900 dollhouses; Rochester's Jo Ann McCracken had quite the collection

Apr. 10—ROCHESTER — It was the school secretary who first sensed the romantic potential between the two Rochester educators.

Seeking to play matchmatcher, she made sure that Jo Ann Catherine McCracken, a fifth-grade teacher at Folwell Elementary School, was put on the same school committees as principal Bob Funk. She would sit them together at staff-togethers. They shared their first cocktails together after a PTA meeting.

But it was the world of miniatures — dollhouses — that completed the bond that would last decades. One day in the teachers' lounge, Jo told Bob she was building a leprechaun dollhouse out of a hollow tree section. She asked him how she could put windows in it. Bob suggested using a hole saw. They worked together on it for months, putting windows, floors and an elevator in the elf house.

They were married in 1982. Bob joined her in her passion for miniatures — for tables and chairs that fit in the palm of your hand, people and pets the size of your thumb — because, well, it was what she cared about. It was something they could do together. He eventually became a board member of the National Association of Miniatures.

As her collection grew, Bob built additions onto their residence in northeast Rochester — above the garage and in the back — to house them all. When she died at 83 on March 28, 2024, the collection had grown to more than 900.

"It was not only the building of something she could see and do with her hands. But the other thing was the people that she met," Bob said.

Bob said her fascination with miniatures connected her to a community of dollhouse aficionados, created opportunities to travel, and offered lessons in history.

The dollhouses also connnected Jo to him. "She's still with me," Bob said as he scanned the dollhouses.

Every dollhouse had a story behind it, Bob said. Each miniature paradoxically provided a glimpse into a bigger world. The longer you looked the greater the detail and craftsmanship you observed. A file meticulously maintained by Jo included the history and provenance, place of discovery and price of every dollhouse they came to own.

The houses lined walls, were stacked on shelves and covered tables. There is not a room that doesn't have a dollhouse: Tiny speakeasies, miniature New England town homes, tiny bedrooms — even a replica of their own bedroom.

Bob said Jo's interest in dollhouses started like for many as a childhood enthusiasm that evolved into an appreciation of their artistry and history. Her dad built her first dollhouse. A Michigan state patrol officer, he had a job that required him to move from post to post. With every move, a new dollhouse was built between the two.

"It was something her dad and her could do together," Bob said. "He'd do the building, and she would do the interior decoration."

The history of today's dollhouses can be traced back 400 years to the "baby house" display cases of Europe. A critic's view of dollhouses is that they were meant to condition and socialize girls into a life of domesticity, of homemakers and housewives. Jo was not that type of person, Bob said. In college, Jo studied to be a police officer like her dad. When she found out that women state police officers could only hold desk jobs, she switched to teaching.

Jo wasn't wild about being photographed, but when she was, it revealed a quirky, off-beat personality: A dash of purple in her hair, two rats resting on her shoulder.

Society's love for dollhouses and miniatures dates back centuries. Though viewed by many as playthings, a childhood's pastime, dollhouses weren't originally viewed as toys, according to the article "This is Why You're Obsessed with Tiny Things" by JR Thorpe. When they arrived on the scene in the 17th century across Germany and Holland, they weren't originally for children.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with all of these dollhouses," Bob said. But he said he will likely seek to donate some to museums or nonprofits and raffle off others.

"The ones that she did with her dad were her favorites. Her dad taught her hand skills, how to use the tools," Bob said.

"She just enjoyed all of them."