Museum opens new exhibit of dolls

By Rob Vogt
Looking back, for many children dolls are their “Cherished Childhood Friends”.
On Dec. 1, the Claresholm and District Museum held an official opening for its brand new exhibit, a collection of more than 250 dolls from Gwendolen Toone, fittingly called, “Cherished Childhood Friends.”
Members of the Toone family, including Gwendolen’s daughters Betty and Marie and son Bill, were on hand to cut the ribbon to officially open the exhibit.
Earl Taylor, vice-chair of the museum board, introduced the exhibit.
“What you see here came from the generosity of the Toone family,” he said, adding it can be enjoyed by Claresholm, district and visitors.
“This my friends will bring people to the museum.”
Bill Kells, executive director of the museum, explained the genesis of the exhibit.
“We are very excited to be doing this exhibit,” he began.
Then he turned his attention to Jordyn Wallace, who works at the museum but whose grandmother was sisters with Gwendolen Toone.
“Jordyn’s pretty much been doing all the heavy lifting,” Kells said.
It all started when he received a call from Rita Toone, Bill’s wife.
She asked if the museum would be interested in a collection of 400 dolls.
“We’ll come have a look,” Kells said at the time.
So, Kells and Ali Hemmaway, who worked at the museum at the time, visited with Bill and Rita Toone and looked at the dolls.
Kells then took the idea to the board, and they agreed to take the dolls and put them on display.
The collection was downsized, and put together in an exhibit of dolls through time.
“We could have just put them in a case, but that’s not what museums do,” Kells said. “Museums have to tell the history.”
Part of that history is making the connection of the Toone family to the history of Claresholm.
The exhibit, which was opened to the public for Old Fashioned Christmas on Dec. 1, will run through all of 2024.
Bill Toone expressed his appreciation for the exhibit, noting his mother knew exactly where the first 30 or 40 dolls came from, but the collection kept growing and growing.
“I’m glad everyone can enjoy it now,” he said.