Treasuring the Wizard of Oz

by Lou Ann Thomas

"There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home," whispers Elizabeth Barton of Dallas as the 4-year-old clicks the heels of her shoes and presses her face against a display case holding exact replicas of the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz.

Elizabeth continues to quote lines from the 1939 film classic as she strolls, wide-eyed, with her mother and grandmother through one of the largest collections of Oz artifacts in the world. The Oz Museum in Wamego, Kan. (pop. 4,246), houses some 2,000 items associated with the timeless movie, its actors and the magical world created by author L. Frank Baum.

"The museum isn’t just for Oz fanatics," says Ellie Coots, who manages the museum’s gift shop. "It appeals to everyone of all ages who has ever seen the movie. When they walk through and see the displays, it brings back a rush of memories."

The museum houses the private collection donated in 2004 by Wamego native Tod Machin, 45, who began collecting Oz-related items in the early 1980s. His collection now spans more than 100 years of Oz, starting with copies of the books by Baum on which the movie was based.

"I never set out to collect Oz memorabilia," says Machin, who now lives in Kansas City. "But the more I learned about Oz and the more people I met associated with the movie, the more I wanted to know." Eventually his collection grew too large for him to keep at home, and the museum was born.

For a group of 5- and 6-year-olds from a nearby preschool, encountering a life-size, full-color, costumed acrylic sculpture of Dorothy holding her faithful pet terrier elicits a round of "ooos" and "ahhhs."

"Toto!" screams Jarva Chambers, 6.

"Look! It’s the Scarecrow!" says Tristan Olyncik, 5, pointing at the sculpted man of straw sitting with pumpkins and crows in a cornfield, just as he first appears in the movie.

The students can hardly contain their delight as they view displays filled with autographed photographs, playbills, posters, costumes and props from the movie, including the Wicked Witch’s death certificate and a dress worn by Diana Ross in The Wiz, the 1978 movie musical version of the Oz story.

The museum will feature prominently during Wamego’s annual OZtoberFest Oct. 20-22, a weekend of activities and entertainment for the entire family, including presentations by descendents of Baum and several actors who played Munchkins in the film. "We won’t always have these actors around, and OZtoberFest is a great opportunity to meet them in person," says Jim Ginavan, the museum’s executive director.

Although the Wizard of Oz movie begins and ends in Kansas, it never specifies exactly where—giving artistic license for various locations throughout the state to lay claim to Oz magic. Liberal (pop. 19,666) has Dorothy’s House, a full-size replica of Dorothy’s prairie home, and a display of memorabilia. In the town of Sedan (pop. 1,342), a winding Yellow Brick Road snakes through downtown. Wamego’s Oz Museum has welcomed more than 30,000 visitors from all over the world since it opened in 2004.

Ginavan believes this unflagging interest in Oz, which continues more than 65 years after the movie’s release, stems from its enduring tale of a girl, her loyal pet, her three traveling companions in search of something missing from their lives, the perils they encounter along the way and the close bonds they build during their magical journey.

"The story is so heartfelt, with such a good and positive message," he says. "It’s about family, it’s about roots and about how sometimes the best things in life are in your own back yard."

Lou Ann Thomas is a writer in Oskaloosa, Kan.

first appeared: 9/24/2006