A Gruelle Family Tradition
"Raggedy Ann & Andy"©

Norton, NC – "The deep, deep woods."

In this electronic world of computerized games and toys, there remains a traditional pair of dolls that are icons of the 20th century, namely "Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy."

Raggedy Ann was created in 1915 and Raggedy Andy in 1920 by Johnny Gruelle. His handiwork not only changed his life, but the lives of his family and millions of children around the world for generations.

Today that doll and the world Johnny Gruelle created continues through the tradition of his grandson, Kim Gruelle, resident Wizard of The Last Great Company which has been "The Home of Raggedy Ann & Andy" since 1981.

As you climb the wooden steps to the porch of The Last Great Co. you are greeted by the happiest, most loving, floppy, loppy, friendly red-haired all-American duo, Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy as the welcoming committee. Now walk through the portals of the shop into a world of nostalgic delights filled with the sights and sounds of the 20th century, past, present and future. You can find crystals millions of years old, bits and pieces of arcania from the beginning of this planet itself to the making of something magically new and not yet conceived, stretching one's imagination into the 21st century.

At the center of this ethereal environment lives The Last Great Company's resident Wizard, Kim Gruelle. This peaceful proprietor, (known as "Kimbo" to his friends and "the Raggedyman" to his clients") makes it his business – and his pleasure – to maintain The Last Great Company's reputation as the country's most unique purveyor of old-timey, obscure, hand-picked, new-fangled esoteric merchandise. Kim Gruelle has an even more far-reaching mission than overseeing his fascinating shop. Kim is devoted to upholding a longtime family legacy, one begun more than 85 years ago by Kim's grandfather, a remarkable man named Johnny Gruelle. This legacy is "Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy."

With close to a century of national and international popularity, the "Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy" tradition has endured, as the Gruelle family has seen to it that marketing concerns never overshadowed the Raggedies' true spirits. It is this notion of heritage and traditionality that Kim Gruelle has been devoted to for most of his life.

"It's natural that the traditional image and spirit of 'Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy' have persisted," Kim says. "Those qualities of sweetness, humility and transcendent spirituality (unconditional love) that are so much a part of the doll's original personalities are the very qualities that have always attracted children and adults alike to the Raggedies. It's also how grandfather wanted the Raggedies to be; and it is how he would like it to be today."

The Raggedies traditional appeal attracts Raggedy lovers as well. "It is the lovable, sweet, and old-fashioned side of the Raggedies that people are most attracted to regardless of their age or how modern things have become."

How did the Raggedies' legacy begin? And what about their creator, Johnny Gruelle? A remarkable inventor of children's playthings, he was a prolific writer, and the imaginative illustrator of dozens of books and thousands of magazine stories.

John B. Gruelle was born in 1880 in Arcola, Ill., the son of Richard Buckner Gruelle, known as R.B., a self-taught landscape painter who received national acclaim as a member of the "Hoosier Group" of Impressionist artists. Johnny grew up in Indianapolis and, at the age of 19, began his career as a cartoonist, working for the Indianapolis Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, and later the Cleveland Press.

In the fall of 1910, Johnny, his wife, Myrtle, and young daughter Marcella, moved to Silvermine Conn., an artist colony where Johnny's parents had relocated. Johnny entered a contest sponsored by the New York Herald and both his entries tied for first place against several hundred other entries. The prize: $2,000 and a contract as a featured cartoonist, providing weekly installments of his full-color, full-page "Mr. Twee Deedle," following the adventures of a whimsical little wood sprite who taught children gentle lessons about right and wrong.

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It is an established fact that Marcella Delight Gruelle had the first "Raggedy Ann" dolls made by Alice Benton Gruelle (R.B. Gruelle's wife) which was probably patterned after an Amish rag doll. Johnny painted a face on the doll, and Myrtle dressed it in all-American red, white and blue and, with inspiration gleaned from two poems written by family friend James Whitcomb Riley ("The Raggedyman" and "Little Orphant Annie") Johnny and Myrtle dubbed the doll "Raggedy Ann."

"Raggedy Ann" soon became the heroine in fanciful fairy stories that Johnny would spin for Marcella. When Marcella died tragically in her early teens from a contaminated vaccination, grandfather was devastated. As a way of healing his own grief, and of honoring his departed daughter, Johnny Gruelle began in earnest writing down the Raggedy Ann tales he had shared with his daughter.

Johnny Gruelle eventually submitted his Raggedy Ann stories to the P.F. Volland Co. Publishers. By that time, he already was a published author and illustrator of numerous children's books. Several years before, in 1915, he had patented the design for his Raggedy Ann doll. The first dolls were made by the Gruelle family in a loft in Norwalk, Conn.

In the fall of 1918, Raggdy Ann Stories was published and, along with commercially manufactured Raggedy Ann dolls (authorized by Johnny Gruelle) the book and dolls were an immediate success.

My grandfather created "Raggedy Andy" and patented him in 1920 and, in the years that followed, the two whimsical rag dolls enjoyed increasing popularity. While Johnny worked on writing Raggedy Ann & Andy adventures in the 1920s and 1930s, he continued his work as a popular newspaper and magazine cartoonist and illustrator, for magazines such as Physical Culture, Woman's World, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Judge, Life, College Humor and for the United Features newspaper syndicate.

Grandfather wrote and illustrated nearly one Raggedy Ann & Andy book a year, until his untimely death in 1938. During his lifetime, granddaddy wrote and illustrated other fanciful books of fairy tales and adventure stories; among them My Very Own Fairy Stories (1917); Orphant Annie Story Book (1921) dedicated to James Whitcomb Riley; The Magical Land of Noom (1922); The Funny Little Book (1918); Friendly Fairies (1919); Little Sunny Stories (1919); The Little Brown Bear (1920); Eddie Elephant (1921); Johnny Mouse and the Wishing Stick (1922); Wooden Willie (1927); The Cherry Scarecrow (1929).

Johnny Gruelle's books and dolls became so popular so quickly, and why their popularity has persisted to this very day? There are some good reasons. My grandfather was born a gifted artist and gained his magical storytelling talents with his upbringing in Indianapolis while embracing a sound business sense. Johnny Gruelle always possessed an amazing understanding of children, a mystical affinity with nature and magic, and a love for "the old ways". Thusly, he could speak simultaneously to adults and children, no matter what the time period, delighting all with his wonderful images and observations, spiritual lessons, and sharp wit.

When Kim Gruelle opened the doors of The Last Great Company in 1981, he was upholding a family tradition. Himself a writer, illustrator, fine artist, alchemist, musician and entrepreneur, he came to the mountains of western North Carolina in 1972. An interest in perpetuating the spiritual side of the arts and in upholding the tradition of "Raggedy Ann & Andy" led Kim to open his mercantile, along with The First Great Art Studio to purvey Art for the Heart's Sake.

Like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Kim Gruelle has successfully fused a unique business venture with artistic energy and a sound whole earth philosophy. The result is what you see, hear and experience when you walk through the doors of The Last Great Company.

Whether you are simply away from the hustle and bustle, or have made a special pilgrimage into the North Carolina mountains to see where Raggedy Ann and Andy call home, an unforgettable and delightful visit is in store for you.

As you wander through the array of nostalgic and visionary merchandise, hear the music and smell the essences, and chat with Kim, you can sense the spirit of this place.It becomes quite easy to believe that The Last Great Company is, in fact, a fanciful outpost of what Johnny Gruelle, himself, was talking about in 1918 when he wrote:

"Who knows but that Fairyland is filled with old, lovable rag dolls--soft, loppy rag dolls who ride through all the wonders of Fairyland in the crook of dimpled arms, snuggling close to childish breasts, within which beat hearts filled with eternal sunshine."

The Last Great Company is open for the public season from early June until the end of October, Tuesday through Saturday. (Closed Sunday and Monday). Hours are 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Mail orders are welcome. Catalogue available. Web site – www.raggedyman.com.