Christmas tree gets all ‘dolled up’
- posted: 04 Dec. 2007
- scrollnews@byui.edu
Most Christmas trees are surrounded by lights and packages, but this tree is flanked by dolls — 65, in fact, that St. Anthony resident Ada Ostermiller has collected for nearly half a century.
“Some of the dolls I’ve got are 45 years old, maybe more than that,” Ostermiller said.
The mother of five boys and two girls, Ostermiller began making dolls and doll clothes when she had daughters of her own, a job that soon evolved into a large collection.
“It just kind of happened,” Ostermiller said. “For a long time, I made stuffed animals and doll clothes when my kids were little to earn a little extra money to support our family.”
Three generations of Ostermillers have delighted in playing with her first two dolls, a clown made from a sock and a Native American. “They’ve both been through the washer so many times,” Ostermiller said. “They’ve been played with so much.”
Her collection has expanded as grandchildren have returned from missions to such places as Ireland and Japan with dolls for their grandma’s collection.
Her favorite doll, a life-sized porcelain baby doll dressed in a lace christening dress, lies nestled in a chair by the tree. It was a Christmas gift from her daughter.
Her husband, George, an avid collector himself, says he thinks it’s great she has a few collections of her own.
“When we got married, we told each other it’s a fifty-fifty deal, and it’s been that way ever since,” George said. 
