When she was only 6 years old, Mary Mader of Edina shook hands with the President of the United States.
As “Little Miss Edina,” Mary Mader—now Mary Mader Stanton—welcomed President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower as they made a campaign stop at the Minneapolis airport in 1956. Along with a bevy of beauty queens, Stanton wore a white dress emblazoned with the president’s nickname, Ike.
The dress hung in Stanton’s closet for 58 years, occasionally taken out whenever her parents recounted the tale of that special day or when her daughters played dress-up. “Whenever I looked at it, I remembered that day,” she says. However, Stanton notes, with a laugh, that, “like a lot of little girls, I was more impressed with hanging out with the cool older girls than I was with the president.”
On Stanton’s 64th birthday, she was touched when her daughter Katie Mae gave her a shadowbox containing the restored dress along with a photo of then 6-year-old Stanton greeting Eisenhower and his wife. The memento of Stanton’s special day now looks almost as good as it did when she wore it in 1956. “I was really surprised, because this dress would have been a challenge to fix,” Stanton says.
The dress had been discolored by time and had some rips and stains. But professional restorer Duane Schumann has seen far worse during his career with Treasured Garment Restoration, a specialty sister-company to St Croix Cleaners, and has restored even fire- and water-damaged garments.
As one of the few certified wet cleaners in the Twin Cities area, Schumann is qualified to handle historic restoration and is trusted with historic garment cleaning and repair for organizations like the Minnesota Historical Society, as well as for individuals looking to preserve family heirlooms such as christening gowns, military uniforms, wedding dresses, quilts and autographed sports clothing.
Treasured mementos require more than professional dry cleaning, Schumann says. “We focus on keeping the integrity of the garment. We don’t want to wash away its history.”
“One thing I’ve learned through this whole process is that it’s really important for people to share the stories about items that have historic meaning to them,” Stanton says. As decades pass, family sorting through Stanton’s belongings might wonder at the significance of a tiny dress with “Ike” written all over it, but now the story—and the dress—are preserved for future generations.
Many items have little value outside of the family, but Stanton has learned that her dress is now considered a collectible. The Ike campaign dresses were worn by other women throughout the country as Eisenhower made his re-election speeches.
Stanton remembers little about her reign as Little Miss Edina, with hazy recollections of riding on an Aquatennial float, wearing a cape and a sparkly crown, and standing on stage for the pageant at the Edina Theater. But thanks to the framed Ike dress hanging on her wall, she will always remember that special day in 1956 when the President of the United States shook her hand.
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Minnesota Historical Society Conservation Outreach Program
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651.259.3465
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