Author: Jane Albright

When Parker Bros.’ Wonderful Game of Oz was described in the Wizard of Oz Collector’s Treasury as “one of the most visually satisfying Oz products ever published,” I nodded my agreement—vigorously. The game is really striking. Plus, it’s a game—and it’s a map of Oz covered with characters and places from the Oz books. It’s also lovely enough to frame. Who could ask for anything more? I soon discovered there was far more to the game than I realized. There were variants to the way it was packaged, or example: at least four that I could spot. It was released in the US and Canada. The game markers, the rules, and the shakers all went through changes. In the Spring 2018 Baum Bugle (arriving now in member mailboxes), Bill Thompson takes readers far beyond the superficial and delves into the details that define and distinguish the different copies of this game following its first appearance.  While I contributed some content to this issue of the Bugle myself, I think this great piece by Bill is one the collector in me will most remember from our Spring 2018 issue.

This year I have spent far more time than I ever dreamed possible exploring the fascinating world of Oz puppets. The Spring 2018 issue of The Baum Bugle will be Club members’ first exposure to the result; as a preview I’m using my blog to cover one of the aspects of Oz puppetry that won’t make the Bugle pages—fun memories many members have of their own Oz puppets and childhood Oz puppet shows. I have vivid memories of playing with Hazelle marionettes growing up. My sister had the Scarecrow, I had a bear, and we both had girls. Not quite the cast for an Oz puppet production, but many hours of fun in our homemade cardboard theater. Today my collection includes the Hazelle set (above left), a vintage pair of handmade marionettes of the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow (right), and a delightful Tin Man I found on Etsy (below left). The pair was purchased from another collector so I don’t know who made them, but they were clearly used many, many times. Oh, and there are dozens of mass-produced hand puppets smiling up at me including a few from overseas. We have lots of puppet stories. I remember Willard Carroll telling me about the afternoon he emptied and washed enough jam jars to get all three of the Return to Oz plush puppets in 1985. Or David Diket using Multi-toy dolls as puppets to act out The Wizard of Oz for his home movie productions. Have you a story you’re willing by to share? Please use the comments feature of this blog to tell us about the Oz puppet adventures of your childhood. Puppets you made, shows you staged, and fun tales of acquisitions. Bring ‘em on!

Some years ago, Karen Owens thought we might entice fans to join the Oz Club at Oz festival booths if she had an extra incentive. A big collector of Oz pins, she promptly had an enameled pin made featuring L. Frank Baum with Dorothy, Scarecrow and Tin Woodman. At festivals ever since, those joining the Club at her booth walked away rewarded with the pin. Fast forward to last summer; her supply was depleted. Now a proven success at sealing the deal for those considering membership, we agreed a new pin supply should be ordered. With a little work to raise the unbudgeted funds, our assistant membership secretary Bill Beem, had a new pin designed and ordered, this time with Glinda, the Wicked Witch of the West, and a Flying Monkey surrounding Baum. It arrived this week. Bill Beem and Lynn Beltz will debut the new pin at the summer’s first Oz festival, Oz-Stravaganza! in Chittenango, NY. There, and at additional events ahead, we will use the new pin to help build Club membership. Speaking of which, 2018 membership is off to a great start! We are already just six members short of reaching our final 2017 count. My fingers are crossed that’s an indication that growth’s ahead for our Oz Club.

It’s a small thing, but worth a short blog. The Oz Club has been without an informational flier for quite a while. That changed today when cartons of new ones arrived at my door. Now that our online store has reopened, we needed to add that back into the flier. We also had an address change last summer, and we have more social media activity than ever before.  These fliers are often left in literature stands where only the top portion of the front cover appears behind other literature. So that top section now reads “Oz Club” a bit more clearly. I also really love this Tin Woodman by Dick Martin. I hope all members will find the Club to be as friendly and welcoming as he is. A flier is not nearly so substantial as a book; we should revise this regularly, and I will do my best to keep it more up to date. A supply of these soon heads to Chittenango, NY, where our good friends at All Things Oz have them available in the museum store, and distribute them widely during Oz-Stravaganza Jute 1-3. I’ll also have some at the Ag Hall of Fame (Bonner Springs, Kansas) where an exhibit I’m currently supporting is open for the summer. If you know of a spot where our fliers might attract the attention of potential members, let me know. I can get some in the mail to you. Thanks to all who join the Club. Your membership dues — and our many committed volunteers — help us help others discover the wonderful Land of Oz. Interested in Oz-Stravaganza! and All Things Oz? See their website for more. The AG Hall exhibit promotes Oz Comes to Kansas, an August 1-5 event. For details follow this link.

Reading copies of Oz books, particularly newer reprints, tend to stack up around me. I can’t pass them up when they’re just a few bucks at an estate sale, bundled in an auction “lot,” or gifted to me by people who don’t know what else to do with them.  Does that happen to you, too? Don’t hoard them, do what I do; give them away. Your local Ronald McDonald house likely has a few shelves of books for kids staying there to borrow. These are kids with a hospitalized sibling who would welcome the distraction of a Baum fantasy.  They have time for chapter books.  Check kids hospitals, community centers, and family homeless shelters to see if there’s a reading corner for kids.  My dentist office is a fine place for pop-up versions of Oz; they’re a quick scan to read mixed in with the puzzles and puppets provided for kids waiting with a parent — or to see the dentist themselves.  Those “little libraries” popping up in residential areas can always use a paperback Oz book. As Oz books have occasion to pile up around me, I’ve become accustomed to finding where I can just leave them.  No approvals or paperwork, just slide them on the shelf. I’ve sent Oz books to school libraries where I’ve spoken, vacation spots with shared community areas, even senior centers where an elderly friend might enjoy revisiting his or her youth. Personally, since I like to promote the Oz Club, I put a transparent sticker on the “this book belongs to” page in substantial editions noting that it’s been donated by the International Wizard of Oz Club.  But that’s not necessary.  Think about what Oz means to you, and consider that copies gifted into this Great Outside World might just find their way into a young reader’s hand, who will find in Oz the place they’ve been looking for, the home of their heart.

The exhibit of Charlie Santore’s work currently on display at the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia is wonderful! I would encourage any Oz fans who can to see it. I flew out for the weekend to hear Michael Patrick Hearn’s presentation, “Toto, I’ve Got a Feeling We’re Not in Kansas Anymore, the Pictorial Legacy of Oz.”  He shared images from The Wizard of Oz through the years and examples of other classic author/illustrator partnerships that have endured for generations. As with every Hearn lecture, it was fascinating and taught me all kinds of things I didn’t know. While The Wizard of Oz is just one work in a lifetime retrospective of works included in “Charles Santore: Fifty years of Art and Storytelling,” a mural treatment of the Oz characters approaching the gates of Emerald City drew attention to the importance of the 1991 edition. I counted 100 pieces of original artwork on display, of which ten are from Oz. I’d list a favorite, but how can could I single out any one?  There’s the dramatic chaos of the Kansas tornado.  The Cowardly Lion leaping across the chasm with his eyes squeezed shut in terror.  The livid Wicked Witch of the West commanding her flying monkeys to attack. The memorable arc of water flying from Dorothy’s bucket at the face of the Witch. It was a pleasure to see all these lovely watercolors in person — and to watch other visitors to the gallery stand in front of them getting swept up in the narrative of Santore’s masterful work. It was lovely to see Charlie Santore again, too. He spoke at the Club’s 2016 convention and hosted Micheal and me for dinner one evening. That was my first unforgettable Santore memory, the experience of this weekend is just as priceless. Oz friends also made the weekend great fun. Lynn Beltz met my flight and served as roommate. We spent an evening at Ryan Bunch and Micah Mahjoubian’s. Atticus Gannaway, also in town for the event, was there. Dave Kelleher and Mark Heilmann joined us by Michael’s talk on Saturday. We all had dinner together (after loitering in the museum until they had to turn out the lights). Lynn, Michael and I went back Sunday for our own encore viewing. I so encourage anyone who can to visit the Woodmere for this. Exhibits of this caliber are few and far between. I’ve found there have been a lot of once-in-a-lifetime events during my 40+ years of Oz. I have unforgettable memories of those I’ve been able to experience, and nothing but regrets for those I’ve missed. Check the museum’s calendar for a book signing, free Sundays and other exhibit events. As a postscript for  fans who do make it, you also will find on the second level of the gallery one of Santore’s illustrations from Baum’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Don’t miss that one! Charles Santore: Fifty Years of Art and Storytelling