Lunchboxes, dolls and other “Annie” memorabilia are on display in “Leapin Lizards! A Hundred Years of Little Orphan Annie,” an exhibition presented by the Lombard Historical Society.

But Annie’s story goes back to 1924 when "Little Orphan Annie" first appeared in a syndicated comic strip. It was the brainchild of a man named Harold Gray, who happened to live in Lombard.

The "Little Orphan" was dropped in the late '70s. And she finally traded her red dress with the white collar for sneakers and jeans. But Annie remained a plainspoken girl -- a favorite expression ...

There were parodies, too, most famously the misadventures of Little Annie Fanny, a voluptuous young woman who got in trouble — and often ended up naked. It first appeared in Playboy in the 1960s.

Little Orphan Annie may be famous in comic strips and movies, but she was first near and dear to the hearts of a Hancock ...