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A Puppet to Share

Original Release: 12/12/2022

By Bonnie Slabaugh Abbey '68

Recently, the Brush Alumni Association received a gift — a Brush Arc clown puppet!

This donation came from Melissa Pogir Matthews, Class of 1993. She thought it might be displayed in some way. She told me that she had never purchased any swag or spirit wear at Brush, so on a spirit table in the Spring of '93, Melissa spotted this clown and purchased it.

I decided to do some research on the creator of the clown (pictured). A tag on the clown indicated that Patty Jo Abbonizio, whose company was "Lit'l Guys by The Clown Lady", crafted this puppet. I tried to find Patty Jo, and her daughter Laura Miller responded. Laura told me that her mother had passed away in 2016 and she had also recently lost her father.

Laura stated that her mother had attended Canton City Schools, and she frequently sold her clowns at various craft shows. Laura also said that she is in the process of cleaning out her parents' house and found that there are still a few clowns available for purchase, but not nec-essarily Brush Arc Clowns.

If you'd like to know what is available, contact Laura at laura_lee_miller@aol.com ✉.