A new display at the Greenwood County Historical Society museum is a collection of cornhusk dolls loaned to us by Linda Scott. She has been collecting these dolls since 1986 and is personally acquainted with the artist.
Come in and see the variety of dolls and the creative uses of cornhusks and corn silks in this unusual collection.
This display will be available for viewing through the end of March.
If you have a collection of items that you would like to share with community and display at the museum, please contact us at 620-583-6682 o4 email us at gwchistory@gmail.com.
The following is information Linda shared with us about her collection:
These cornhusk dolls were created by Gary Stapp, husband to my best friend from high school, Kim (Zinszer) Stapp. Gary made blue Ribbon Cornhusk Dolls in the mid- to late-1980s and into the early 1990s. Currently, Gary and Kim Stapp reside in Tyler, TX. He is a published playwright with scripts staged in the United States and Canada, as well as in Europe. He is also the author of the book Trespassors, published in March of 2025.
Gary, who grew up in western Kansas, spent summers in Greenwood County with his grandparents, Vader and Eva Stapp, on their farm near Neal. Gary states, “My grandparents moved from Western Kansas to a little farm about 7 miles east of Neal in 1965/66, I think. I spent many summers of my childhood on their farm helping my grandma with the milk cows while my grandpa drove a road grader to maintain roads in Greenwood County. They were a simple, humble couple who lived on very little income, but those summers with them are among my most cherished childhood memories.
