Viva Las Vegas! Let the Hurricanes Roar, We will Win Over All!

I dedicate this post to the people of Las Vegas and to the State of Nevada, and the many happy doll adventures I have had there over the years.  I also dedicate it to my friend Troy who lives in LV, and to Sandy Rankow, of Sandy Rankow Antique Dolls, formerly in Las Vegas. Also, I dedicate this post to Mark G. and his family, and hope you are well and safe. I dreamed over her ads in Hobbies Magazine when I was a little girl. And I dedicate it to my folks; we used to drive through Las Vegas, or Winnemucca, Reno [where we stopped at a family run Italian grocery store for cheese and fresh bread], Battle Mountain [where we made my first Holly Hock doll], and Carson City, with its great restaurants  and the state museum with its collection of dolls dressed in historical clothing.

Public Domain

My memories are happy of these trips, and I found dolls there, often.  A Native American doll made of yarn and cloth designed for infants in a traditional manner, the carved doll that was a miniature of the life-sized statues in Winnemucca.  I found a Wendy in mint condition at Bally's MGM Grand along with old movie stills.  In one casino, I found a carved Cherokee doll wearing a miniature, perfect fringed leather jacket.   I love Caesar's Palace, and was thrilled when I got a smile from "Cleopatra" being carried on her pallet.


It was all in good fun; full of glitz and glamor.  I treasure my show girl doll, made by a retired show girl, and the feather I saved at Reno's "Hello, Hollywood Hello!"  I treasure my first and only Rustie doll, also designed by a dance, and all the mementos saved from the casinos. 


Let's not forget Huguette Clark's father was instrumental in creating the city we all know and love. She, of course, was the consummate doll collector.


What madness rules the rule today!  What madness we cannot define.  Where human evil leaves off, Nature seems to take over.  Let the Hurricane Roar was the original title of a novel by Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the oldest correspondent to cover The Vietnam War. And, roar the hurricanes did.  And Montana and the West burned, and all of these are places where I have friends, family and colleagues.  All of these are places I have loved and traveled, and hope to see again.


We at The Museum send our love and prayers to all those victimized by these cataclysmic events, and we hope for peace and love in 2018.