Samantha Torse Models for Donaldson's Department Store.

Samantha Torse was selected by Cloverdale's Donaldson's Department Story to model the finest in children's winter fashion. Donaldsons advertised the job opening in the Confederacy Times two Sunday's ago. At 5:00 A.M. the following Monday, thirty four mothers were lined up with their children at the department store's staff entrance. Mrs. Torse, a former child model herself for the Salvation Army Thrift Stores, was first in line - determined to secure a modeling position for her daughter.

Samantha was snatched from a deep slumber at 4:00 A.M. so she could be scrubbed clean, made up, dressed to the nines, wrapped in plastic wrap and rushed to the store to be first in line. Once inside, the girls were interviewed in alphabetical order. That gave Samantha's mother time to survey the competition. Half way through the line Mrs. Torse realized that her attempt to make her daughter glamorous might not be what the store wanted. The girls coming out of the interview were all made up to look older. Some were seriously over painted, a common mistake made by new modeling mothers. Those poor girls looked like they drank heavily, chained smoked and spent most evenings down at the docks waiting for the sailors to come into port.

Mrs. Torse thought long and hard while she polished her daughter's teeth with Vaseline. She stood and walked over to the advertising poster to carefully reread what it said. It stated that Donaldson's was looking for a young girl to model their children's winter fashions. Mrs. Torse reread the words 'young girl'. She rushed back to Samantha, took out her WetWipes and started removing layer after layer of make up. A few moments later Samantha was called in. Ten minutes after that mother and daughter walked out with the job. The 'no make up look' was just what they were looking for.

In the picture above Samantha is wearing a beautiful woolen coat from the department store's Dr. Zhivago Line of children's outer wear. The picture was taken near Victory Fountain in Capital City. Mrs. Torse couldn't be more proud of her daughter. This displaced pride motivated her to search the attic for her old Salvation Army modeling pictures. She found them in the box labeled 'junk'. They now hang throughout the Torse home.

The Torses are so proud. What started as Mrs. Torse's humble photo shoot using a donated instamatic camera for the local Salvation Army Thrift Store turned into the daughter's professional shoot for Donaldson's Department Store using a digital camera with multiple flashes and lenses. All in one generation.