Enormous Raggedy Ann collection needs a home
»Play Video
SEATTLE - A Seattle woman wants to find a permanent home for her enormous collection of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls before she dies.
Kathy Jackson has so many dolls you could spend hours looking and not see the same one twice.
The fact is, she lives in a literal doll house.
"If you're talking about Raggedy Anns you really need to get prepared from the front door on," she says. "They're up and down and all over and everywhere."
Her rooms are overrun with redheads. She has a Raggedy Ann ring, watches, pinatas, pillows, paintings, plaques, games and books.
"Little, tiny ones - big ones, coffee cups, towels, sheets," Kathy adds.
She owns nearly 6,000 Raggedy Anns and Andys. She's been told it's the world's largest private collection.
The dolls even have their own closet of clothes, and have taken over her kitchen bathroom and bedroom.
Each doll has its own personality, it's own story - and Kathy remembers every one.
"This is Spike, the trouble maker - he's always in time out," she says.
The oldest doll is from 1915. He's naked, so he goes to the nudist colony.
"My very first one was this little darling here," Kathy says, displaying a small doll that now reclines on a shelf. Her husband found it when she had surgery.
Then they just kind of started multiplying.
Now, as Kathy nears 70, she wants to make sure her dolls find a permanent home and doesn't want to burden her sons.
"I would have to build a museum or have a 53-foot semi to run 'em around in," says one son.
Museums have told Kathy they don't have room for her colossal collection, but it's in her will that the babies must stay together.
"It's just like your children - you don't pick favorites, they're all my kids," she says.
Kathy never tires of her dolls.
"They always have a smile on their face - so why would you tire of that?" she says.
She, too, promises to die with a smile on her face. If her wish is met, she's already got the Raggedy Ann urns.
Kathy Jackson has so many dolls you could spend hours looking and not see the same one twice.
The fact is, she lives in a literal doll house.
"If you're talking about Raggedy Anns you really need to get prepared from the front door on," she says. "They're up and down and all over and everywhere."
Her rooms are overrun with redheads. She has a Raggedy Ann ring, watches, pinatas, pillows, paintings, plaques, games and books.
"Little, tiny ones - big ones, coffee cups, towels, sheets," Kathy adds.
She owns nearly 6,000 Raggedy Anns and Andys. She's been told it's the world's largest private collection.
The dolls even have their own closet of clothes, and have taken over her kitchen bathroom and bedroom.
Each doll has its own personality, it's own story - and Kathy remembers every one.
"This is Spike, the trouble maker - he's always in time out," she says.
The oldest doll is from 1915. He's naked, so he goes to the nudist colony.
"My very first one was this little darling here," Kathy says, displaying a small doll that now reclines on a shelf. Her husband found it when she had surgery.
Then they just kind of started multiplying.
Now, as Kathy nears 70, she wants to make sure her dolls find a permanent home and doesn't want to burden her sons.
"I would have to build a museum or have a 53-foot semi to run 'em around in," says one son.
Museums have told Kathy they don't have room for her colossal collection, but it's in her will that the babies must stay together.
"It's just like your children - you don't pick favorites, they're all my kids," she says.
Kathy never tires of her dolls.
"They always have a smile on their face - so why would you tire of that?" she says.
She, too, promises to die with a smile on her face. If her wish is met, she's already got the Raggedy Ann urns.
