A room at the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion hums with the voices of girls and women. Grandmothers with granddaughters and moms with daughters filter in through the door and find a place to sit at one of four long tables.

Jackie Doyel, her daughter, Lauren, and Olga Zaviareika settle at the corner of a table in the back of the room. Lauren, 8, carries a doll modeling an outfit that her grandmother made from a colorful flour sack. Olga, 12, cradles Elizabeth, a borrowed American Girl doll who, in her long pink dress, represents the American Revolution era. Elizabeth is the doll that Olga has back home in Belarus, the one she knows her little sister is playing with while Olga is in the United States with the Project Restoration group.

Today, Olga is just another doll-loving girl, and Elizabeth is just another doll. The main attraction waits alone at the front of the room.

It’s Kit Kittredge, accompanied by her best friend, Ruthie, who occupies the place of honor. Kit, in her flowered skirt, sweater set and crocheted hat, and Ruthie, in a purple floral dress, are the attention-getters today, especially with the “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” movie out.

As everyone takes her seat, Amy Grier, in her flowered dress and purple hat, steps forward.

“Thank you all so much for coming,” she says.

The American Girl Doll Club meeting has begun.

Never too old to play with dolls

Amy Grier, director of education with the St. Joseph Museums Inc., loves to play with dolls and has her own collection of American Girls.

“I change their clothes, and I buy them accessories,” she says.

Those American Girl dolls, the history they represent and the values they foster, inspired her to form the American Girl Doll Club, which is meeting for the summer at the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion.

The American Girl dolls more realistically mirror the lives of the girls who play with them. No unattainable Barbie curves or Ken melodrama here. The dolls look like an 8-year-old, Ms. Grier points out.

“You don’t have to be a Barbie-like girl to be happy,” is one lesson the dolls teach, she says.

Each doll has a story to share — and a series of books help continue their tales. Perhaps it’s Addy, whose is escaping slavery; Kirsten Larson, the immigrant who moves with her family to the Minnesota frontier; or Julie Albright, the 1970s free spirit who has to adjust to a new home and school. The “girls” rely on their wits, friends and family to help them solve problems and learn life lessons.

“It’s like a very wholesome soap opera,” Ms. Grier says.

The almost 40 girls who attend the recent meeting learn about Kit and Ruthie’s story. They learn that during the Great Depression, Kit’s mother had to take in boarders when Kit’s dad lost his job. They learn that colorful flour sacks were often made into clothing.

The history lesson is a part of every meeting, Ms. Grier says. And the dolls are a great teaching tool (Ms. Grier also will use the dolls in programs she gives in the schools in the fall, and four already are on display at the St. Joseph Museum to help illustrate voting rights).

A lending library at each meeting allows the girls to read about the dolls and their adventures.

The American Girl dolls are somewhat pricey, and not every girl has one at the meeting. And that’s OK.

“No one has to have an American Girl doll is the number one rule,” Ms. Grier says.

There are more Kit dolls, one in orange and one in green. There’s a bride in white, and also another Elizabeth, a dainty Victorian doll, who looks like she should be preserved in a glass case rather than resting in the arms of her young owner.

Each meeting also features a craft activity, such as sewing doll clothes. At this meeting, it is making doll jewelry. Plus, don’t forget the refreshments.

In August, a fashion show featuring the dolls and their owners is planned (see info box). But for now, it’s time to decide what jewelry would look best on Kit and the rest.

Oh, you doll

Olga sits quietly as Jackie Doyel cuts strands of tiny beads her mother has made. She watches as Jackie attaches a clasp to the strand and slips the necklace around a doll’s neck. A line has formed around Jackie.

As she works with the beads, Jackie explains that Olga has cerebral palsy and is uncertain if she has the motor skills needed to make doll jewelry.

At the other end of the table, Shirley Keck, helps a girl make a nosegay (flowered bracelet) for her doll. Her granddaughter, Summer Bussey, 9, holds a Kit doll.

“She’s my grandma’s,” Summer says.

When asked which American Girl doll is her favorite, Olga softly replies “Elizabeth.” It is the doll that her previous host family gave Olga, who has cerebral palsy, last summer when she was in the United States for a series of doctor appointments.

With Jackie’s urging, Olga, still hugging Elizabeth, moves down the table. When it’s her turn, Olga asks Shirley Keck to make her a nosegay for Elizabeth.

Perhaps Amy Grier is right, dolls aren’t just for play. They can remind us of a home and make a little girl from Belarus smile.

Girls and Dolls

The American Girl Doll Club will host a “Guys and Girls and Dolls” fashion show at 7 p.m. Aug. 28, at the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion at 11th and Charles. Members of the club will present a fashion show, featuring the girls in outfits that compliment their dolls. An American Girl doll also will be awarded as a door prize at the fundraiser. Light refreshments will be served.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children, with the proceeds going to the St. Joseph Museums Inc. Education Fund. Reservations, which may be made by calling the museum at 232-8471, are due by Aug. 21.

The next meetings of the American Girl Doll Club will be from 2 to 4 p.m. July 24 and 31 at the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion. There is no charge to attend.

Lifestyle reporter Cathy Woolridge

can be reached at cathyw@npgco.com