The Cape Cod Miniature Society was the inspiration of one woman, Katie Kirby Milholo.  In 1979 she visited the Cape shop owners of miniatures and invited those interested to form a club.  The first few meetings wereattended by Richard and Sue Dow from Dow's Miniatures in Brewster; Frank and Irma Lewy from the Side Door in Dennis; Cathy Osterman, owner of  the Depot Dollhouse in Dennisport; and June Thomas from Harwich and Sonya Shapiro from Centerville among others.  In a short time, the Club grew to twenty-two charter members.  The Club sponsored an exhibit and sale in its first year of existence and has successfully repeated a Dollhouse and Miniature Show and Sale every August since.  This year, 2003, the Show date has been changed to November to accommodate off-Cape travelers planning on making the CCMS show their fun weekend for miniatures.

In the beginning years, the CCMS Show was held at Dunfey's (now the Sheraton Tara, Hyannis) on the third Sunday in August.  In 1987, the Show was moved to the Sheraton Regal on Rt. 132 in Hyannis (now the Cape Codder Hotel)  It was there we introduced workshops and roundtables on Saturday.  We also had
a Saturday night get-together, a wine and cheese party, for the miniaturists attending our workshops and for dealers and Society members as well.  It was a fun time shared by all.  Since the year 2000, we have held
our Show and Sale on Sunday, at the Radisson Hotel in Hyannis, and we still present wonderful workshops and roundtables on Saturday.

Over the years, the Show has featured dealers from Iowa, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, Delaware, Florida and Canada, as well as all the New England States.  The Club chooses
those dealers representing dolls, painted furniture, pottery , china, signs, oil paintings, shaker furniture, South Western accessories, miniature food, flowers, etc. in order to balance the Show and present a greater variety of miniatures for the avid collector.  Another popular Show attraction is the beautiful door prize created by the Club membership.  Each attendee receives one free chance on this miniature door prize with their admission fee.  Previous prizes have included a Cape Cod cottage with loft; a garage sale; an elopement in progress; a greenhouse; a wedding in a gazebo; a 1/2 inch scale Cape Cod house, furnished and landscaped; an indoor/outdoor scene in a glass dome; a murder mystery scene; a winter scene with snowmen - each of them unique and beautiful!  The door prize is fashioned in the theme that was chosen that particular year for our Show.  The drawing for the door prize is held the last half-hour of the Show.  The winner need not be present to claim the prize.

During the year, members work on miniatures that are donated for our raffle which is also held the day of the Show.  Attendees buy raffle tickets and the winning name is drawn at the close of the program.   At least ten such miniatures are raffled to the public in this fashion.  The proceeds from this endeavor have assisted the Karen Nicoletti Memorial Scholarship Fund which supports seniors graduating fromCape Cod High Schools who are continuing their education in the arts.  Karen Nicoletti was a talented, charter member of the Society.  Besides our yearly scholarship awards, CCMS has donated to the Cape Cod Times Needy Fund, the Nauset Workshop for the Handicapped and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.  For the latter's benefit, we completed a large dollhouse which we donated to the MSPCC for a raffle that raised over $3,000 for them.  Each year we also contribute books on miniatures to our local libraries.

Our Club members always are willing to assist other organizations and individuals who have immediate needs. These have included raising monies for transportation of breast cancer victims for therapy, setting up miniature exhibits at Cape Cod libraries and museums and participating in interviews on local TV programs espousing our hobby.  We completed a room box with a Cape Cod beach scene which will become part of the "World's Largest Dream House" for the Children's Hospital in Valhalla, New York.  These and other projects keep our members busy and involved with the community at large.

As a NAME club, the Cape Cod Miniature Society supports the national organization by promoting House Parties, State Days and Mini Fun Days. At our yearly show, NAME is invited and encouraged to display products from their workshops and shows at a free table provided by CCMS.

Our local Club offers workshops at each meeting and we have our own lending library of how-to videos, instructional books and magazines. Our membership is open to anyone interested in joining. We meet the second Wednesday of each month at 7p.m. at the South Yarmouth Public Library.  Our current roster includes members of all ages.  We are a NAME Club which believes in NAME's motto: "Only through sharing can we really enjoy our treasures."