Stoneridge Creek Pleasanton resident Dorothy “Dottie” Soule didn’t have Barbie dolls until she had children of her own. Once her children grew up, she donated them to Goodwill, but a fateful commute would ensure that she would never leave Barbie World.
“I have four daughters, and when they were little kids, I collected Barbies and made clothes for them,” said the resident of the Pleasanton, CA, continuing care retirement community. “They had the whole bit — the Barbie house, the Barbie kitchen and everything. Then in 1980, I was coming home from work in Alameda and saw this doll shop that was off the freeway. I went in and saw a collection of all kinds of dolls but was particularly interested in the Barbies. So I just began buying. I don’t know, I just got carried away.”
Today, Soule’s entire collection consists of 150 dolls, and 50 of them are on display in cases at Stoneridge Creek. The roster includes Harley Davidson biker Barbie, Marilyn Monroe and Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz,” among others. Her personal favorite Barbie sports a Golden State Warriors jersey, her favorite basketball team.
Being the collector she is, it was no surprise that Soule went to see the “Barbie” movie with her daughters on the first day it was released. Being a family of fans, the children already have laid claim to which Barbies they will inherit. But when it comes to adding to the collection, don’t expect any shopping sprees anytime soon from Soule.
“I don’t want to be tempted to buy anymore,” she said. “My daughters were young, and seeing how much they loved their Barbies, it just kept me interested. It was kind of a nostalgic thing.”
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