A month or so ago I moved most of the stuff from our basement here to the house in town. Â In the process I came across a doll that I had bought at a garage sale. Â The doll is just like the one I had as a kid. Â She was my “Suzie” doll.
My hope was that once the kids moved out I would set up guest rooms and would have the doll as some sort of decoration there…but I forgot about her.
We don’t have a very good basement here so even though she was in a tote, she ended up looking like this. Â I felt sick.
I felt even worse when I saw how her eyes looked.
It was just plain creepy.
I was really nervous on how to try to clean her up. Â I was worried if I messed with her eyes that they wouldn’t open and close the way they were suppose to. Â I also worried that if I used the wrong cleaner it would damage the doll.
I started out with simple soap and water, a toothbrush and a scrub brush….and to my surprise, IT WORKED!!
She looks like my old “Suzie” and that makes me happy.
I think somewhere upstairs there is a container that has one of my “Suzie’s” doll clothes outfits. Â I know I have her old doll blanket. Â She just might make it into a spare bedroom and be part of the decor like I intended.
I do know one thing for sure, she isn’t going to the basement again. Â I am so happy she cleaned up. Â Anyone know what the name or brand of this doll was??
I got mine from my brother. Â When my older sister and him were kids they had gotten matching dolls for Christmas. Â I think that must have been in about ’55 or so. Â I wasn’t born until ’65. Â I’d just love to know what name she was sold under…maybe one of you know.
looks like a doll that was called ” Betsy wetsie” .
Yes,yes, Angie’s right, that sure looks like a Betsy Wetsie Doll !! I had one too !! Ebay has hundreds of clothes patterns too !! I probably had those too !! My favorite doll was Sweet Sue !! Ah, the memories !!
That’s probably why she is sitting on a towel!
I’m so glad you were able to clean her up!
Yup, I have one too…got her when I was 5 and I still have her!! That would make her 57 years old…give or take!
Eeuuuuuuuuuw! Was that mold? You’re a braver woman than I am!
(So glad you were able to rescue your doll.)
I’ve been looking for that DOLL! I had one just like it. I don’t remember where it went after I moved from the farm after I got married.
Omg I have one just like that.
How funny. I had a doll that I named Suzie also. But she had black hair. My grandma made clothes for her and another smaller doll that I had. Not sure where they are at my parents house. Hopefully stored somewhere safe!! Will have to check it out if I make it back there for Christmas.
My little sister who was born in 1951 got this doll (or one very similar) for Christmas when she was little probably very close to 1955. She named the doll Truly. Truly was still at mama’s when she died in 2009. All the grandkids and great grandkids (30 in all) played with Truly. My granddaughter decided Truly was no longer a girl and changed her name to John around 1993.
What a great clean up of your doll. When I saw the first photo I thought her colour had gone completely – what a surprise to see her looking beautiful again :)
Love your little baby, but I am not sure she is Betsy Wetsy. Betsy Wetsy had rooted hair. There are several fun videos on YouTube showing Betsy Wetsy and how she was made. Sometimes there is a marking or patent number on the back of the neck or on the doll’s backside. If there is any marking at all, you could likely identify the doll via googling. Good luck! She is a sweet keeper and you did a great job cleaning her up!