Sifton woman built a temple to Temple

Sifton — Growing up in a big, poor family on a Kansas farm made going to the movies a rare treat for Bonnie McCourtney. She adored child star Shirley Temple — who was two years her junior, and who died about a month ago at age 85 — but always knew that her family couldn’t afford a Shirley Temple doll. Many decades later, though, McCourtney responded to a magazine ad and treated herself to eight Shirley Temple dolls, each one costumed for a different Temple movie. She mostly kept them pristine in their original boxes — until she gave all but one away to her great-granddaughters. McCourtney’s remaining doll is “Stand Up and Cheer,” her favorite. She’s saving that last doll in case there’s ever another great-granddaughter.