JUDY
GARLAND LETTER FROM HOME
Hello Friends:
Summer in northern Minnesota began with lots of heat
and rain almost every week. Since then we’ve had a dry spell. Now it’s
relatively cool here. We suspect fall will be upon us before long, so it’s time
to tell you about our wonderful summer before it’s gone.
Regards!
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Ruby Slippers FOUND!
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2018 Wizard of Oz Festival Report
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Future Festival Plans
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Gift Shop Finds
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The Sawmill Site
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Changes at the Children’s Discover Center
The Ruby Slippers Found!
As most of you know by now, thanks to the diligent
work of the Grand Rapids Police Department and the FBI, the Ruby Slippers
stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in August of 2005 have been found
On Labor Day, we received a call from NBC for use
permission of a photo. The girl calling told us she had no idea what it was
for; she though it was a retrospective on the Slippers scheduled for the
morning show!
Early the next morning, John Kelsch received a text from two
people saying the Ruby Slippers “are back.” Thinking it was a joke --- like
many of the false leads up to now --- he did not respond until a few minutes
later when a Judy Garland Board Member called to say it was real and there’s be
a news conference at 1.
In the meantime, knowing what this would mean, three
of our Board members planned to stay at the museum all day. The phones were off
the hook with requests for interviews and notices that the TV stations were
coming! In addition to our front desk person, Sue Plagmann, our part-time
secretary, Marie Flicker came in and two of our Children’s Discovery Museum
teachers, Nancy O’Toole and Debbie Sias. Board Members fielding calls and
conducting interviews until late that night were John Miner, Ray Nikkel and
Jaime Coffel. Aside from the Minnesota television and radio stations which
included those as far away as Minneapolis there were calls from all over the
country and the BBC, who called twice and a station in France! Jon Miner gave
two interviews to BBC, one live at 1 am!
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| Celebration time! |
It was a crazy day with all these people running to
take calls, answer questions, and give phone interviews and television
interviews as well as people coming into the museum to buy Ruby Slipper souvenirs.
In fact, the entire town of Grand Rapids was in an uproar. It was like one big
birthday party!
Because this is an ongoing case, with the FBI still
trying to ascertain all the culprits, they did not say much in the press
conference. They did verify that the slippers were found in July and then taken
for verification to the Smithsonian, where they have the Ruby Slippers being
restored and a lab to confirm that these are indeed Judy Garland’s slippers –
the ones that were missing. All these years the Police Department has had a
single red sequin which John Kelsch found on the museum floor the day of the
theft. This was used to verify that the slippers were the stolen pair and that
missing sequin fit like a glove!
Now the job is to figure out who stole the slippers
and where they have been all these years. The reveal in the news conference was
thrilling and proved that they were unharmed. For years we heard they were at
the bottom of a mine pit or even burned up and there they were!
There is more to this story and it’s fascinating!
Perhaps one day it will even be a motion picture. Stay tuned and if you know
anything, please contact the Grand Rapids Police Department or the Minnesota
FBI.
PS: You are all wondering who owns the Ruby Slippers
and where they will end up. They were owned by Michael Shaw and only on loan to
us when they were stolen. Shaw was paid for the Slippers by the insurance
company a year after the theft. So although they are now owned by the insurance
company, with the case unsolved, they are still evidence and being held by the
FBI as such until the case is solved! We do hope they come back to us – at
least for a visit!
The 2018 Wizard of Oz Festival
Festival time is always exciting in Grand Rapids and
this year was no exception. Beginning on Wednesday, Judy Garland fans begin
arriving and there are many cries of excitement as old friends see one another
with greetings of happiness at just being here in Judy’s hometown.
Thursday,
the Festival opened with a living history of the Gumm family (Judy’s family, of
course) titled: “The Gumm’s 1926 Farewell Party.” Local actor, John Schroeder-
a true showman himself- played Frank Gumm with great flair. Although we were
unable to find an “Ethel,” Karen Bordeaux played a family friend beautifully,
and sang Ethel’s songs for her. Three little girls (Riley Stovall, Sarah
Whittaker, and Hannah Clark) played Mary Jane, Virginia and Frances. They sang
such songs as “Remembr’ing,” “In a Little Spanish Town,” and “When My Sugar
Walks Down the Street, the Little Birdies Go Tweet, Tweet, Tweet.”
The show was indeed popular and was repeated three
times during the weekend, literally to a full house. In addition, we should
mention great thanks to our wonderful accompanist/musical director, Stuart
Boehr, and Sharon Marty, who does costumes at the Reif, and generously lent and
altered costumes for the little girls.
Judy,
Frank and Dean
After our living history, we had a wonderful summer
broasted chicken dinner supplied by Sammy’s Pizza. They make wonderful food.
The dinner was so attractive that we even had some people just visiting Grand
Rapids show up for the meal!
Following the dinner, famed Garland author John Fricke
provided the opening of the Garland portion of the Festival with a short talk about
“Judy’s Miracle Year.” At the conclusion, the audience was able to watch a
pristine copy of Judy’s 1962 television special on our new 10 foot screen. The
whole thing was just stunning.
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Joe Maliovsky speaks to director of "The Slippers" -
Morgan White in 2016 |
Friday
The day opened with an exciting Oz and Judy Jeopardy game
conducted by our brilliant and wonderful volunteers Paul Herrick and Joe
Malinovsky. Everyone always has great fun at this event and there are prizes.
Friday afternoon, Michelle Russell revealed “Hidden
Secrets at the Museum.” This well-attended event had lots of intriguing items.
Russell showed off costumes Judy Davis wore in Lorna Luft’s film, “Me and My
Shadows” and items from the Gumm family’s home – both in Minnesota and California.
As for the piece de resistance, there were two. One was a little box Russell
recently found in the museum which had never been opened. She re-enacted opening
it – a long process which finally revealed something that caused the crowd let
out a big “oh.” Inside the box, wrapped in layers of paper, and then inside a
small, clear case were several pairs of Judy’s false eyelashes.
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Fan and Judy Garland Museum volunteer,
Katie Stella holding up Judy's gorgeous top. |
The other exciting piece was a gorgeous red sequin and
beaded top which Judy wore in concert. Unfortunately, during one concert she
fainted and the emergency people cut the top right down the front. The back had
a top to bottom zipper so it wouldn’t have been necessary and we learned that
Judy was quite angry that they destroyed her beautiful top, but that is the way
they do things.
Later that day, John
Fricke gave a second lecture on “Judy’s Miracle Year” and showed some rare
clips that gave us a further glimpse of the brilliance and charm of this great
star, revealing why she was so loved and is loved to this day. We had a whole
group of new visitors this year who got to experience Mr. Fricke’s amazing skill
as a speaker on Judy Garland. His talks bring Judy to life.
All this was leading up to the Blu-Ray showing of “I
Could Go on Singing,” again on our great new screen. The film, also from 1962,
was filmed in London, with Judy’s performances at the London Palladium.
Although the subject of the film was quite serious, unlike the fun of MGM
films, it gave our audience a chance to see Judy in live concert.
Friday looked rainy, but the raindrops stopped early
and so the annual showing of “The Wizard of Oz” on an outdoor JUMBO screen did
not have to be moved. There were probably not as many people as some years, but
a fairly big crowd, along with a children’s costume contest just before and an
outdoor picnic dinner before that, seemed to keep a great many people happy!
Saturday
Saturday morning Michelle Russell spoke about the
history of the Judy Garland Festival and played a compilation CD of news and
personal film clips compiled from 1989 to 2006. Quite a trip down memory lane
for those who lived through those days and eye-opening for those who missed
them.
Our outdoors children’s events Saturday were hit with
rain, but that didn’t faze anyone. Tables were set up in the halls, gift shop,
children’s museum and gallery and over 300 people showed up to have fun with
crafts, music and more. Meanwhile, in the art room, John Fricke gave a talk for
all ages entitled “Ask Anything About Oz!”
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| The house was literally packed for Judy's Tribute! |
The official closing event for the 2018 Festival was a
musical “Tribute to Judy Garland” in the Judy Garland Birthplace. Pianist
Stuart Boehr played for this event which included cast members from the living
history along with a young singer from Minneapolis, Jayda Richards, age 17, who
wowed the crowd with her fine performance of some of Judy’s early songs.
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| l. to r. Sarah Whittacker, Riley Stoval, and Jayda Richards |
The
house was packed with over 40 people for this event. One never to be forgotten
moment was when eleven year-old Sarah Whittaker spoke about Judy paying tribute
to President Kennedy after his death by singing “The Battle Hymn of the
Republic.” Sarah sang the verse quite beautifully and sweetly. Then, when she
raised her hand for the audience to join her in the chorus, the house was
literally filled with voices singing. It was an amazing moment, one you
couldn’t help feeling the house was meant for.
The Youth Wizard of Oz on Stage
We should not be remiss in speaking about the very
special performances of “The Wizard of Oz” which took place during the
Festival, downtown at the Reif. Local artist and dance teacher Katie Smith
produced the children’s version of “The Wizard of Oz.” The show played three
times during the Festival to amazing reviews. The children were all wonderful
and the packed houses enjoyed it thoroughly. The show even included the song
“The Jitterbug” cut from the 1939 film. In addition, Katie Smith generously donated
half of the proceeds of this event to the Judy Garland Museum, for which we
were most grateful!
Although we did not have the special guests of yore
this time, it seems every enjoyed the 2018 Festival thoroughly.
Oz Character Players Receive Awards
Saturday night, at a private dinner event hosted by
Andy Jurss for Judy Garland fans, Museum Board Members popped in to honor three
persons make our Wizard of Oz Festivals special and who have donated their time
and creative talents for years: Scarecrow Tom Hendricks; Tin Woodman, Larry
Johnson; and Cowardly Lion, Jeff Kortman. Each person received a beautifully
engraved wooden plaque and all were deeply moved.
The Future of the Festival
Aside from questions about the Ruby Slippers, one of
the biggest questions these days is regarding the future of the Festival.
In recent months, it has been necessary for the Museum
to look at re-structuring and finances. Being located in Northern Minnesota
where we have about three months of tourism each year, it has never been easy to find the
funds to keep our doors open year-round. Our ability
to do this has mainly been helped by the Children’s Discovery Museum, our other
half which brings many school groups in year-round. Meanwhile, this is a new
era and some things were done in the past are not working in the present.
For reasons listed above and others, in a recent review of our situation,
the Board discovered that a great deal more money and time is being
put into The Wizard of Oz Festivals, than we can afford.. In the past, with
the Munchkins and MGM stars available to visit, we had donors who covered these
costs. These events, covered by the press, made the Judy Garland Museum known
to the rest of America and the world. It also brought a large number of fans to Grand Rapids, an area which might otherwise have been unknown to them. This was a wise investment, however, at present the bills must be paid and the budget must be balanced if we are to continue.
In 2018, we no longer have this kind of funding for these extravagances..
In addition, we are award that we need to spend our time an energies on means of fundraising for things like the Judy Garland Birthplace, which now seriously needs preservation work. With very limited staff and funds, this only makes sense.
For these reasons, it was decided by the Board that at
least for now, we should not plan for another Festival. At the private dinner
held in Grand Rapids at the close of the 2018 Festival, Ray Nikkel and Jon
Miner made some of these facts known to fans in attendance and offered a
challenge for people to plan and create a Festival of their own, as well as figuring out how
to raise the funds for it. Of course, most fans do not live in this area, work
full-time and do not have to means to do this, so we are uncertain as to what the future holds.
Some staff members have also been brainstorming on how to
have a Festival without large costs. Advertising on the internet and Facebook
would cut some costs, borrowing chairs and tables from local churches would cut
others, as well as making our own black-out curtains for the art room, where we
would be able to show films on our grand new 10 foot screen. Cutting back
several thousand in costs, along with volunteer help and donated talent might also
help.
If you have an idea, or would like to do something for
the Festival, please let us know. If not, for the Festival, we know we will be
having some fundraisers in the near future and we welcome all your ideas.
As of now, Land of Oz Kids Activities are scheduled for
of Saturday, June 8, 2019. Young at Art’s youth production of “The Wizard of Oz”
will also be repeated with shows on Thursday, June 6, Saturday, June 8, and
Sunday, June 9.
Other events maybe planned, such as free (donation
only) films in the museum and talent. That will depend on what funding and
volunteer help we receive.
We are sorry to bring this news to those who hoped to attend a
Festival next year and to those who look forward to these events every year, but as things
stand, it’s necessary. Meanwhile, we will keep you posted with the latest.
The Sawmill Inn and Site
This past week the Grand Rapids Herald Review had a
front page story on the Sawmill, our favorite hotel and restaurant and the site
of many happy memories with fans, Munchkins and other co-stars of Judy Garland.
According to the September 2nd newspaper,
Rebound Hospitality has purchased the hotel site from the Jacobsons. Although
Rebound is a company which often buys and preserves properties, sadly this is
not the case with the Sawmill. They plan to entirely reconfigure and build on
the acreage. Included on the site will be a four-story hotel with 83 rooms
under the flagship of Best Western Plus. Separate from the hotel will be a
restaurant and event center. In addition, Rebound is planning two “pads” for
commercial buildings in front – either office or stores. The building of the
hotel will likely take a year or more to occur.
These new buildings will certainly change the look and
feel of 169 by the Judy Garland Museum. We recall that when the house was first
moved to this site, the area across from it was full of woods from which
emanated the sounds of birds and wildlife.
New Exhibit at the Children’s Museum
Last year we opened the big front room up with a new
hands on exhibit – Lake Life. This year,
we are re-doing a portion of the mid to back section (River Town), which was a
store and bird’s nest. The new exhibit is up and the store is amazing. There is also a pizza parlor and a playhouse. If you have children, be sure to check it out next time your visit!
Oz Gift Shop!
We'd like to remind you of our wonderful gift shop. Not only is it filled with many rare items scouted out by
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A postcard found in our shop.
Ruby Slipper items are very popular now! |
our shop manager, Sue Plagmann, it also includes items donated to us to benefit the museum AND from time to time, dupicate items found in our archives.
Recently, in need of fundraising, further organization of our archives revealed three Dorothy dolls from 1989, plates and other artworks not related to Judy Garland. Some of these you will find on ebay, and others listed on our Facebook page. Still others are listed on our website.
If you are looking for something Judy Garland related, please check with us as we receive new items all the time! Thanks for looking and thank you for supporting the Judy Garland Museum.
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Thank you all for your support and interest. We will
be in touch in a month or two with the latest news.
Happy fall!
As we look toward 2019, people will be asking about
the 2019 festival and planning their vacations. After much discussion some new
decisions were made. The Board has decided that it will work best for all
involved to have not one Festival, but TWO.
Plans are not completely firm yet, but this is what we can tell you as
of this month.
