Name/Title
'Pinkie' Puppet and molds, c. 2007Entry/Object ID
2021.140.1Description
Acc. No. 21.140.1 A-F
Subject Category: Alameda Hospital Auxiliary
Date or Period: c. 2007
Object: puppet and molds
Description: A: Hand puppet with cloth clown's face, blue and white body, and red collar, and cap half of one fabric, half of the other; B: print-out of an internet page of a cloth clown face; C: package, labeled 'puppet pieces pre-assembly, of a fabric with green background and soccer balls; D: package with 4 flat wooden forms, labeled Front, back, collar + cap; E: package of two wooden 'cap forms' and with folded paper cut-outs; F: package of metal forms labeled 'front + back + cap'; G: package of metal forms labeled '2 back'.
Sizes: various
History of Object: Sample puppet 'pinkie', one of the last ones created by the volunteers of the Alameda Hospital Auxiliary to be given to children in the pediatric department (especially after tonsillectomy), and molds for creating same. The molds were created to replace paper ones that would wear out. Volunteers used to have a working line of sewing machines with each volunteer tackling a part of the project. Fabric used would be whatever was donated. They were at the time still called 'pinkie puppets', and the activity was called '(making) pinkies', although they were no longer pink, as in the 1950s. The activity stopped with the disappearance of the pediatric and maternity departments, and the disappearance of volunteers skilled in sewing. The auxiliary volunteers continue in various functions at the hospital, including staffing and stocking the gift shop.
Acquired from: Louise Nakada, Alameda Hospital Auxiliary
Donation Date: June 12, 2019. Catalog Date: 12/17/2021
