The Collectors: Dave and Vickie Sutton’s precious occasions

A battered soldier with bandages on his face – his shield splattered with egg.

A girl toting an overflowing laundry basket.

An angry tyke stomping upstairs with an equally annoyed puppy in his wake.

For 46 years, Dave and Vickie Sutton have marked memorable occasions by giving each other Precious Moments figurines.

Their collection began in 1978, the year the first 21 collectibles were released. Dave, a minister, had just accepted his first position as a head pastor.

“I wanted to get him something to commemorate his first church,” Vickie said.

At Halpin’s in Spokane Valley, she found a little shepherd holding a staff, a lamb following closely behind. The words, “He Leadeth Me” are stamped on the bottom.

When they ran into problems in that little church, she found another figurine to encourage her husband. The inscription on the scuffed-up warrior reads, “Onward Christian Soldiers.”

“We just liked them,” Dave said. “We looked for occasions to mark them with.”

He gave Vickie the girl with the load of laundry. It’s called “Be not Weary in Well-Doing.”

“I had four kids in five years,” she recalled.

“I felt like an old washerwoman!”

The hand-painted porcelain bisque figurines featuring children with teardrop-shaped eyes are the creations of artist Samuel Butcher. They first appeared in 1975 on greeting cards and posters. Butcher used them to convey Biblical messages with a dash of humor and whimsy.

“I love the humor that goes with the scriptures,” Vickie said.

Dave pointed to the inscription on an angel wearing aviator goggles and peering down from a small cloud, an instruction manual clutched under his arm. It reads, “Trust in the Lord.”

That sums up how they’ve lived their lives.

“By choice, we had a large family and went to small churches,” he said. “I’ve always had to have a second job.”

He umpired baseball for many years.

“Dave used his umpire money for milk, eggs, bread and Precious Moments,” Vickie said.

One of Dave’s favorites is a milkmaid sitting next to a cow, a bucket on her head – the milking stool overturned. It’s called “I get a kick out of you.”

“Vickie’s has this funny side,” he said, grinning. “She’s a kick.”

Their collection numbers approximately 70 items, including a 13-piece Nativity set. They own several of the 21 first releases, the bottoms stamped with Jonathon and David, the company’s original name.

They enjoy their collection so much that they even visited the Precious Moments Foundation in Carthage, Missouri.

“We have some limited editions and 10 retired editions which means they broke the mold. Every couple of years, they retire 100.” Dave said. “But we never collected them to sell.”

The once ubiquitous figurines have become harder to find and more expensive.

“They originally cost $7-$8,” he said. “Now, they start at $26-$45.”

He’s taken to searching for them at garage sales, and two years ago, he bought five of them for $10 at a Boise thrift store. When they discovered they already owned one of them, Vickie gave it to a granddaughter at her bridal shower.

The boy and girl on a seesaw is called “Love Lifted Me” and is one of the 21 original designs.

Sometimes a figurine offers a much-needed reminder. Like the scowling boy marching upstairs with his equally angry pup. Dave pointed out its scriptural title, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”

“Vickie and I are so different,” he said, grinning. “We never had arguments, we had discussions. Sometimes, you just need something to make you laugh and keep your sense of humor.”

Their collection lives in a cabinet specifically bought to showcase it, in their Spokane Valley living room.

“They memorialize all the things we went through together,” Dave said. “We look at them and take a deep breath.”