- old hobby began with-a Raggedy Ann doîl made from 'a sewing book pattern. Today, she has some 70 different dolîs, many of them hier own creation. Whether or not she makes more of one type of doîl than another depends largely on a xi-year-old child's pmin The six-year- oldis Mrs. Ahston's Lrandson Paul, and he's 5e-rbiggest critic., Paul gave his okay for the Pippi Longstocking doîl, a storybook character with freckles and pigtails that stick straight out from her head like two giant horns but it was thumbs down for a trio of clowns with long curly noses. The noses seem to frighten young children, says Mrs. Ashton. Mrs. Ashton made hier first stuffed toy at the age of 10. "It was very frustrat- ing, " she recalîs, "I worked and 'riped and did it over unil I got it right. Af ter that I vowed I'd neyer make another." The mother of two boys, Mrs. Ashton wasn't to make another doîl until three years ago0 wher> she joined a charity group that made clothing and toys for a childreni's hospital. Today, she can't keep up with requests from both neighbours and shop owners for her dolîs. With a backlog of orders only Santa Claus himself cculd appreciate, Mrs. Ashton is busy sewing up a storm trying to complete the orders in time for Christmas. But lîke Santa Claus she won't promise any- thing she can't deliver. Popular around the late 1800's this wooden doil was hand carved by Mrs. Ashton. Both the doll's legs and arms are jointed for easy manoeuvrability. The stuffed dolls are children's favorites. A sampling of Mrs. Ashton's dolis. Left to right: an applehead dressed !in a Scottish clansman's regalia; a cornstarch doll with a painted face, and a doll carved from wood. AudfiFo Spirited 'CO,1.Sporty Elegant (4Economical A robust 16 litre overhead cam engine gives if dependlable spi ri t. The design and ease of handling make if sporty. The European styling and appointments make it elegant, and a fuel consumption rating of 8.3 litres/1 00 km.* makes if eco:nomicql to drive. 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