Author: Jane Albright
A past president of the International Wizard of Oz Club, Jane is a life-long Oz fan. She's attended Oz events around the country regularly since 1974 and amassed an Oz collection that ranges from antiquarian books, original artwork, and ephemera to children's playthings, posters, and housewares. In addition to speaking frequently about Oz, Jane has contributed to the Baum Bugle, written for Oziana, and loaned Oz material to numerous public exhibitions. She received the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award in 2000.
Bring your Lynn Beltz stories Dec. 18
Topic: Celebration of Lynn Beltz Time: Dec 18, 2021 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Link: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 845 3744 4231 Passcode: Memories One tap mobile +13017158592,,84537444231#,,,,*97235291# US (Washington DC) +13126266799,,84537444231#,,,,*97235291# US (Chicago) Rather than have a festive holiday party, we will use our previously announced Dec. 18 Zoom event to share our memories of Lynn Beltz. Lynn died unexpectedly Nov. 20. She’d been a Club member for decades. But more than that she was one of our most active volunteers and had wide and diverse groups of both interests and friends. She was someone who dove whole-heartedly into her love for Oz and our Oz community. We’d like those who knew who to come prepared to share a story or two. Speak live, assemble photos in advance, whatever you’d like to do. It can become a shared remembrance for her friends—and a way to help those who didn’t know her as well, understand why we are so overwhelmed with our loss. A live Zoom link has been posted above. Please join us, and share word of our event with other friends of Lynn.
Wonderful Witchy Fun
Thanks to all who helped make our Wicked Witch Wednesday a success! Anthony Whitaker, Zoe O’Haillin-Berne, and Victoria Calamito read us the original story of the Wicked Witch of the West (Chapter 12 of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz). Zoe was completely suited up as the Witch, complete with an eye patch and umbrella. Tori not only dressed the role of Dorothy but pulled bits and pieces from her extensive Oz collection to use as props as she acted the part. And Anthony stitched it all together as the narrator. It was a great way to start off our evening. We shared a short one-minute greeting Margaret Hamilton recorded for a doll collectors convention where the Sheila Kwartler “Portrait Doll” of her made its debut. Thank you Joshua Duke for sharing this rare treasure! Ryan Jay then shared a few clips of Hamilton as a witch in different television appearances. I then DJ-ed us through 17 different songs related to Oz witches. Our own David Diket played the “Search for the Wicked Witch” selection from “Tales from the Land of Oz” (Irene Rodgers 1932 sheet music), Zoe sang Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Red Shoes Blues, and Tara Tagliaferro & Em Kay Shrader sang a great witch medley. But most of the night was focused on Youtube songs that turn up with a bit of sleuthing. We ran the gamut from Ethel Merman to Barbra Streisand, Disney to disco, Muppets to musicals, and cartoons to The Wiz. A medley of “The Wizard and I” cut from dozens of performances in languages from around the world, gave that “Wicked” classic a fresh spin. And Marc Berezin injected a bit more international flair with Bastinda’s song from a 1973 Russian stop-motion production of Alexander Volkov’s Oz novels. We closed with a prerecorded interview with Fred Barton I’d made the previous week. Fred’s 1983 one-man cabaret show, Miss Gulch Returns, brought Almira Gulch back into the spotlight. But this time she brings her post-Oz memories to the piano where she belts out bawdy songs. “Pour Me A Man”, for instance was “her big number cut from the film,” which remains a cabaret standard. From his childhood love for the Oz books and early encounters with Margaret Hamilton to his delight with the unexpected success of the show, Fred shared wonderful memories. I hope you all found him as engaging, charming, and entertaining as I did. Many thanks to those who joined our little party!
Oz Club meets and greets in Land of Oz
That Yellow Brick Road in North Carolina gets me every time. During Autumn in Oz when Kansas and Oz come alive with costume characters and skipping children, there’s just nothing like it. The Oz Club settled in for three consecutive September weekends of promoting our organization. I joined Lynn Beltz for the first of them (she was there for all three) and enjoyed myself immensely. Our booth was on a corner just outside the Emerald City theater tent, so we opted to set our back banner at an angle so people could come in from two sides. The characters came by on their way to every performance of their Emerald City number. Long-time Club member Karen Owens had a double booth space just across from us that attracted a steady stream of collectors. Fans were everywhere. Among them were Club members and friends who’d stop to spend some time with us. Joey Shipbaugh’s wonderful artwork made for this website debuted at the event, so it was especially fun to have him on hand — even though he was performing as the Cowardly Lion. I was delighted to meet Suzi Fire, Jeff Young, Tara Tagliaferro, EmKay Shrader, Mark Jones (also in character as Prof. Marvel), Tiffany Sutton, and so many other friends in person for the first time. Other Club members I’ve known for years like Sheila Lamb, David Lee, and Sean Barrett (who was in charge of the entire event) popped in regularly. Sean was kind enough to take David, Lynn, and me to see the Park’s history set up down at the base of the mountain. It was a mini-museum! And he let us visit the new storefront after hours; when you work a booth at an event like this, you are generally too busy to see what else is happening during the open hours. I was especially curious to see the new storefront; a case of vintage Land of Oz souvenirs was on display and the collector in me wanted to take my time in front of that glass door. We were also (of course!) pleased to add new members to our ranks. Dane Keil stands out in memory for wearing a shirt with the 1921 Wonderful Game of Oz. He later featured the park on his Oztober Youtube series. Visitors at the Land of Oz ranged from families who’ve been coming for generations, to fans like Dane finding it for the first time. Like our Club, it was all ages, all Ozian interests, all celebrating Oz.
IWOC nominates new directors
Ballot distributed with holiday mailing Nov. 1, 2021 2021 members of the International Wizard of Oz Club will find a ballot and return envelope included in our annual holiday mailing. Members Blair Frödelius, Zoe O’Haillin-Berne, and Bill Thompson have been nominated to serve three-year terms, which will begin a the conclusion of the 2022 annual Board of Directors meeting. This will be a second consecutive term for both Blair and Bill. Our Board of Directors includes nine directors-at-large who represent Club membership. They contribute to decision-making and are expected to serve on standing or ad hoc committees of the Club. No officer positions are open this year for inclusion on the ballot. Brief backgrounds of each nominee are included in your mailing. There are three nominees and three openings so the vote is not competitive. Your votes do, however, demonstrate your agreement that these nominees’ interests and efforts are consistent with your expectations of our Oz Club. Voting is anonymous; we appreciate all those of you who participate.
Lynn Beltz receives 2021 L. Frank Baum Memorial Award
August 7, 2021 Lynn Beltz has been honored by the International Wizard of Oz Club as this year’s recipient of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award. Due to Covid restrictions, we were unable to present the award in person, however, Lynn was celebrated during our virtual convention. Eric Gjovaag, a past recipient and long-time friend of Lynn’s, appealed to her family and friends for a video tribute making the announcement. Learn more about Lynn and watch the tribute in the LFB Award pages of OzClub.org
Encore: More from Betty Ann Bruno
Betty Ann Bruno is one of the five writers included in our program about writing non-fiction. Like her book, The Munchkin Diary: My Personal Yellow Brick Road, Betty was a delight to interview. That brief ten-minute glimpse into her fascinating life, however, just doesn’t do justice to her. For those of you who’d like to hear more, here is a longer, 37-minute “director’s cut” of that interview….. Betty Ann Bruno — Encore
The International Wizard of Oz Club
Want to know more about The Oz Club? Current Club President Jane Albright, who joined in 1971, narrates this slide show of images capturing highlights and milestones. It’s a bit more personal than some histories might be, but if you’d like a better feel for who we are, where we come from, and what we do, this might be just what you’re looking for.
Cosplay?
Meet Oz collector Billy Ferguson. A long-time member of the International Wizard of Oz Club, Billy creates and wears his own costumes. From L. Frank Baum to the MGM cast, he steps in and out of character with ease. Whether’s he’s Miss Gulch or the Cowardly Lion, Glinda the Good, or the Wizard, he draws on inspiration from his extensive collection (seriously, friends, we’re talking extensive!) to create just the right look for whomever he’s decided to be. He even puts costumes on friends and family to style wonderful photoshoots. Enjoy this chat with the man behind so many fun faces.