Show dolls in distress overtax facilities of novel hospital BOSTON lack of space shortage of help and an influx of at patients plague all hospitals and that goes for 43 year old doll hospital inc too mrs fred hockaday proprietor of the novel establishment scans the hospitals facilities and laments we have cases right now four times as many as before the war were closing two days a week in an effort to catch up with the work the shortage of help poses another problem even the hospital receptionist a 42 inch bisque blonde currently is on the ailing list the reason A little boy poked her eye out while he was waiting for a wig for his sisters doll to be fitted surgeon does repairs for expert help in the doll heal ing business however mrs hockaday has five assistants include 19 g a surgeon whose fracture treatments are renewed throughout the current crop of patients ranges from a year old wooden doll nith ith a shattered leg to scores of so called unbreakable babies the cluttered workroom is never shown to doll owners as a guarantee against shattering childhoods cherished idea that the hospital Is a glorified ward presided over by nurses in white while linen one little girl recently showed up with her governess and a small bunch of flowers requesting please put this by my dolls bed old age not incurable mrs hockaday and her staff regularly restore old time parisian wax complexions completions complex ions round out dented papier mache skulls and restring limbs of last century bisque beauties her hospital does not consider old age an incurable malady many of the patients she admits cost more to repair than they did in the beginning but we do our best because children love them so an avid collector of antique do dolls mrs hockaday has some 75 of her uncounted collection on display at the hospital but not my swimming doll which goes right across the tank with a beautiful breast stroke because if I 1 kept her around my little visitors never would go home |