Wow! That Oughta Be In a Museum!

Museums and Collectors

Most of its artifacts were donated by life-long collectors Nellie and Joe Kuska. The jewel of the collection is 2,000 dolls, many of them rare examples from France and Germany.

The Kuskas collected many different things, and Nellie especially wanted to educate others about collecting. In the 1950s the couple opened a museum in California, where Nellie also had a radio show and a newspaper column on collecting. After Nellie died the artifacts returned to Colby.

Today another collector is assisting with the Kuska collection. Margot Trowbridge owns over 700 dolls herself. She lends time and expertise to research the Kuska dolls, and learns more about her own collection in the process.

"It's wonderful to have volunteers that are so knowledgeable because with the collection being so diverse, and [with] a small staff, there's no way we could spend that kind of time and attention."
-- Sue Ellen Taylor, museum director.

Pictured above, Margot Trowbridge, volunteer, and the Kuska dolls at the Prairie Museum of Art and History in Colby.

Continue the virtual tour.