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working at a home in Mississippi. Looking inside the house from a window, he noticed a small child standing in the corner with a dejected posture. It took him 30 minutes to complete his job, and the child had not moved.
The sight upset him so, he irately questioned the mother, “What did that child do that was so horrible she has to stand in the comer so long?”
Recently, a woman was driving and had a Berta Baby sitting beside her in the passenger seat. She was pulled over because the “child” was not wearing a seat belt! Spreading the word
When they are not making the dolls, Joann and Frank promote them by traveling all over the state to arts and crafts festivals.
Joann relates that her most successful show was in Dale City, where she sold 30 dolls in less than three hours. They have also had enormous success at the Madison and Orange street festivals.
People are intrigued by the dolls at the festivals. For many, “These dolls trigger memories,” says Joann.
She recalls onlookers saying, “That’s exactly how little Johnny used to stand” and “That looks just like my little girl,” or “That’s just the way she wore her hair!”
Berta Babies are dolls for adults, Joann explains.
“They touch a chord with adults whose children are grown, and others for various reasons,” she said. “Some people find them hysterically funny.
At a festival in Edinburg, Joann recounted a child psychologist’s reaction. “She couldn’t stop laughing for an hour!”
“Men go crazy over these
94.5%