News From the Director

We are certainly feeling the love this month!

Can you believe that it has been one year since we invited you to Sign a Stud at our museum's future home?

At the time, it was hard to visualize a fully-fledged doll, toy, and mini museum inside the space.

It was important to us to keep you posted every step of the way as construction continued. We loved your enthusiasm - and nothing compared to the excitement we all shared when our forever home finally opened its doors.

The studs that so many of you signed with heartfelt messages are now hidden from view inside our beautiful new museum.

However, hidden from sight does not mean hidden from our hearts! Every single day, we feel thankful for the love and support you gave us. You made our dream a reality.

We hope you'll find something to love in this month's museum newsletter, whether it is our live auction announcement, a fabulous podcast opportunity for the museum, a magical mini, our dedicated volunteers, or our action figure spotlight.

With my love & thanks,

Beth M. Nance

Founder and Executive Director

Upcoming Events

Join Us for a

Grand Opening Celebration!

Join us to celebrate the official grand opening of our doll, toy & miniature museum’s forever home!

Saturday, March 22

from 9:30 am to 4 pm

At the NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures

440 South Salisbury Ave, Spencer, NC 28159

Enjoy half-price admission to the museum with door prize giveaways every hour plus snacks & drinks and activities for kids & kids-at-heart. Tour the museum’s beautiful forever home and see new displays as you enjoy our collection of dolls, dollhouses, toys, miniatures, trains, trucks, and so much more. 

No registration required!

If you’re a museum member (past or present), you can enjoy an exclusive after-hours celebration on Friday, March 21. We will send you all the details!

Registration Now Open!

Annual Live Auction

Join us for our annual live auction with auctioneer Nancy Farley, who will tempt you with incredibly diverse boxed lots, individual dolls, toys, model trains, dollhouses, miniatures, and so much more.

Saturday, April 5

9 am: early registration & sneak preview for members only

10 am: public registration & preview

11 am: auction begins

at the First Community Center of Spencer

215 5th Street

Spencer, NC 28159

$10 for non-members

FREE for museum members (join today)

Registration is required!

In Our Community

2 Shows in NC

The museum will be attending these 2 exciting doll events in March here in NC. If you can join us, please let us know - we'd love to say hello!

• Southeastern Doll, Toy & Miniature Show. Saturday, March 1 in Asheville, NC. Pay at the door. Click here for details.

• Dolly's Holiday - 32nd Annual Land O'Sky Doll Club Luncheon. Saturday, March 29 in Flat Rock, NC. Click here for details & registration.

Black Doll Symposium

Free Virtual Event!

Duke University's virtual Black Doll Symposium was one of our favorite events in 2024. The Symposium will return March 14-15, 2025!

This online gathering brings together diverse speakers, historians, content creators, and artists to share their knowledge of black dolls of the present and past. 2025's program includes a special welcome from artist and doll collecting legend Betye Saar.

It's FREE to attend, but registration is required. Hope to see you there!

PS: We have been celebrating Black Doll History Month throughout February. We'll give you a recap of our top posts and photos in our next newsletter!

Gladys McDowell

Doll Club

"We had a wonderful meeting yesterday and I can’t thank you all enough for making our club so special. The turnout was great for Beth’s informative presentation on Ada Lum dolls and on the NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures. I’m ready for a field trip down there - let’s go! "

Thank you to the Gladys McDowell Doll Club of Norfolk, Virginia for the opportunity to share our passion for Ada Lum dolls in celebration of the Lunar New Year.

You can click the button below to learn about Ada Lum dolls from Beth's 2024 doll luncheon presentation:

The Dollpreneur

Podcast Interview

We were so excited to get the chance to appear on one of the doll world's favorite podcasts: The Dollpreneur Podcast with Georgette Taylor!

Listen to Beth's interview now on YouTube below or find it on your favorite podcast platform.

Museum Moments

Volunteers & Spa Days

Some of our dolls got a dolly spa day - thanks to the love and care of our many dedicated museum volunteers!

Here's museum member Debra Cook helping to unpack precious dolls:

And Wanda, a visitor from Wisconsin, volunteering at the museum during her time in our area this winter:

And it wasn't just our dolls who were in line for a makeover. Special thanks to our volunteer train team, including Gary and John, who are working to transform and upgrade the appearance our train layout.

Collection Spotlight

Miss Row Ann & the First Ladies

If you are a history buff, this was a huge month for you at the museum!

Each February, we celebrate Washington's Birthday and the anniversary of a Rowan County town charter: our neighboring town of Salisbury, NC was founded 270 years ago.

Our Miss Row Ann doll celebrates a little-known part of our history: George Washington himself visited Salisbury!

Miss Row Ann wears a handmade dress created as a replica of a gown worn to the inaugural ball celebrating Washington's tour of the South in 1791. At the time, the little town of Salisbury was the westernmost settled area of the states.

Special thanks to the Rowan Doll Society for making Miss Row Ann a part of our collection.

(Note: photo is from the archives and is not an up-to-date representation of the club.)

There is much more to learn about local history, with adventures and iconic historical figures crossing paths with Rowan County - including soldiers, preachers, unlikely heroes, gold-seekers, and presidents-to-be.

Learn about this eye-opening chapter of US history in our video:

As we celebrated Presidents Day, we invited all our friends and followers to "remember these ladies": the First Ladies, as captured by Madame Alexander Doll Company between 1976 and 1990.

MA's First Ladies are dressed in outfits that uniquely commemorate a noteworthy event or a memorable style moment. The 38-doll collection runs from Martha Washington to Pat Nixon.

Did you know that not all First Ladies are Presidents' wives? They can be daughters, daughters-in-law, nieces, sisters, or other members of the family.

You will not want to miss Beth's presentation on the First Ladies dolls, which includes historical tidbits and beautiful up-close photos:

Miniature Magic

"Fireplace Weather"

February is still making us shiver. How about you?

We think it's time to curl up next to one of these beautifully detailed miniature fireplaces from the museum collection. Which one is your favorite?

We'll spotlight one of these stunning miniature houses in more detail this March.

Trains, Trucks & More

Don't Call Me Doll!

We recognized two special celebration days recently that gave us a chance to spotlight some of the action figures in our museum collection.

Dress them up, pose them, style them, and take them on adventures...just don't call them dolls!

GI Joe Day was February 1! Did you know that GI Joe was one of the first toys to ever be called an “action figure"?

Hasbro hoped the term "action figure" would help the articulated 12-inch figure appeal to boys—and it worked!

GI Joe was introduced by Hasbro in 1964, but the iconic all-American military hero was created by inventor Stanley Weston in 1963.

A special signature attribute of GI Joe figures are the scars on their faces. GI Joe’s signature facial scar was a way to make it harder to produce counterfeit GI Joe figures.

Over the years, GI Joe got the chance to be an adventurer and secret agent. In the mid-1970s, he got a few specialist buddies with the introduction of atomic Man and Bullet Man. In 1976, he got an “eagle eye” mechanic with a lever attached to his back. 

In the 1980s, as smaller Star Wars toys became popular, GI Joe was reduced for 12 inches tall to just 3.75 inches tall. 

With his smaller size came the introduction of Hasbro’s colossal USS Flagg Aircraft Carrier, the largest playset ever made and the Holy Grail of playsets for GI Joe fans.

The playset was released in 1985 and is a true-to-scale set that is nearly 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet tall (imagine the size of a twin bed!) 

The playset includes an onboard sound system for making announcements. Back in 1985, it sold for an impressive $110. 

In 2023, a mint-condition USS Flagg Aircraft Carrier sold for over $11,000!

This month we also celebrated National Boy Scout Day. Our Boy Scout action figures were ready to celebrate their big day:

Kenner dolls Steve Scout, Bob Scout, and Craig Cub are on display at the museum.

The 1970s line features articulated bodies, scouting uniforms, and playsets for scouting adventures. 

Museum Memberships

This membership list was last updated on February 20, 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!