Tom Crowl's three adoptees...

Many thanks to my friend Tom Crowl for generously adopting three great dummies at convention. Tom adopted Hunter girl, Lillie, and Jerry O'Leary. Thank you, Tom!

Hunter girl arrived at Vent Haven on February 11, 1944. According to seller Flora Koones, this doll was, "...made and used by a Civil War soldier to entertain his buddies and after the war used by him to give entertainments and help support himself." The soldier's name was Henry Hunter. Although Koones said Hunter made the doll, it is more likely that he modified it, as the doll strongly resembles a Greiner doll.

Isn't Lillie a beautiful girl? This dummy on a scooter was used by Valentine Vox and Emily Walters. Lillie isn't completely original, though. The head on this dummy is not the original head; Mr. Berger changed the head after acquiring the dummy. The head that belongs to this body is on display in the main garage building. (see photo on right) In the photo below, Vox and Walters are on stage with Lillie with her original head.

Jerry O'Leary was used by ventriloquist Bob Evans and donated to the museum by his widow, Virginia Grand. This dummy is a modified "Willie Talk" toy and Evans bought it for $3.98 in 1937. Famed ventriloquist (and Dean of American Ventriloquists) Jimmy Nelson points to Bob Evans as one of his primary inspirations to becoming a ventriloquist. Tragically, Bob Evans was killed in a car accident in 1951. He was 36.