Patsy Cline’s Clothing Attracts High Bidders Local Group Buys 3 Items By: Stephanie M. Mangino The Winchester Star Patsy Cline’s legacy fetched a high price Tuesday, 40 years after her death. Sixteen clothing items placed on the auction block netted $123,919, according to a spokesperson for Christie’s auction house in New York, which handled the midtown Manhattan sale. Every item up for bid sold, according to Christie’s. The pieces owned by the legendary pop and country music singer came from the estate of Cline’s mother, Hilda V. Hensley of Winchester, who designed and sewed many of her daughter’s outfits. Cline died on March 5, 1963, at the age of 30, in a Tennessee airplane crash. Her mother died in 1998 in Winchester. Since 2001, Hensley’s surviving children, Sylvia M. Wilt and Samuel L. Hensley, have battled over pieces of their mother’s estate. In August, Winchester Circuit Court Judge John E. Wetsel Jr. ordered the sale to pay for the cost of administering Hensley’s estate. At that time, estate administrator Charles R. Alton of Winchester estimated in court papers that if the estate remained open through the end of 2004, it would cost $43,671.18 to administer. He was unavailable for comment following Tuesday’s auction. Winchester-based Celebrating Patsy Cline Inc., which submitted bids by phone, purchased three pieces for $25,000, said CPC President Jim Stutzman. The organization is dedicated to creating a museum for Cline in the 608 S. Kent St. home where she lived while her career developed. Stutzman said CPC picked up a green cowgirl outfit Cline wore in the 1955 Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, a red cowgirl outfit, and a white cowboy hat. The items sold for $10,157, $11,352, and $3,585 respectively, according to Christie’s. The prices were higher than expected, Stutzman said. The auction’s highest winning bid for an individual piece was $23,000, for a red cowgirl outfit with a pre-auction value estimate of $3,200 to $3,500. While CPC was a bit disappointed about being unable to purchase all the items it wanted, the group is thrilled with the pieces it bought “because of the significance they have to Winchester,” Stutzman said. Stutzman said CPC obtained the $25,000 through the generosity of local businesses and Cline fans who contributed to the cause. “We thought everything went very well,” said Always Patsy Cline Fan Club Treasurer J.D. Thompson of Winchester, whose group donated to the CPC bidding fund. Stutzman said he’s pleased with who purchased the items, with seven of the 16 pieces going to known entities that may want to donate them to a Cline museum. Cline’s daughter, Julie Fudge, listened in on the auction and issued a statement Tuesday from her Nashville, Tenn.-area home. “I was sorry the items ended up going to auction. We were all disappointed to hear it had come to that. I am glad to hear that most of (the items) have ended up in good hands, with people that will take good care of them. “I feel good knowing that they may be displayed in the future for all the fans. The fans are always so kind and they do so much to keep her memory alive,” Fudge said in the statement. As for the museum that the CPC items will presumably grace one day, Stutzman said the Kent Street house may not be paid off by the end of the year, as originally planned. Auction expenses shifted the destination of some donations to CPC, he said. However, the building could be paid off on time if sales of a Cline commemorative tin from Route 11 Potato Chips in Middletown and donations affected by a matching grant go well, he added. The grant, from the Adams Cos. of Frederick County, will match every donation made to the Always Patsy Cline Fan Club through the end of the year, up to $10,000, Stutzman said.

Originally Published In The Winchester Star On November 19, 2003







WLC © 2005. All Rights Reserved.