Georgia Magazine - July 2010 - (Page 35)

used clothing purchased at yard sales. In 1978, Roberts and friends formed Original Appalachian Artwork Inc., renovated the Neal Clinic in Cleveland and opened it as BabyLand General Hospital. In 1983, the company negotiated a longterm licensing agreement An adoption becomes official after the oath of adoption with a major toy manufacis administered. turer and changed the name from Little People to Cabbage Nurses) and doctors who assist Mother Cabbage in the deliveries. Patch Kids. Almost 3 million of the Col. Casey, the special delivery stork, mass-marketed Kids were delivered helps with adoptions that take place that year, putting the soft-sculpture only after children take an oath of artworks on record as “the most sucadoption and receive a birth certifi- cessful new doll in the history of the cate and adoption papers (which toy industry,” according to McLean. “When Cabbage Patch Kids were serve as authentication of each doll). introduced, it was the first time peoFor discriminating adopters (children with a certain babe in mind), Baby- ple could find so many babies with Land’s own version of “planned par- different birthdays, names, hair and enthood” offers a choice of gender, eye color, and clothes unique to skin tone, color of eyes, hair color them,” says McLean. “These babies were original Appalachian artworks of and style. More than 120 million Cabbage Xavier Roberts, and that’s what peoPatch Kids have been adopted since ple fell in love with—a work of art.” Since their origins, the Cabbage Roberts crafted his first soft-sculpture Patch Kids have traveled into space doll. The phenomenon began in 1976 when the artist/entrepreneur, then 21, (aboard a shuttle in 1985), landed in combined the early-1800s German the Smithsonian Institution (1985), technique of fabric sculpture with packed Cleveland with 10,000 visitors quilting skills common in the Appalachian Mountains. The following year, he decided to market his softsculpture Little People® with birth certificates, inviting youngsters to “adopt babies” rather than “buy dolls.” He dressed his first creations in for the first Easter Eggstravaganza at BabyLand General (1988), and been named the official mascot of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team. Collectors have paid as much as $20,000 for some of the original Little People, and a Collector’s Club includes members throughout the world. BabyLand General Hospital routinely receives letters from doll owners exclaiming how much their Cabbage Patch Kid has meant to them, according to McLean. “The Kids have become a part of people’s families throughout many generations,” she remarks. “A friend of mine says children can measure their self worth not on how good they take care of themselves, but on how good they take care of someone else. When you see itty bitty children nurturing their Cabbage Patch Kid, you know that bond is beginning to form already.” The grand opening at BabyLand General Hospital in May featured a reunion of all Cabbage Patch Kids and their adoptive parents. The all-day event included visits by costumed characters and, of course, plenty of surprises from the Cabbage Patch. Jackie Kennedy is a freelance writer living in LaGrange. The new BabyLand General Hospital offers a birthday party room for children. July 2010 Cabbage Patch Kids creator Xavier Roberts, right, and his only “adopted” baby, Otis Lee, arrive at the grand opening at BabyLand General Hospital in a 1914 Buick. www.georgiamagazine.org 35 http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - July 2010

Georgia Magazine - July 2010
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar
Currents
Special Energy Report
Where the Wild Things Are
Still Going Strong
Reliving History and Exploring Nature
Around Georgia
Georgia@Home
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Cookbook of the Month
Snapshot

Georgia Magazine - July 2010