Retired/disabled senior teaches history to neighborhood children by crocheting period custom designs for Barbie dolls

Published on Tue, May 8, 2012 (3:19 p.m.)

Submitted by Las Vegas Urban League

MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release
Date: May 7, 2012
Contact: Marlene Monteolivo
(702) 985-1847 or [email protected]


Retired/disabled senior teaches history to neighborhood children by crocheting period custom designs for Barbie dolls


Las Vegas – The Urban League, a Community Action Agency, is currently exhibiting the works of art by Patricia Compton, a 66 year-old disabled senior retired from the aero-space industry who crochets period custom designs for Barbie since the 1970s. She now uses her collection as a tool to introduce children to different periods in history.

Compton’s work is currently being exhibited at the Pearson Center located at 1625 W. Carey (corner of MLK) until the end of June, 2012.

With pre-scheduled afternoon talks to neighborhood children, Compton introduces them to history lessons based on the Ken and Barbie representations of historic figures like Queen Nefertiti, Queen Elizabeth, King Tut, Louis IVX, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Patrucio and Kate from “Taming of the Shrew”, and many others.
The exhibit also includes other crochet creations by Compton like her 21 purse collection, eye glass cases, jewelry sets, and pot holders.

Even though the 66 year-old Compton is disabled and retired, she manages to fill up her time to do for others. “Staying busy, helping others, and exposing children to history in a fun way with my Barbie designs makes my day go faster, and makes me forget my pain and my personal struggles,” said Compton.

Compton, disabled since 2003, currently volunteers for the Blind Center. After she retired from the aero-space industry, she moved to Las Vegas in 2004, and has been volunteering ever since. She started volunteering for the Metropolitan Police Department in 2005 and for the Southern Nevada Community Gang Task Force since 2008.

The Pearson Community center where the exhibit is taking place is run by the Las Vegas Urban League, an affiliate of the oldest social services provider in the nation with 98 affiliates in 35 states. Locally, the Urban League provides a multitude of programs free of charge to the community; with services for seniors, veterans, ex-offenders, and children among many, that include 31 computer centers with internet access.
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