Alix Smith An extraordinary collection

By Mary Lynn Powers

Alix spent a quiet afternoon with me in her loft which is filled with the famous collectables. For those not familiar with American Girl Dolls, the company was started in 1986 by Pleasant Rowland, an educator who thought girls might be interested in learning about history through the dolls and the books that came with them.

Somewhere back then, someone put a catalog on Alix's desk, and she was a goner. She couldn't stop collecting them. She owns 36 dolls at this point She told me that since she didn't have children, she had cats and dolls instead. Alix stated that having read Little House on the Prairie growing up, she related to the Kirsten doll (above left top)who is a young girl in pioneer times. Pleasant Rowland attributes some of the ideas on the origins of the dolls to a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. Alix was sometimes invited to Stafford classrooms to share the Williamsburg doll Felicity with students and demonstrate her different clothing.

attended Sweet Briar College in southern Virginia, then Brown University for her M.A.T. (Masters of Art in Teaching) before accepting a position as a 7th/8th grade history teacher in Stafford County. She then became an Assistant Principal in the middle school. Later she headed the gifted program. She still works with the county in an advisory capacity within the Governor's School program. Her knowledge , though of American history partially explains how her collection of American Girl dolls grew.

The dolls are separated into two groups, mainly historic and modern. The company continues to add new lines such as Just Like You and Girl of the Year that reflect different nationalities and stories relating to the time periods that the dolls depict. Alix had the dolls dressed in their holiday finest for Christmas but has many different outfits and accoutrements for them. She keeps all the accessories in two cupboards that are meticulously organized and labeled. She has a plethora of accessories for the dolls including a VW bug and a miniature 1950s airstream camper There was even a small typewriter which would have belonged to Kit, the doll who wrote stories and wanted to be a reporter Kit hails from the 1930s, where the Depression period is a part of the story told in the accompanying book. She was one of Alix's favorites, described as inquisitive and creative.

When I asked Alix about her favorites, she said that was a difficult one. She said the first doll she acquired was Molly (with glasses) who hails from the 1940s WWII era. Molly reminds her of the stories her mother told her about living during that era. She stated that as she dresses the dolls, she relives the period of their life, and at that moment that doll becomes her favorite. I liked the 1970s kind of free spirit hippie girl - Julie, and the newest one depicting the 1920s Harlem Renaissance period - Claudie. They are all beautiful, so I understood her dilemma about naming a favorite. It is not only their physical beauty, but the character traits that are attributed through the books that build a story around the dolls.

Alix often has younger friends and relatives that come to play with the dolls, and she still is a teacher at heart in the way that she shares freely her history knowledge through the dolls. Many people have special collections, and this is a remarkable one.

Mary Lnn enjoys meeting and writing about interesting people & businesses in the 'Burg

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Guest Porch Editorial

Contributing Writers & Artists

Elyse AdamsAji Albertson

Rita Allan

Sally Cooney AndersonTodd Brown

Dianne BachmanLaurie Black

Meghan BudingerSonja Cantu

Collette CapraraIvory Causey

Michelle Crow-Dolby

Janet DouberlyJeannie Ellis

Jenna Elizabeth EdwardsFrank Fratoe

Bill FreehlingJon Gerlach

Jenny GrimesAnne Hicks

Ralph “Tuffy” Hicks

Nancy KellyDavid C. Kennedy

Peter Kolakowski

Ray MikulaVanessa Moncure

Pete MorelewiczPatrick Neustatter

Penny A Parrish

M.L. PowersGerri Reid

Paula RaudenbushRob Rudick

Mandy Smith

Anne TimpanoRim Vining

Tina WillNorma Woodward

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