Woman brings life to old toys, gives them to charity

ST. LOUIS -- Deane Hanley was born into a family of modest means in St. Louis County during the Great Depression, so her parents couldn't afford to buy her a doll.

"Every bit of our money went to food," said Hanley, 73. "We had oatmeal three times a day. To this day, I can't stand oatmeal."

Hanley's memory of not having a doll as a kid is just as fresh in her mind as the smell and taste of oatmeal. She wanted someday to be able to do something for children who are less fortunate.

Since the mid-1990s, Hanley has given thousands of dolls and stuffed toys to charity. But how can a woman who still lives modestly, in the same neighborhood where she was born, afford such generosity? She uses her own hands.

In the 1970s, Hanley worked for a woman who taught her the art of doll making.

"She taught me and her grandmother taught her," Hanley said. "The dolls that we made are keepsakes. If I didn't do a good job, she would make me do it over. She taught me how to do it right."

'Couldn't keep up'

The woman died in the 1980s, and Hanley started making the porcelain dolls out of her home. The dolls, including hair and clothes, would take up to 12 hours each to complete and ranged in price from $50 to $100.

"I had so many requests, I couldn't keep up with them," Hanley said. "And that's when I fell down the steps and broke my knee."

Hanley has had 12 operations as a result of the 1990 accident, which forced her to stop making dolls. But she uses her skill and compassion to buy and restore old dolls and stuffed toys for needy children living at the Evangelical Children's Home on St. Charles Rock Road and for the Salvation Army on Page Boulevard.

"Deane Hanley has just been absolutely wonderful to us," said Sharon Fenoglio, director of development at the Children's Home. "What she does is very special, because we work with emotionally troubled children from backgrounds of severe abuse and neglect, and they come to us with very little. It's very comforting for them to pick something out that they can call their own. The dolls and stuffed animals give them something they can hold on to and cuddle.

"Because of the high cost of caring for the children, we would not be able to afford these things for the children," she added.

Hanley doesn't look for any accolades, but she says it's nice that people appreciate her efforts.

"Each time I drop the dolls off, they send me a thank-you note," she said. "I have a pile of thank-you notes several inches thick. That helps me to forget about my knee."

Hanley, who walks with a cane, finds it difficult to get around at times, but she says she is determined to keep working on the dolls for the children.

"I'm going to still go shopping for the dolls," she said. "It's not going to get me down. I'm going to keep on going for the kids."