June 12, 2021 – Wizard of Oz and Eisenhower

Hold the line – didn’t we already do a Toto joke????  Or did that thought come out of Africa????

Our last week in Kansas, we decided to visit a couple of museums. My pick – the Oz Museum (when in Kansas….) in Wamego, Kansas, about 20 minutes drive from Manhattan. The hubs opted out of this one and my daughter, Dare went with me. Wamego is a small town with a quaint little downtown area where the museum is, along with the Oz Winery, a couple of antique stores and office buildings. Tucked across from the museum is the Yellow Brick Road.  You can follow the yellow brick road built between two buildings with colorful murals along the walls. It leads to the next block with a restaurant and shops. An artist was working on another mural as we walked by.

 

   

  

We went to the museum next. After purchasing tickets, we walked through the door into the “World of Oz”. The exhibits started with the history of Frank Baum, who began writing and publishing journals at a young age. He wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 at the age of 35. Two years later the musical stage version was produced and toured the U.S. until 1911. Baum was a prolific writer throughout his 62 years with 14 Oz novels, 41 other novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems and at least 42 scripts.

The movie which all of us are familiar with was introduced in 1939, re-released in 1949 and broadcast on CBS in 1956. I remember watching it as a child and always considered it a children’s film, however, Dare has informed me that when we let her watch it, she found it quite scary (ooops!) (Ed. Note – I mean, flying monkeys, scary green witch, hell yeah it’s scary!!!!)

There were exhibits of each main character – Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Lion, Glinda the Good Witch and the BAD Witch, along with several munchkins. We learned about the unfair pay for those playing the munchkins who made less than Toto per week thanks to their “manager” who took part of their pay. There is a large amount of memorabilia from costumes, toys, Barbies (!), games, books and more. As you can see from the pictures, Dare was the best person to visit this museum with – we had loads of FUN!

  

    

  

  

Another fun thing were all the “Toto” statues in different places around town!

                        

He warned us, we just didn’t listen!!!!!

Several days later, the hubs and I headed to Abilene, Kansas to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Boyhood Home, Museum and Library. We had tried to go the week before but didn’t realize we needed to buy tickets and reserve a time beforehand. I had researched what to do in Abilene and saw that they had the largest metal spur in the country!  So, as we headed through town to the museum, we stopped to see the spur –

This museum was definitely a learning experience for me – I knew almost nothing about Eisenhower as a General or as a President. What I learned was that Eisenhower was a great General and a very good President – it’d be nice to have someone like him again 😊. 

As President, he established the Interstate Highway System, signed the 1957 Civil Rights Act which outlawed segregation and was the first civil rights legislation since the end of the Civil War, sent troops to protect those integrating Little Rock Central High School, brought an end to the Korean War, and argued to stop of the spread of military use of nuclear weapons. 

He graduated from West Point and during his military career, he was part of the Tank Corps in the First Transcontinental Motor Convoy in 1919 from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco which was to test the ability of the military to transfer troops and supplies across the country. This experience was the precursor to his interstate system as President. He served in many places, with his wife, Mamie and children joining him. Eisenhower wrote a guidebook to World War I battlefields for American Battle Monuments Commission which was helpful during World War II showing locations of previous battlefields and the surrounding areas. During WWII, he first served in Africa and later commanded forces during the Normandy invasion. He retired from the military and resigned his commission July 1952 but returned to active status after his stint as President and served until his death in 1969.

I like Ike…and Mamie, too!!!!!

I also enjoyed learning about Mamie, who was apparently very outgoing and made their home the social gathering place at their different posts. She was a proud military wife who did what she could to further Eisenhower’s career.  Mamie was a described as a gracious and popular First Lady, who enjoyed fashion and established her own “look” with feminine dresses, hats and her signature bangs. There was a room in the museum which showed many of her dresses, bags, shoes and hats along with china and other decorative items she used in their homes. Mamie was also involved in charities and fund-raising.

The Eisenhower boyhood home was not open for tours but we were able to walk around the outside. The Library was not open either but we enjoyed the museum, walking along the grounds and visited the Meditation Chapel where Eisenhower, Mamie and their first born son, who died from scarlet fever at 4 years old, are buried. 

It’s surprising how many experiences you can find across the country, even, or maybe especially, in small town America!