The Tyrone History Museum is currently featuring a new display called “Doll’s Victorian Tea Party”.
The items on display belong to Joan McCloskey and will be available for public viewing through December 11.
This display is just in time for Victorian Christmas, which is scheduled for this weekend, December 1, 2 and 3.
The museum will be open during special hours on December 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to accommodate those individuals downtown during the Victorian Christmas celebration.
McCloskey said she has been collecting dolls as long as she can remember, and some are very old. She enjoys collecting all types of dolls but her Victorian and Christmas dolls are the ones currently on display.
There’s one room in McCloskey’s house that is dedicated to her collection and she is constantly changing it. She said during Christmas, she likes to display her Christmas-themed dolls and she even has a large doll tree she decorates.
McCloskey said another item that sits in her special doll room is a small table, where she places the dolls for tea.
“I usually have a reason for buying them,” said McCloskey of why she chooses the dolls she purchases. “They might be named after someone in the family, or I have one that is dressed in a Victorian dress with a Thomas Kinkade print on it and I like Thomas Kinkade.”
She said she also bought some of the dolls for her daughter when she was younger.
Also on display at the museum are a few of McCloskey’s miniature china tea sets. Although she enjoys the tea sets, McCloskey said she only has about half a dozen sets.
There is also a special display in the History Museum building, which was put together by middle and high school students at Tyrone. The students researched the assassination of John F. Kennedy and put together video interviews and other items associated with the former president.
The JFK display will remain in place until Christmas, however, the Tyrone History Museum will close December 11.
It will be open for extended hours this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., then during regular hours on Sunday, December 4 and Wednesday, December 7 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
On Sunday, December 11, the museum will be open for the last time from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. until next spring when it will reopen.
