The Hawkeye Doll Club is raising money to build a museum in Mount Pleasant for a rare and valuable collection of dolls. Hawkeye Doll Club president Glenna Voyles of New London says her club’s planning a September 27th seminar in Mount Pleasant on the grounds of the Old Thresher’s Reunion, where the doll collection is now housed. She says the seminar — entitled “Hello, Dollies” — is meant to introduce the “doll world of the Midwest” to the collection. There’ll be appraisals, films and workshops for doll collectors. They hope to raise some money for the museum, too. Wilma Bussey, a former Iowan, amassed the collection over a lifetime. After her death, her husband shipped the dolls and their accessories to Mount Pleasant last year. Voyles says there are over 400 dolls, and the most valuable doll is a Jumeau from France. It was made in 1885. Voyles says every doll collector wants a Jumeau, but most can’t afford one. The “youngest” doll in the collection is a Barbie. Voyles says the Barbie is what they call N-R-F-B, which stands for Never Removed From Box. A few of the dolls, including the Barbie and the Jumeau, are displayed in two glass cases today. In one of the cases, all the dolls are wearing summer gear, and they’ve titled the display “The Girls of Summer.” Lennis Moore, the Old Thresher’s Reunion executive director, says having dolls on the grounds isn’t that unusual because the museum has evolved into a celebration of our Midwestern heritage. Moore says that includes not only the machines of agriculture but the popular culture and household culture that went along with our agricultural past. He says “actually, there are a lot of guys who like to look at the dolls, although they might not like to admit it.”