OXNARD HOME ALL DOLLED UP CLUB MARKS SHIRLEY'S BIRTHDAY.Byline: Krystn Shrieve Staff Writer OXNARD - When Lee Heath was a young girl, Shirley Temple dolls were given out as incentives for buying a magazine subscription. That's how she got her first doll. She ended up giving the toy away to a childhood friend, not realizing how much she would come to admire the woman whom the doll represented. But now, the Oxnard woman who says she's in her young 70s, has an entire room in her home dedicated to memorabilia of the star - books about her life, paper dolls
The television drama Paper Dolls aired for 14 episodes on ABC from September, 1984 to December, 1984. , photos and one of the pins Shirley Temple used to hand out to fans. Heath estimates she has at least 3,000 pictures of Shirley Temple, but her favorite by far is one signed when the actress was only 5 years old. ``She couldn't even write,'' Heath said. ``Her name was printed and kind of crooked. It's so precious. I've been offered money for it, but it's not for sale.'' More than 100 Shirley Temple fans from the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Canada will gather today at the Casa Sirena Hotel in Oxnard to celebrate child- star-turned-politician's 72nd birthday. The birthday bash is put on every year by members of the club Heath founded - Shirley Temple Collectors by the Sea - with a handful of women who saw firsthand first·hand adj. Received from the original source: firsthand information. first how the little girl with with curly locks and sweet dimples helped lift people's spirits during the Great Depression. Founded in 1982, the group that started with nine members from the Oxnard area has grown to include 350 members worldwide. The party comes a few days late this year, since the star's birthday was last week. ``All of us played with her dolls,'' said Heath, the mother of four adult children. ``We loved the dolls when we were younger. We saw her movies and that made us love her more. Even now we still watch the movies over and over.'' Shirley Temple made her motion picture debut at age 3 and was one of the most popular child stars on the silver screen in the 1930s. She won an honorary Oscar - a miniature version of the statuette given to grown up actors - in 1934 when she was 6. She made 25 movies during that decade including: ``Stand up and Cheer Stand Up and Cheer was a television series in the United States which ran in syndication for three consecutive seasons, beginning in 1971, hosted by Johnny Mann, with many musical numbers sung by his singers. ,'' ``Little Miss Marker,'' ``The Little Colonel,'' ``The Littlest Rebel'' and ``Dimples'' before retiring from motion pictures in 1949. One year later, she married Charles Black This article is about the law scholar. For the counterfeiter, see Charles Black (counterfeiter). Charles L. Black, Jr. (born September 22, 1915, Austin, Texas; died May 5, 2001, New York City) was a noted scholar of constitutional law, which he taught as professor of , taking the name Shirley Temple Black. Temple's life changed from movie making to politics in the late 1960s when she ran unsuccessfully for the vacant Republican congressional seat of her home district of San Mateo San Mateo (săn mətā`ō), city (1990 pop. 85,486), San Mateo co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1894. It is a commercial and retail center with some high-technology manufacturing. San Mateo, Spanish for St. . In 1969, President Nixon appointed her U.S. representative to the United Nations. In 1974, President Ford named her the U.S. ambassador to Ghana. From 1976 to 1977 she was the first woman named chief of protocol in the Department of State. Every April for the past 18 years the club has hosted a birthday party for the actress who many other little girls have adored a·dore v. a·dored, a·dor·ing, a·dores v.tr. 1. To worship as God or a god. 2. To regard with deep, often rapturous love. See Synonyms at revere1. 3. . Although she has a standing invitation, the honoree has never attended, but has on occasion sent a letter of gratitude. The guest speaker at this year's birthday party is Dick Ratliff, a former Rose Parade president, who is scheduled to talk about why Temple was chosen as the parade's grand marshal Grand Marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "Marshal" with the first usage of the term "Grand Marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. three times - in 1939 for the 50th anniversary, in 1989 for its 100th anniversary and again in 1999. ``She's the only person who been chosen three times,'' said club President Ruth Pollack pollack: see cod. pollack or pollock Either of two commercially important North Atlantic species of food fish in the cod family (Gadidae). of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . ``I think she has had an overwhelming effect on many generations. Her name brings much joy and wherever she goes she's known.'' At the height of her childhood success, Temple became the focus of an entire industry, which which included dolls, coloring books and dresses - among the items club members cherish. Most members, however, are shy about releasing information on the extent or value of their Shirley Temple collections. Mary Rydberg, 66, of Oxnard said her collection started with paper dolls she played with as a child in the 1930s. Rydberg still treasures a look-alike doll, which she didn't realize until she was older wasn't genuine. ``I got the look-alike doll before I started school,'' Rydberg said. ``I didn't know the difference. To me she was just as beautiful as a real doll. I loved her.'' While Rydberg still has her doll, Heath remembers with regret giving away her own first Shirley Temple doll. At the birthday party, club members buy, trade and sell memorabilia among themselves. Local members of the club meet monthly and also put together what they call the Lollipop newsletter, named after one of the child star's most famous songs. During meetings, members often make crafts - such as Shirley Temple Christmas ornaments Christmas ornaments are decorations (usually made of glass, metal, wood or ceramics) that are used to festoon a Christmas tree. Ornaments take many different forms, from a simple round ball to highly artistic designs. , or shoes, dresses, hats and other accessories for their dolls. Guest speakers, such as former child stars who worked with Temple in the movies, often give talks. There are also conventions - such as the one held in Thousand Oaks in 1994 - at which collectors from all over the world come together to celebrate the star. The Thousand Oaks convention - which drew hundreds of collectors who came to see the houses in which the Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. native lived during her early years and place their hands and feet over her tiny prints in the cement at Mann's Chinese Theatre Chinese theatre has a long and complex history. Today it is often called Chinese opera although this normally refers specifically to the popular form known as Beijing Opera; there have been many other forms of theatre in China. - was organized by Pollack, who joined the club in 1987. Pollack said she stumbled upon the group when she accidently walked into the annual birthday party while looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a wedding reception. The first piece in her collection was a picture of her holding a Shirley Temple doll she had received as a gift at the age of 4. She thought her mother had given the doll away. But four years ago, while remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling her house, Pollack found the doll on a top shelf in a closet where it had been for more than 30 years. ``I couldn't believe I had found my doll,'' Pollack said. ``She was wrapped in plastic and she was in good shape. I was so excited.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour Simi and Conejo edition -- ran in Simi, SAC and Conejo editions only) Lee Heath, left, and Mary Rydberg sit amid Heath's extensive collection of Shirley Temple memorabilia. (2 -- color -- ran in Simi and Conejo edition only) Heath, founder of Shirley Temple Collectors by the Sea, leafs through one of her scrapbooks of the actress. (3 -- color in Simi and Conejo edition only -- ran in Simi, SAC and Conejo) Although she gave away her first Shirley Temple doll, Heath has more than made up for its loss. Michael Owen
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