Author: Jane Albright

OzCon International (Aug. 10-12) offered a wonderful program packed with enough great Oz activity to appeal to all kinds of Oz fans. The year marked the centennial of The Tin Woodman of Oz, so our friend Nick Chopper received extra attention. James Ortiz, for example, joined us to talk about his fascinating and critically acclaimed off-Broadway production of THE WOODSMAN. David Maxine presented what we know about Broadway’s first Tin Woodman, actor David Montgomery.  Eric Shanower walked his audience through different ways the character’s been illustrated.  Jack Haley’s grandson Barry Bregman shared family stories about the MGM star. And Dina Schiff Massachi’s talk brought us clear up to Todrick Hall’s Tin Man. That was just the Tin Woodman; there were roughly two dozen other presentations, too. Baum sites in Los Angeles, JOURNEY BACK TO OZ, Marriages in Oz, MGM special effects, Animated Oz, and Ray Bolger each had a spotlight. Authors shared new books about Matilda Joslyn Gage, Gay Fans of Oz, and newly published Oz fiction.  It was a glorious abundance. There was much more than presentations, of course. The dealer’s room offered rare book specialists, collectibles and fine art.  Dramatics included the delightful Raymond Wohl’s one-man performance as L. Frank Baum, and a “readers’ theater” skit about Baum’s Tin Woodman of Oz. The costume contest, “It’s the Baum” game show, after-hours karaoke, and much, much conversation keep the adrenaline going all weekend. If you’ve never attended an Oz convention, 2019 is the perfect time to change that!  The Club will host Oz: The National Convention outside New Orleans in June, and OzCon International will return to Pomona, California, in July. Conventions attract fans of all ages, and with all interests. There are always first-time attendees as well as those who make it an annual event. We’d love to have you join the fun!

The new Oz Club exhibit at the Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas, offers a sampling of merchandise from the 50th anniversary of the 1939 MGM film. 1989 was a big year for the Oz collectibles market. Not only were many new collectible formats introduced, but manufacturers made variants for each character. Groundbreaking new books about the film were published.  And organizers put extra effort into annual Oz events.   Although the display case can only hold the tip of the Ozzy iceberg that was 1989, museum visitors will get a glimpse at the variety of products and activities created both for fans and the general public. It was great fun to have the display up during Oztoberfest, the museum’s annual Oz event. I always enjoy the opportunity to talk about Oz with others, and there’s no better time than festival weekend when thousands of people flock to Wamego, and hundreds of fans pack the museum. Future plans will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the film with merchandise from the film’s initial release.

The Oz Club’s board of directors’ meeting and OzCon International timing gave me a perfect excuse to stay in the Los Angeles area and attend the unforgettable wedding of Emma Ridley.  In 1985 she was the young actress cast as Ozma in Disney’s live-action film, RETURN TO OZ.  Since an invitation to Ozma’s wedding doesn’t come along every day, I determined to accept. I’m so glad I did. Emma and I have been Facebook friends since I stumbled into her page when looking for her birthday to include in an Oz Club calendar.  I finally met her in person at Oz: The National Convention in 2017. (Actually, I helped her get into her Ozma costume for the event, but that’s another story.) She was thoughtful enough to include me with a handful of Oz fans on her guest list.  Of course, my first problem was finding a wedding present. How does one shop for Ozma? Nothing I thought of pleased me until I contacted Bill Campbell. He and Irwin Terry make wonderful stained glass through Century Studios in Minneapolis.  In the film, Ozma was trapped in a mirror; there had to be something Bill could do with that. I loved the result, and when a delighted Emma shared it on Facebook it was clear she did, too. Cut to the wedding day. Morning dawned bright and beautiful in sunny California. I arrived and slid into a pew with other Oz fans. The church was filled with flowers, friends and family wearing their finest. Darling flower girls came down the aisle in Ruby Slippers. Soloists and choirs sung. I remember “Amazing Grace,” “At Last,” “Young and Beautiful,” and of course, “Over the Rainbow.” Vows were shared, rings exchanged, man and wife were pronounced and kissed. Emma couldn’t have looked lovelier, nor her groom Michael Carter more pleased. We showered them with rose pedals and sent them off in a horse-drawn carriage fit for a princess. A fantastic party followed at their home that lasted well past midnight. The living room, like the church, was alive with pink flowers. The dining room was a buffet of cakes for high tea. The bar was stocked and drinks kept coming.  Emma’s personal dance studio was transformed into a photo booth.  Dinner was served in a sprawling outdoor tent. Music was everywhere — a pianist in the front room, a harpist playing on the veranda, a live band and soloists set up near the pool house.  “Over the Rainbow” was performed again, once as a song and once as an aerial performance. Emma changed dresses a time to two. I gave in to my curiosity and — often with an Oz friend or two in tow — looked around the house for signs of Oz.  Success!  The Ozma doll Ace Genaro made for her, which was presented last summer at the Oz Club’s convention, was in the dance studio off the bar. Photos of her from RETURN TO OZ were in the hallway. Her Ozma glass panel was high in a living room window. It was a wedding — and party — we’ll all remember. All my thanks to Emma and Michael for giving your guests such a marvelous day. And a toast to your future happiness!  

The Oz Club’s board of directors met Thursday, August 9, 2018. These annual all-day meetings give us time to hear from each officer, editor, appointee, and committee chairman.  It’s our chance to learn—in person—how various directors and other volunteers have been assisting the Club. We bring to the group plans and ideas for what we’d like to introduce in the year ahead, propose nominees for the next term’s board, and approve the budget. Picture 20+ people around tables that line a big room, with an open phone line in the center that allows those unable to join us in person to at least dial in, report, and participate.  While we’re all friends and Oz fans, we do take Board service seriously. Roberts Rules of Order are followed; minutes are recorded.  There are regular needs to refer to our bylaws and to make, second, and vote on various motions from the floor. By the time we wrap up we’ve solved some problems, shared our ideas for reaching new members, and made suggestions for what more we can do as a Club. We’ve tapped a few new volunteers, and inspired one another to volunteer our time in the months ahead. You can see a list of who currently serves on the Board and in what capacity in the About Us section of the Website.

Bill Thompson was presented with the 2018 L. Frank Baum Memorial Award Aug. 11 in Pomona, California. The auction Bill led had just ended before dinner, so his expertise and energy was top-of-mind for the cheering crowd. Scott Cummings (2017 LFB recipient) made the presentation following a traditional format that hints at the winner with increasingly revealing details. As a past recipient I knew what name was coming and kept sneaking looks at Bill. Scott was well into the speech before Bill caught on, responding with genuine surprise and emotion. Wondering why we chose Bill this year? Well let me tell you…. Bill has served as our auctioneer for many years, which is nothing at all like most fundraising auctions where some paid, fast talker shows up for a couple of hours then disappears at the last bang of a gavel. Within the Club, our volunteer auctioneer manages all aspects of this job from start to finish. He advises people who have material they want to donate or consign, fielding emails, phone calls and visiting their homes. He regularly packs donations, organizes and stores them in his own home, and personally drives them across country to be available at our auction sites. Of course the auction income is important to the Club, but it’s also important to our educational mission to identify and describe everything for collectors in both the auction and the silent auction. Bill does all that—and he’s introduced absentee bidding, expanded to accept PayPal payments, and writes the descriptions for the auction lists that he distributes in advance. He maintains the database of listings and bidders, working with two helpers to tally up winner totals, and get us through payments efficiently. When Bill first attended our Oz Centennial convention in Bloomington, Illinois, he lost no time jumping right in. That year he helped decorate the hotel for the event. Soon he was contributing to bibliographic research and writing articles for the Bugle. I recently blogged about his piece describing the Wonderful Game of Oz. His interest in collecting material by W.W. Denslow resulted in the most extensive checklist of Denslow material available. He’s served on our Board of Directors, and we’ve recently nominated him for that service again. Bill’s bibliographic research led to his developing an extensive personal research collection that he generously shares. And this year his expertise evolved into the publication of his massively comprehensive Bibliographia Baumiana. It was a milestone in many ways and provided a perfect moment to recognize Bill for his outstanding contributions, as the plaque reads, to the saga of Oz. Congratulations, Bill!

2019 marks both the 80th anniversary of the MGM film, and the 100th anniversary of L. Frank Baum’s death. Why not consider approaching a local library, museum, historic site, or gallery to see if they’d be interested in hosting a display of your Oz collection? Your collection doesn’t have to be extensive. With the right fit you can share your enthusiasm for Oz any number of ways based on the facility’s focus and the Oz pieces you’d be willing to loan. The larger more professional places plan a year or more in advance, so you need to get the ball rolling now. There are plenty of special interest museums devoted to dolls, pop culture, music, art, and more where an Oz exhibit would be a fun topic.  Library exhibits can range from rare books to modern fiction; you can fill a case with books and biographies about the MGM film. From a community center interested in a case of quilts and crafts, to a puppet theater with a lobby case that’s perfect for Oz puppets, there are many ways to place Oz displays in public view. Look around and see what venue near you would be a good fit for Oz.  Find out if they have an area for short-term or rotating exhibits. Contact the director or curator and ask if they’d be interested in meeting to talk about Oz.  At that point, next steps will depend on how fully staffed and professional the facility is and how long the exhibit would be up. I love to exhibit and have served up anything from a single piece to literally rooms full of Oz. That means I’ve worked with places where a team agreed on each object, which was then measured in advance for specially designed cases, then itemized, photographed and insured in detailed documentation. Even packing and pick up was all done by a professional staff.  I’ve also been offered an empty case — or ten — and given the keys to bring whatever I like and arrange it all myself. Anything’s possible, just be sure to determine how much work will be required of you in advance, and decide if you’re interested. I’ve also supported exhibits where precious things are locked behind glass, and exhibits where security is slim to none; weigh risks as you decide what you’re willing to loan. This blog is just meant to get you thinking about how to get your Oz autographs, cookie jars, comic books, nutcrackers, Baum books, foreign translations, or feature film posters out for the world to see. Detailed advice on mounting an exhibit would call for more space and time than this blog offers. But as an experienced exhibitor, I encourage you to consider finding a good fit for sharing Oz with others in 2019.  

A small group of Oz Club members, Oz fans and friends recently met in Troutdale, Oregon, for an afternoon of Oz fun and games. I was vacationing in Portland, so set my sights on the McMenamins Edgefield for the June 16th event organized by Karyl Carlson.  We gathered in a meeting room Karyl had loaded with Oz board games. After a round of introductions, the games began. My first round of competition played the Wonderful Game of Oz using a facsimile copy of the original 1921 board game. Contemporary games followed at all four long tables, each circled with 8-10 fans who ranged in age from 5 to 90. Unopened games were awarded as prizes to triumphant winners. Show-and-tell gave us a break from games, then we broke for refreshments — a tea complete with finger sandwiches and sweets. Following tea we switched to a jeopardy-style game that divided the group into two large teams each eager to best the other with our knowledge of Oz trivia. There was much cheering and laughter as the scores added up. One enthusiastic player flung his hand in the air with such force and eagerness that the threw himself right off his own chair. When our scheduled meeting room time ended, we moved to a lounge area for another hour or so. Still unwilling to let the day end, several of us caravaned for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Everyone had a splendid time. I left wishing I had a similar group of like-minded Oz fans to gather with back home. In the land of Oz the northwest corner of the country is home to the Oogaboos, prompting these fans in the Washington/Oregon area to claim the title for themselves. For decades — literally — the Oogaboos have met regularly. Generally they meet in someone’s home for a pot luck meal and Ozzy fellowship. I heard people talk about past events that included everything from watching movies to playing croquet. They make it easy by simply sorting through who might host next, setting a date and inviting everyone over. This Oogaboo Rendezvous was considered a “Grand” event because they booked space and pooled funds to provide the refreshments. The venue, the McMenamins Edgefield, was a charming old resort loaded with whimsical art. I’d have enjoyed exploring it further; they had restaurants, lodging, a onsite distillery, bars, live music, and more. I’m not a beer drinker, but one brand caught my eye.  They bottle Hammerhead ale! If you ever have a chance to spend a day as a Oogaboo, go for it!

Wizard of Oz puppetry turned out to be a topic big enough for its own book. (And if you want to write it, you can have my notes.) Tackling it for The Baum Bugle I quickly discovered the topic was larger than my vision for the article, which was limited to performing puppet shows for children here in the US. As I focused on a dozen or so of the more memorable shows, I quickly realized there were just as many intriguing Oz puppet shows overseas. I also can include some information about the use of puppetry on stage and screen in Part 2, although I dare not carry that conversation too far; technology has taken that far over my head. And have you seen the Muppets wiki entry for The Wizard of Oz?  The feature would double! We’d be serving up puppet features for two years! Following the necessary but painful direction of our editor to cut cut cut cut this topic down to Bugle-sized bites, we hit on an idea I have long toyed with. Why not overflow some of that “extra” material onto the Club’s website? So I did. Now in addition to puppet content in the Spring and Autumn Bugle, you’ll find “extra” Oz puppetry online such as International puppet shows, a few pages of Muppet material, and a request for your help building a photo gallery of mass-produced Oz puppets. Sort of a visual checklist we can do online that would have filled too many pages in the Bugle. I’m currently working to gather up a scrapbook of ephemera that we didn’t include, too, but that Extra’s not quite ready to share — just like so many words and so many pages, there are so many clippings, photos, programs and pictures to sort through. Moving forward, we hope to see other contributors to the Bugle take advantage of our website to provide extra material beyond what Bugle pages can hold. The opportunity to embed links was particularly helpful with this puppetry content. I hope you’ll follow them, and have a look at some of the fantastic Wizard of Oz puppet shows I uncovered while researching the articles. Look for Bugle Extras posted as pdfs on the Baum Bugle page here at OzClub.org.