Abbie White

The Collection was created by Abbie White, and represents over 50 years of acquiring unique evening bags from church sales, antique shops, and second-hand stores. 

Abbie was born on February 3, 1930, in Whitley, Kentucky, and often shared fond childhood memories of walking with her sisters, cousins and friends to wile away the day in Cumberland Falls State Park. 

At the age of 23, while working for General Furniture, she was nominated for and selected as a finalist for the 1953 Miss Furniture Contest, hosted by the Furniture Club of America during their annual Summer Market in Chicago. She was encouraged to spare no expense in getting everything needed for the three day event, including a formal dress, gloves, shoes and evening bag, to be paid for by the company. The small, beaded evening bag purchased at Macy's in 1953 became the start of a lifelong love of collecting vintage evening bags. It would be the only one purchased new.  That bag, and a dedicated display of the "Miss Furniture" event, is spotlighted in every showing. 

During her lifetime, she lived in Cincinnati, Columbus, Kansas City, New York City, abroad in Tripoli, Libya and Port Harcourt, Nigeria, before returning to settle in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She retired from St. John Medical Center after 25 years of faithful service, and embarked on yet another adventure with a move to San Antonio, Texas, where the warm air would be "good for her bones." It was there she discovered her passion for volunteering in hospice, which continued through the remainder of her life. With five years in Texas behind her, she returned to Tulsa, sure it would be home for good.  A decade later she set sail again, and approaching 80, she packed up and moved to St. Louis, Missouri. From that point forward she liked to call St. Louis her last and best chapter, living at Covenant Place, a thriving communtiy for seniors. Her final years were vital, vibrant, active and engaged, volunteering for Pathways Community Hospice, singing with the Covenant Place Choir,  performing with the Chai Notes Bells Choir, taking part in fitness and social activities, as well as attending Friday evening services with her beloved friends in the Covenant Place community. 

On November 17, 2013, Abbie and daughter Anna Maria hosted a community showing of her evening bag collection at the Covenant Place, where Abbie called home. Many of her friends had no idea her collection of evening bags was so vast and incomparable. At one time, the Collection included over 1,000 bags, and well over 200 bags were included in the showing.  The event was a huge success and plans were made for future showings to be offered, again at the Covenant Place and at other retirement communities. An invitation was extended from The Willows at Brooking Park. 

Upon Abbie’s passing in 2016, Anna Maria kept the finest pieces of the Collection, with a promise to fulfill the dream of doing additional showings, including again at the Covenant Place and at the Willows of Brooking Park, as a way to bring joy to others while honoring the memory of her mother.

The 1953 Miss Furniture Contest