`DOLL LADY' STILL GOING STRONG VOLUNTEER WORK KEEPS GRAVES BUSY.Byline: BETTIE RENCORET SENIOR COLUMNIST LANCASTER -- Billie Graves, better known as ``the doll lady,'' turned 88 last month. She's had a full and active life and looks forward to a continuation of past activities and maybe even some new ones. A dedicated volunteer, Graves was named Graceful Lady of the Year for 2006 during the second annual fashion show sponsored by Grace Resource Center's Thrift Shop thrift shop n. A shop that sells used articles, especially clothing, as to benefit a charitable organization. . As the first such honoree, she received multiple kudos for her tireless hours of service in that thrift shop and others. For 20 years, she has cleaned and repaired used dolls, making them like new again as suitable gifts for children at Christmastime for Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Hospital's New to You Thrift Shop. ``I have lots of help,'' she said. ``There're six of us that do the work. The other five are Nellie Gibbs, Betty Morgan, Louise Zoenzi, Judy Knoob and Linda Sheppard. We all have our specialties and we're good at what we do. We refurbish anywhere from 300 to 400 dolls every year." Graves has volunteered at Antelope Valley Hospital for an overall total of 6,500 hours and she has manned the information desk every Sunday for 20 years at her church, Grace Chapel. She is a member of the Christian Women's Club Women’s clubs first arose in the United States during the post-civil war period. As a result of increased leisure time due to modern household advances, middle class women had more time to engage in intellectual pursuits. and a former member of the Order of the Eastern Star The Order of the Eastern Star is the largest fraternal organization in the world that both men and women can join. It was established in 1850 by Rob Morris, a lawyer and educator from Boston, Massachusetts who had been an official with the Freemasons. . Billie -- whose real name is Mildred -- was born to Tom and Dora Bartlett, the youngest of five daughters, in Stratford, Okla., on Aug. 30, 1918. She went to school in nearby Chickasha and graduated from high school there in 1937. On Nov. 11, 1941, she married Thomas Graves
Admiral Sir Thomas Graves KB RN (1747?–1814), admiral, third son of the Rev. in Chickasha, before he began a hitch in the U.S. Army in 1942 and they moved to his Denver station. He was mustered out as a sergeant in 1945. They had three children, Sharon Hotton of Lancaster; David Graves of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. ; and Thomas Graves of Mekinook, N.D. The family moved around some and finally came to California in 1965, moving to Sunnyvale, Palo Alto Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. and, eventually, Torrance, where they stayed for five years. Thomas was a machinist and always had work until he suffered a heart attack. He died in May 1971 and Billie wound up in Lancaster in 1975. In Denver, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto, she worked as a meat wrapper and was so good at it that she stayed with that occupation for 25 years. She also worked for several years as a department and grocery store clerk. After 25 years, she retired from the Safeway chain in 1973. Graves has always had a trim figure and good bearing so she has done some fun things, too -- like modeling. Years ago, she served as a model for Alta Crusan and the Irene Somerset Clothing Store. She hasn't lost her ability to strut the runway, and has promenaded in fashions for Grace Resources benefits. In July 2005, she had a few falls and hurt herself, which worried her daughter. Hotton insisted that it was unsafe for her to live alone, so she and her husband moved Graves into their home. Graves bemoans the fact that bothersome infirmities have cramped her style a little, and she's had to slow down some. But she has to admit she loves being with her family and says they do everything they can to help her continue a modified lifestyle. She still has lots of plans. For one thing, she's done a lot of traveling over the years and wants to do some more. She wants to go to North Dakota North Dakota, state in the N central United States. It is bordered by Minnesota, across the Red River of the North (E), South Dakota (S), Montana (W), and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (N). soon and get a look at a great- grandson she's never seen. Then she hopes to take part in an upcoming church-sponsored trip to Alaska. She's also looking forward to the wedding of her granddaughter this month. An accomplished seamstress, her work on all the dolls has been a joy to her. She said she's been sewing most of her life. ``With three young children to make clothes for, my sewing machine sewing machine, device that stitches cloth and other materials. An attempt at mechanical sewing was made in England (1790) with a machine having a forked, automatic needle that made a single-thread chain. In 1830, B. was going all the time. I had a lot to do. Lately I've had to cut way back, but I think I'm ready I'm Ready is the double platinum second release from R&B singer Tevin Campbell. I'm Ready yielded the biggest R&B hit of his career the #1 R&B smash "Can We Talk", and produce 3 more successful hits in "I'm Ready", "Always In My Heart" and "Don't Say Goodbye Girl". now to get back to what I love -- alterations. There's always a need for those. I want to get busy again,'' she said, handing out her business card. Of course, she plans to make the 2007 Grace Resource Thrift Shop fashion show. ``I'll be there if they want me,'' she said. Menus for the week at the senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster and Palmdale have been announced. All meals include bread, margarine and coffee, tea or milk, for the suggested donation of $2. Monday: Chicken patty, mashed potatoes, green beans, marinated salad, cookie. Tuesday: Fish fillet fillet /fil·let/ (fil´et) 1. a loop, as of cord or tape, for making traction on the fetus. 2. in the nervous system, a long band of nerve fibers. fil·let n. 1. , au gratin potatoes, spinach, garden salad, orange. Wednesday: Roast turkey, bread stuffing, Normandy vegetables, cottage cheese cottage cheese a soft, uncured cheese made from soured skim milk; most of the lactose is removed with the whey. Used in low-residue diets for dogs and cats. with pineapple, gelatin gelatin or animal jelly, foodstuff obtained from connective tissue (found in hoofs, bones, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage) of vertebrate animals by the action of boiling water or dilute acid. with fruit. Thursday: Stuffed bell peppers, mashed potatoes, broccoli, tossed salad, pudding. Friday: Barbecued chicken, brown rice, cooked cabbage, carrot and raisin salad, pears. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Senior Billie Graves sits surrounded by some of the dolls she and five of her friends have refurbished as Christmas gifts for local children. Bettie Rencoret/Special to the Daily News |
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