Caroline Vander Weg ’26

Many high school students have grown up with Samantha Parkington and Addy Walker — classic American Girl dolls throughout the late 2000s and 2010s — but what about Ivy Ling or Nanea Mitchell? For Caroline Vander Weg ’26, those lesser-known dolls are just as familiar. After more than a decade of collecting, American Girl dolls have become a staple in her life. 

“I got my first one when I was about seven,” Vander Weg said. “Before that, I would play with my sister’s. She had one named Kanani who had really cool hair, so I wanted to get some of my own.”

For Vander Weg, the aspect that differentiated American Girl dolls from Bratz or Barbies was how relatable and personable the dolls felt. 

“They’re the only dolls that are meant to be the age of the kid that owns them,” Vander Weg said. “Most dolls are either adults or babies, but American Girl dolls are supposed to be like your peer[s], the same age as you.”

Her dolls have influenced her in a variety of ways, but most importantly, they sparked her interest in fashion and creativity. 

“My first introduction to fashion was dressing my dolls up and doing their hair. Now that I am

 older and into fashion, I translate that into how I dress my dolls [and myself],” Vander Weg said.

Vander Weg’s first doll — matching her name as “Caroline Abbott” — remains her most meaningful doll. 

“Caroline will always be super special to me — she was my first one, and she has my name. It’s sentimental,” Vander Weg said. “She also wasn’t available for that long, so she’s harder to find.”

Like most collectibles, the more valuable they are, the more expensive the hobby becomes. 

“New ones from the American Girl Store cost $135,” Vander Weg said. “I would say my collection is about half secondhand and half new. The cheapest one I’ve got is around five bucks at a thrift store, and the most expensive one I’ve paid for was around $250.”

Now owning over 30 dolls, Vander Weg is still always on the hunt for new additions. 

“I scroll through secondhand sites like eBay and Mercari a lot, and I also go thrifting for new dolls. … They’re my pride and joy,” Vander Weg said. “I want to keep them forever, and they mean a lot to me. I don’t plan to ever stop collecting.”

Imogen Olszewski ’29

Although a tiny pin from Adventureland does not look big in size, for Imogen Olszewski ’29, it was the start of a huge collection in the making. 

Olszewski’s pin-collecting hobby started in the fifth grade after a trip to Adventureland with her friends.

“My mom had given me money, and my friends had gotten souvenirs; I bought a pin. Pins are usually cheaper, and they’re durable. It’s not like a stuffed animal that will probably break, or a hat that you’ll never wear. It’s something small that you get to keep and doesn’t take up a lot of space. Nowadays, when I go somewhere, like a theme park with my friends, I’ll get a pin for myself,” Olszewski said. 

Since then, her collection has grown to more than 100 pins displayed across two cork boards in her bedroom. 

“I used to have them on a denim jacket that I wouldn’t really wear because I didn’t want to damage any of the pins. Now that I have over 100 pins, there for people to look at,” Olszewski said. 

Many of Olszewski’s pins come from her domestic and international travels, including her favorite item from abroad.

“I’ve been to England, the Bahamas and several states like Illinois, Nevada, Georgia, Florida and California,” Olszewski said. “I got to see Phantom of the Opera in England, and one of [the pins] is a chandelier. It says ‘Phantom of the Opera’ on it, and it’s my favorite one. It’s very beautiful.”

However, her collection didn’t only come from her, but also was passed down from her mom. 

“She’s been collecting pins since she was in her 20s, and she would get pins for my sisters and me,” Olszewski said.

Inspired by that tradition, Olszewski is always on the lookout for more pins to add to her pinboard. 

“There are these really cool Disney pins that I’ve seen online, and I’m going to Disney World with the [West High] band. There’s this book pin that opens up, and you can flip through it. It has a little function, and I think it would be super cool [in my collection],” Olszewski said. 

Mar Nourski ’29 

While most people collect stamps or currencies from across the world, Mar Nourski ’29 devotes his time to an unorthodox collection: animal remains — bones, fur and tails.

“I was biking to school and found a severed squirrel tail on the side of the road,” Nourski said. “I don’t know how it got detached from the squirrel, but I took it home, cleaned it with dish soap, left it in salt for a week, cleaned it again and now it’s on my bag.”

Nourski recounts the project that first piqued his interest in taxidermy.  

“[My interest] started at the beginning of the school year. I used to be really freaked out by taxidermy or furs, but [my interest] spiraled from one instance,” Nourski said. “My friend came up to me, telling me they found a whole dead chipmunk in the grass. We went out, picked it up and put it in a bag. That night, I took the skin off the chipmunk, buried the head of the chipmunk in my yard so that I’d get the skull in a few months and dried [the fur].”

Nourski explains how this project — which included an extensive process of drying, cleaning and refining the fur — culminated into the finished product: a bracelet. 

“It took about three weeks to dry it out, pickle it, tan it, oil it and clean it. After I had the finished fur, I sewed it to a piece of denim, put some spikes on it and [made] a bracelet,” Nourski said. 

Although the process of performing taxidermy demands ample time and technical skill, Nourski finds that creating and collecting taxidermies serves as an outlet for relaxation. 

“[Performing a taxidermy] takes a long time. There [are] a lot of steps. But when you’re doing it, it’s a good way to clear the mind,” Nourski said. “It’s really weird to say that skinning a chipmunk was comforting, and although I was really scared at first, I was kind of desensitized, because I knew that I wasn’t causing it any pain.”

Nourski’s collection continues to grow today. 

“I have found a bunch of bones by Terry Trueblood [Recreation Area]. It’s easy to find remains by the water; I’ve found a [whole] dead frog, and I’m letting that one macerate over the winter. When there’s still flesh on the bones, you can put it in water with soap, and it’ll decompose. I’m curious to see how the freezing and thawing in February and March will affect the process,” Nourski said. “I think I have 10 small bones — a goat’s shoulder, a coyote’s skull, a chipmunk, a squirrel and a frog. About 15 pieces total.”

Nourski ultimately finds that taxidermy extends beyond a small hobby; it’s a form of expression. 

“It’s against my morals to kill anything. These are all things that I’ve found. [Taxidermy] is definitely kind of a sentimental thing; it’s just [finding] the beauty in death,” Nourski said.