Cornhusks, Yarn, Rags, And Feathers Were Used For Dolls And Pillows

 When Grandma B and Marlee heard about Nell's dress and saw the pictures of what the dresses for women in those days looked like Grandma B got out her phone and showed everyone the paper dolls that Grandma Lu had sent Marlee. They were all dresses of what women wore in the 1850's. As people were looking at the pictures Grandma Lu said, these paper dolls are what the dresses looked like in the city, not out on the trail.

Marlee said, "I got tired of trying to play with them. I decided I would rather play with Zeke and my real dolls."

Grandma Lu chuckled and said, "You won't believe this, Marlee, but I only had one doll when I was little. I had a lot of paper dolls though that my mom helped me cut out of old catalogues. I thought it was a little bit fun, but I would rather read books than play with dolls when I was just a little older than you are."

Marlee asked Grandma Lu what Marlee Ada in the story played with. Grandma Lu said that her mama showed her how to make a corn husk doll and a yarn doll. Lots of little girls had rag dolls which are still popular nowadays because they are soft and cuddly. Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy are fun rag dolls.

Little girls loved them so much the stores started selling them in 1880 about thirty years after Nell travelled to Iowa. Rag dolls were made from scraps of sewing material and yarn and stuffed sometimes with feathers! Yes feathers. My mama stuffed her own pillows with down and feathers that she had picked from her chickens and ducks. It takes a lot of ducks and chickens to make enough down and feathers to make even one pillow. She would take white pillow cases or feed sacks and fill them to almost full then hang them on the clothesline on cool windy days. It couldn't be hot because the quills in the feathers have oil in them. It took a long long time to get enough feathers for the whole family. The ladies also stuffed mattress ticking with the down and feathers to make very soft mattresses. They called them feather beds. My sister and I had one on our bed. The pioneers did too. The pillows needed to have new feathers stuffed in them every year or they got lumpy and very uncomfortable.

Grandma Lu grinned and said, "I loved to pick the feathers out of my pillows when I was a little girl. Sometimes the sticky out part would poke through the casing and tickle my nose. My mother scolded me when I did that though."

Grandma Lu showed the children a picture of a lady holding a duck and putting the feathers in a sack that she had hung over a chair. It doesn't hurt a duck and they lose them anyway.

Charlie said, "Does Marlee Ada in Iowa have dolls and nice feather pillows? She doesn't have a mama yet, does she?"

Grandma Lu said, "I'm afraid that Marlee Ada doesn't, Charlie. Hopefully her new ma will get there soon. She has about forty miles to go yet. That was a long ways in those days. Hopefully the man called George and his friends and other travelers will get her there safely."