SODAVILLE - Beverly Leahy still has the doll her parents gave her for Christmas when she was 5 years old.

They paid 98 cents for it on Christmas Eve 71 years ago. It has since been joined by more than 600 other dolls the Albany resident has collected over the years.

Leahy is a member of Yesterdays Doll Club, which is sponsoring its first show and sale this Saturday at 750 Ash in downtown Lebanon.

"I also have the doll given to me when I was 8 years old," the Michigan native said. "We moved all over the country, but I think the dolls were saved because I kept them in a cedar chest all of these years."

Fellow club members said Leahy has a talent for fixing old dolls.

Brenda Yates' country home in Sodaville is filled with dolls. They are behind glass doors under a kitchen island, in curio cabinets and on shelves.

The Texas native said although some collectors name their dolls, she knows hers by their composition or maker's names. She is considered an expert on doll prices and helps families with estate sale appraisals.

"It's actually a good time to get into doll collecting because prices are depressed," Yates said.

Yates' foray into doll collecting started because one of the customers at her mailing business in California owned a toy store and was hosting a doll show.

Several dolls in Voll's collection are miniatures. "I like things that are kind of broken," Voll said. "I like to fix them."

Mary DeSaulnier is new to the club and collecting. She said doll collecting is good for the spirit.

"Look at that doll," DeSaulnier said, pointing to a laughing, blonde-haired doll at Yates' home. "There's nothing more precious than children. It's heartwarming and that's what doll collecting is about."

The doll club has been active about 25 years, according to president Bonnie Voll of Lebanon. Club members meet at noon the second Tuesday of each month in members' homes. Members come from Lebanon, Albany, Corvallis and Sweet Home.

Meetings are informal, the women agreed. They eat, chat about dolls and often have a show-and-tell time. Each brings special interests to the group. Some like to make doll clothes, others make dolls and some are skilled at fixing broken dolls.

They also collect money that is used to buy toys to be given out by local firefighters or for items for the ABC House.

And they are a social network for each other. Two of the members recently lost their husbands and the club members act as their support group.

Saturday's show will include doll repair, the women said. Crafts persons will be on hand to replace the elastic that gives many dolls the ability to have their arms and legs move. Door prizes will be given out every hour and there will be coupons for discounts from numerous downtown Lebanon merchants, DeSaulnier said.