12 VALPARAISO FACT BOOK 2020
Collecting dolls is passion for young and old them. For Johnson, collecting dolls, creating clothes and accessories is an enjoyable hobby. She still does some interior design as well, By Cheri Shelhart usually she said, she directs people to the places they can go to Kankakee Valley Publishing get the best deals. She began her career in interior design in 1962. She took At 95 years young, Vera courses after she and her husband moved from Ohio to Johnson will happily talk about Indiana, although she’d been doing interior design before that. her doll collection, bears and She had three locations in Valparaiso over the years, one on her career as an interior designer. Lincolnway, another on Joliet and her last location was on She is a member of the Valparaiso Calumet St. “Now I just help people using my brain,” she Doll Club. Most years, she is busy said. “I don’t sell things any more but I enjoy being around preparing for the annual Doll & people. ” Bear Show at the Porter County Expo Vera met Earl in Chicago while she was in high school. Center in September, but this year the She went with a friend to pick him up. He was in the Air event has been canceled along with Force during World War II. She said they all went bowling many others. together and she said she went straight up to him and Johnson said she and her husband asked him about airplanes, and they became instant Earl, gave their daughter, Jacqueline, a friends. doll every year for Christmas. The first er After marrying in Ohio and moving to Indiana, lds h doll they gave her was a “flirty-eyed” doll, on ho saved s n h o J s a friend of theirs, a home builder from Kouts, was a a whose eyes seem to follow you as you walk Ver he h doll s ood. n w talking about his need for help with a model home. o h around the room. The doll, made in Italy, has a child ince s She said Earl “blurted out” that she could help with that. “It’s torso that twists and the hands are movable but funny how life works, ” she said. After that, she took up her career the knees don’t bend. It was a unique doll in its day. and hasn’t really left it since. As an interior designer, Johnson loved to sew and she would sew an outfit for her daughter and make a matching outfit for her doll. She also made clothes for Jacqueline’s Barbie dolls. The dolls had accessories, including miniature furniture and props and the collection grew. Jacqueline passed suddenly in 2001, leaving her dolls to Vera. That was when she began a collection of her own, adding to those her daughter had already collected. Six short weeks after Jacqueline died, she and Earl lost their only son, who died of cancer. Three years later, Earl was gone and Johnson was left with 1330 E. Commercial Ave., Lowell, IN 46356 her memories and her collection. Ph. 219.696.0444 Fax: 219.696.1443 This is the 26th year for the Valpo Doll & Friends Club, and the www.intrainingcollege.com club has about 30 members. She said there are a couple men who attend on occasion. The meetings are informative and interesting. Health Careers Since 1995 “It’s educational,” she said. “There’s so much to learn.” CNA Day Class The club sponsors the Doll & Bear Show each year, and it has become the largest of its kind in northwest Indiana. The show EKG Technician features antique and vintage dolls and collectibles. Pharmacy Technician After the show, the club decides where the money they raise Medical Billing & Coding from it will go in the form of grants. They have given money to the Hilltop organization, World Vision Club and the Boys & Phlebotomy Girls Club. The club began lining up collectors and vendors for Medical Assistant the doll show in January and the booths fill up fast, she said. Johnson enjoys these shows and attends doll and bear conventions across the country. She explained some of the CLASSES STARTING SOON! conventions require a certain kind of doll. She will enter one or more of her dolls that fit in the correct category and she has won Call for more information some awards. She said there are also doll vendors who sell items 219.696.0444 and give her new ideas on how to make dolls and accessories for
Valpo woman collects and shows dolls and bears
In Training, Inc. College Of Adult Education
