Happy 50th Birthday Barbie

History of Barbie

Check out this video link above (History of Barbie) to hear a short history about Barbie (you'll have to watch a short commercial first, but the video is very interesting.)

I have a distinct memory of when I got my first Barbie. It was about 1963. We went in SLC on a family trip. Mom and Dad had promised me a Barbie if I would stop biting my fingernails. I stopped long enough to get the Barbie and then resumed biting (that is another story.)
We went to the Grand Central variety store in south Salt Lake City. It was a big moment and I couldn't wait to get my doll! I got a Barbie that look like this: She was blond and had a "bob" just like this Barbie (although she didn't have this space suit for her clothes, even though it was close to the time of the first moon landing.) My sister Janet got a Midge doll and we were in Barbie heaven! Our mother made us many home made Barbie clothes. I can't even imagine sewing clothes that small! I still have a green velvet evening dress she made for my Barbie doll. We played for hours and hours and I also play with my friends. We had the carrying case and some of the other cool accessories and we would make up all sorts of crazy Barbie scenarios and escapades. My friend Carla and I even let Barbie get into some compromising situations with Ken.
When I was in third grade I had a particularly memorable Barbie episode. The girls in my class and I took our Barbies to school to play with them during recess and lunch hour. We would take our little carrying cases to school and lay out all our stuff and just play our heads off. One day, Becky Marlor brought her new Barbie stuff to school. She had the most beautiful accessories, complete with long white gloves, a little purse and high heels and a fake white fur shawl. All these accessories went so well with my green velvet dress and I wanted them so badly. For some reason known only to an 8 year old, I devised a plan to steal them. When the girls were off to the library and no one was looking, I got in her case and took the accessories. I hid them in my coat pocket and took them home.
Once I got home, my conscience started working on me. I knew that taking something that wasn't mine was a bad thing to do. I realized I couldn't play with the accessories because people would know they didn't belong to me. I wanted to just give them back without confessing, but I didn't know how to do it. I told my mother what I had done. She handled it very well. She asked me what I thought I should do. I told her I thought I should give the stuff back and say I was sorry to Becky. She helped me think through a plan of how to do it. I decided to take Becky into the bathroom, away from the other girls, and confess what I had done and give the stuff back. The next day at lunch, all the girls got their stuff out to play. Becky realized that some of her stuff was missing and asked if anyone had seen it. I asked her go go with me to the girls bathroom. We went into a stall together and I locked the door. I told her I had taken her accessories and that I was sorry. I gave them back. I thought that would be the end of it. I felt much better. Becky ran into the class room and blurted out - "Vonnie is a stealer!!! She took my stuff!!! Don't let her play with your things anymore..." I was sick at heart. I cried the tears of the remorseful girl. I had done the right thing after doing the wrong thing and look at the mess I was in. I learned a valuable lesson that day. There are always consequences to actions and you can't always control what those consequences will be. I vowed to never steal again and I mostly kept that vow.