Mother and Daughter
Charlotte Brubaker and Ann Brubaker Greenleaf Wirtz
1988
In the fall of the year 1959, our sixth grade Girl Scout troop, under the excellent and inspirational leadership of Audree McConnell (1923-2019), participated in a county-wide Christmas project to provide gifts for underprivileged children. All troops in the St. Louis area were asked to sew Raggedy Ann dolls.
This beloved doll has a fascinating history, with its origin a combination of legend and fact. Individuals are unchanged, but the discovery varies. One version states the daughter, Marcella Delight (1902-1915), finds a faceless cloth doll in her grandmother’s attic and brings it to her father, Johnny Gruelle (1880-1938), who creates the iconic face and appearance.
In the second version, according to Raggedy Ann historian Patricia Hall (raggedy-ann.com/patty), his wife Myrtle Swann Gruelle (1884-1968) tells the story differently. She recalls her husband finding the doll in his mother’s attic several years before their daughter is born. Later, he observes Marcella playing happily with her dolls, bringing the rag doll to mind. Gruelle, a political cartoonist, author, and illustrator begins writing stories based on the imaginative play he observes, using the cloth doll with the unique features he creates as the main character.
The inspiration for the doll’s name comes from two poems written by Gruelle’s at one time suburban Indianapolis, Indiana, neighbor, well-known Hoosier, James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916), who received the title “the poet of the common people” for his homespun poetry (britannica.com). Riley’s famous poems, “The Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphant Annie,” combined to make the perfect name for Gruelle’s iconic doll: Raggedy Ann.
Tragically, Marcella dies at age 13 and her death is attributed to a contaminated needle used to administer a second smallpox vaccination, given without her parents’ permission. Marcella’s death in November 1915 occurred six months after her father applied for a U.S. patent on his Raggedy Ann doll in May, with the patent for her name filed in June. In 1920 Gruelle patented his design for the doll’s brother and fellow adventurer Raggedy Andy. The popularity of Raggedy Ann makes it a very special gift to receive, and the Girl Scouts were ready to make that Christmas wish come true.
Our meetings were held once a week at our leader’s warm and inviting home, conveniently located just down the block from Avery School. Her daughter and good friend, Tina, was in my class, and those golden elementary years were enhanced by the fun we all had together as members of our wonderful troop.
We received the pattern for our Raggedy Ann doll, and the creativity began. I had earned my Sewing badge, and it was attached to my Girl Scout sash, but my skills were still very rudimentary. It was obvious to my mother, Charlotte Brubaker (1910-2002), and to myself that sewing a satisfactory doll was rather questionable. My strength was found in making straight, not intricate, seams and designs. Plus, I was busy at school and involved in other activities, so there was not a lot of free time for sewing.
My mother was a fine seamstress and had made many delightful outfits for me. She also made clothes for the dolls I always requested at Christmas time, so, she made the Raggedy Ann doll with some basic though limited help from me. The finished doll was so adorable it was hard to part with her! But on a Saturday in early December, our troop congregated with hundreds of others at Kiel Auditorium to present our Raggedy Ann dolls for distribution.
This grand Municipal Auditorium was dedicated in 1934 and renamed Kiel Auditorium in 1943 to honor Henry Kiel, the St. Louis Mayor and visionary behind its construction. The auditorium was smartly conceived to offer two simultaneous events. The front was the Kiel Opera House, and as a fifth and sixth grade student I went on multiple educational field trips there to learn about the various instruments and to hear an inspiring concert.
A large venue was located behind the Opera House, and that was where we proudly, though in my case somewhat reluctantly, delivered our handmade dolls that wintery morning.
Although Kiel Auditorium was a landmark, it was demolished in 1992 to make way for the Enterprise Center, which opened in 1994 with a hockey arena for the NHL St. Louis Blues. It is also the site for basketball, wrestling, concert, and pageant events, maintaining Mayor Kiel’s original intent for multiple community happenings in that location.
I never forgot the Raggedy Ann doll Mom made, and over the years requested she make another one for me. And she finally did. After graduation from Webster Groves High School in 1966, I headed that fall to Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, to ultimately pursue my degree in elementary education. Tucked in my suitcase was a brand-new Raggedy Ann doll.
Fifty-eight years later, this precious doll smiles at me even now, as she sits across the room radiating her Raggedy Ann personality. She blesses my life with the greatest gift a daughter could ever have: the memory of a loving mother.
Dear Reader, may you cherish your long-ago Christmas memories as you make new ones to treasure. Every good wish and blessing to you, and may you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Published in The Pulse newspaper, Brentwood, MO
December 2024
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