With corn husks drying on a table under the pavilion at the Newton County Historical Park and Museum, 15 people attended a demonstration on how to make corn husk dolls on Saturday afternoon.
Shirley Sites, a Newton County Historical Society member and volunteer with the George Washington Carver National Monument, took the children in attendance back in time to make the dolls.
“Corn husk dolls are something that little kids probably heard their grandmas talk about making,” Sites said. “My grandmother had some old corn husk dolls on display that she made when she was a child.”
Sites has volunteered with the National Park Service for more than 15 years by doing living history programs.
“It was one of the programs they offered for children making corn husk dolls, lye soap and programs like that,” she added.
“There are about seven steps in making a doll, and it is just going to be made with husks off of commercial or privately farmed corn.”
Sites said one of the steps is to keep the corn husk wet, that way it is easier to work them.
“Because you are doing a lot of twisting and working for the skirts and stuff,” she said. “Once they are dry, they are pretty sturdy.”
Abby Bradford, 10, Izzy Bradford, 6 and grandmother, Sandi Bullington attended the event.
Abby said this was her first time making corn husk dolls.
“(We do this) so we can make them for Christmas presents,” Abby said.
Bullington added, “We do homemade Christmas presents every year for her class, and so last year we did an okra thing.”
The two children attend Trinity Learning Center, south of Neosho.
Last year, they made okra angels.
“We just try each year to give something unique,” Bullington said. “Their classes are five to seven (students). We have to start this early to get this many done.”
This year, they plan on making 15 homemade Christmas presents, however, that might increase.
“The okra things went over so well that people requested them after we gave them, we made 48,” Bullington said. “We do lots of things together. They also have an handkerchief doll that they are going to do, I have the directions for that.”
Even though this was the first time that Abby has made a corn husk doll, she has seen them at other places.
