By Elisabeth Strillacci

SPENCER — The N.C. Museum of Dolls, Toys and Miniatures has a new home in Spencer at 440 South Salisbury Ave., doors down from city hall and the new deli.

Beth Nance, who founded the museum along with her mother, Susan Norris, formally opened the doors to the new location on Saturday, March 22, and her pride and joy in the non-profit is evident as she walks through the large space, pointing out all the collections and what they mean.

The museum is a labor of love for both women. Nance’s sister, Amy Morris, struggled her entire life with a rare disease that left her wheelchair bound and which took her from Nance and Morris just shy of Amy’s 21st birthday. During her lifetime, she had amassed a collection of more than 300 dolls, and her mother and sister held on to them. When Nance moved back to Spencer from Raleigh, her mother “asked me what we were going to do with all of Amy’s dolls,” Nance said. “When she suggested a doll museum, I thought it was just an idea. But I turned around and she had bought our former location, so it was clear, this was going to happen.”

The original location was on Fourth Street next to what is now Queso Salsa, a much smaller space that they filled in no time.

Now, the museum, which has received its non-profit status, has a tremendous space that allows it room to continue to grow, but that also needs more financial support.

“Of course, being a non-profit, it is important that we continue to garner support from the community both near and far,” she said. “But we also believe we have more to offer than just displays. We consider the history we are sharing as a growing part of what we do.” And relationships with local schools are something the museum hopes to grow, as well as events and activities in conjunction with the town of Spencer.

Rebecca Jennings, a volunteer at the museum who has experience in retail, suggested the idea of a gift shop when the board of directors was considering additional ways to earn financial support. These days, she is in charge of the new shop inside the front door, and she has curated a variety of items for visitors to take home.

“We wanted to be sure we offered guests miniatures of some of the things they see in the museum to take home as a reminder of their visit,” she said. There are miniature dolls as well as stuffed animals, a line from Mr. Rogers that has sold well, post cards with a number of their dolls on them and a line coming with photos specific to the museum, some of the toys they showcase and some miniatures like those found in the elaborate doll houses inside.

The night before the grand opening, the museum hosted a private event for board members and members of the museum, and the next day, many were back for the official opening day, including Cheryl Phillips, who is both a member and a volunteer.

Phillips works with American Girl dolls and was admiring the American Girl doll display at the museum. She appreciates the historical nature of the attire of the dolls and is looking forward to contributing some of her own expertise, something Nance says plays into the museum’s desire to make education part of the museum’s role.

Phillips wasn’t the only one to travel from Raleigh for the opening, either. Victor Clark, who befriended Nance and her husband, Rob, when the couple lived in Raleigh, traveled to Spencer to support friends and to check out the museum.

Asked what his favorite thing in the museum was, Clark immediately replied, “the trains. Of course. What boy doesn’t like trains?”

And the display of three operating trains, complete with steam puffing out of one of the engines, accompanied by a number of miniature rides, such as the parachute drop, that are moving and lighted displays, is fascinating. Rob Nance was instrumental in constructing the support structure for the moving pieces, and everyone who walked by couldn’t help stopping to watch.

Mike Deal, a friend of Nance’s father, is another staunch supporter of the museum, and loves the historical element to the toys display and believes “this is a wonderful contribution to our community, not just for the kids but for the adults, too, because so many of the toys we had as kids are in here.”

Lynn Frank, who is chair of the board for the museum, and Terri Correll, both volunteers who work with the miniature displays, could talk all day about the doll houses and miniature displays. Both women spend time on their own displays at home, with a piece of their work in every room of their homes except the bathrooms.

For Frank, her favorite miniature display is a Southwestern house, because she knew the woman who was collecting all the pieces but didn’t get a chance to put it all together before she died.

“When I was putting it together, knowing her and where she wanted each piece to go and getting to see it all come together, it just is wonderful,” she said. “I hate that she didn’t get to see it, but I feel like I’ve fulfilled this for her. It’s very personal.”

Correll loves the Lavender House, which is immensely detailed inside and out. The woman who created it had expertise in the needlework of the carpets in the house as well as floral design for the outside, and the house “does make you want to go inside and enjoy it, or sit outside on the swing,” said Correll, who works in what is known as 1/4 miniature, some of the smallest in the field.

The museum is open Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Nance said she hopes more people will get to know the facility and support it.