History of the Jack-0'-Lantern

Drawing of pumpkin costume

We are all familiar with Jack-o'-Lanterns at Halloween,  but do you know the history of the tradition using pumpkins at Halloween?  Actually, there is a great deal of history before pumpkins were used for Jack-o'-Lanterns. 

Over 700 years ago it is known that gourds were used to carve lanterns, but the later custom of carving Jack-o'-Lanterns at Halloween is believed to have begun in Ireland.  In the Gaelic-speaking regions of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, Halloween, and the festival of Samhain which included the belief that supernatural beings and the souls of the dead roamed the Earth at that time of year, gave rise to the practice of carving turnips rather than pumpkins to create lanterns.  Various explanations for these  Irish lanterns have been given, including to repel evil spirits, to frighten other reveiliers, or to represent spirits or supernatural beings.

An Irish legend describes trickery between an Irishman named Jack and the devil, involving a promise that the devil could never take his soul.  However, when Jack died, the devil had his own trick--for while he could not take Jack's soul to hell, he could block Jack's access to heaven.  Forever, Jack would wander through eternity, lighting his way with the glowing coal from the fires of hell that the devil threw at him.  That coal, which like the devil's curse on Jack, would forever burn inside the turnip Jack carved to use as a lantern.  Variations of the legend can also be found in the folklore of England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Wales. 

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe painting, 1914

Pumpkins were among the produce that Native Americans introduced to Europeans when they arrived in America.  Although in the early years pumpkins were associated with harvest celebrations rather than Halloween, eventually  immigrants, who had adopted the practice of carving Jack-o'-Lanterns in their old countries,  began using pumpkins, rather than turnips, to create their lanterns.  As might be expected, the European legend began finding its way into America's literature.  Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, published in 1820, is one example, as is John Greenleaf Whittier's poem, The Pumpkin, published in 1850.  

John R. Neill cover illustration

Among my favorite uses of the Jack-o'-Lantern is as a main character in the Oz series of books.  Jack appeared first in The Marvelous Land of Oz, published in 1904 by L. Frank Baum as the second book in the series.  Jack's head was a carved Jack-o'-Lantern, and his body was made from tree limbs jointed with wooden pegs.  He wore purple trousers, a red shirt, and a pink vest with white polka dots.  Baum continued to use him in later books in the series, but Jack did not get his name in the title until 1929, until Ruth Plumly Thompson was authoring the Oz series after Baum's death.  As the hero of the 23rd book in the series, Jack  upgraded his clothing, as seen in the cover shown at left.  Jno R. Neill became the illustrator of the Oz series with Baum's second Oz book and continued as illustrator when Plumly assumed authorship, so his are the images we identify as Jack Pumpkinhead.

Among the illustrated children's books that I collect, there are many examples of Jack-o'-Lanterns depicted in the Halloween books, and perhaps many of you reading this week's blog have a Jack-o'-Lantern sitting on your front step.

Remember, you can click on the images to enlarge them. 

Loneliness or Solitude?

"Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone.  It has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone.  And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone."  --Paul Tillich

Photo credit:  Larry D. Fenwick

Last week's blog compared the social life of homesteader Isaac B. Werner with those living today, who engage significantly, sometimes primarily, through social media.  Isaac was a bachelor, living at a distance from towns in a community in which most of his neighbors were married couples.  I have blogged in the past about farmers on the prairie working together, about the local school house serving as the community social center, and about the often misunderstood fact that population density was far greater on the prairie than it is today, with 3 or 4 homesteads in each square mile.  However, Isaac and others in his community were often alone, especially at night and because of weather.  

This blog reflects on the distinction between loneliness and solitude, and the impact of the two circumstances.  The quote at the top of this blog is by the German-American Christian existentialist philosopher and Lutheran theologian, Paul Tillich, who lived from 1886-1965.  His words offer a thoughtful way to reflect on the difference between two words, both of which involve aloneness.

Photo Credit:  Lyn & Larry Fenwick

In My Antonia, by Willa Cather, an immigrant neighbor commits suicide, even though he had a loving family to support.  The narrator says, "I knew it was homesickness that had killed Mr. Shimerda, and I wondered whether his released  spirit would not eventually find its way back to his own country."  The narrator recalls what the man's daughter had told him of "...his life before he came to this country; how he used to play the fiddle at weddings and dances.  I thought about the friends he had mourned to leave,  ...Such vivid pictures came to me that they might have been Mr. Shimerda's memories, not yet faded out from the air in which they had haunted him."

In Rebecca Loncraine's biography of L. Frank Baum, she quotes from the diary of Baum's sister-in-law, whose isolated claim was in Dakota Territory.  Needing to be left alone with her child frequently when her husband traveled on business, she wrote:  "This is awful country...and I want to live East.  ...Alone all day and night again...dreadful, dreadfully forlorn.  Can't stand being alone so much."

Both of these accounts express the crippling effects of loneliness; yet, many people living today, even those living in urban environments and with access to social media with which to stay connected to others, suffer from symptoms caused by social separation--disrupted sleep patterns, altered immune systems, inflammation, and higher levels of stress hormones.  Researchers report that social isolation is a growing epidemic, with physical, mental and emotional consequences.  An article by Dhruv Khullar in December of 2016 cites extensive studies showing that an increasing number of Americans say they are lonely, the numbers doubling from the 1980s, increasing from 20% to 40%.  Loneliness can accelerate cognitive decline and cause premature deaths.

Photo Credit:  Lyn Fenwick

For younger people, loneliness is often caused by what scientists call "Maladaptive social cognition" or difficulty interacting with others.  For older adults, loneliness is often the result of family members moving away, close friends dying, their own poor health, and their limited mobility.  Khullar  concludes his report by saying, "A great paradox of our hyper-connected digital age is that we seem to be drifting apart."  Reflecting back to last week's blog, should we wonder whether all of those hearts and thumbs-up and likes, and the dopamine bursts that come with them, are really making us feel connected with others?

In the late 1800s, Isaac frequently had opportunities to attend social events, yet chose to stay home by the fire to read or write letters.  Not every evening alone means a person is lonely or feels isolated.  Albert Einstein wrote, "Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when one is more mature."   In fact, many well known men have agreed on this point.  "One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude," wrote Carl Sandburg.  Even in the case of married couples and close friends, Rainer Maria Rilke saw the need for them to respect breaks from too much togetherness.  "I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people:  that each protects the solitude of the other."

Kristina Randle, Ph.D. expressed this irony:  On one hand, the desire to isolate is a symptom of depression but on the other hand it can be a sign of a psychologically healthy individual.  

Self-described introvert Sophia Dembling says, "Solitude is great, until it's not."  Expressing that same need for balance, English artist, art critic, and author Phillip Gilbert Hamerton (1834-1894) wrote:  "We need society, and we need solitude also, as we need summer and winter, day and night, exercise and rest."

Photo Credit:  Lyn Fenwick

In the prime of his life, Isaac Werner seems to have managed this balance.  He was active in his community, encouraged people to work together, and maintained written correspondence with his family and educated people; yet, he enjoyed solitary reading and quiet evenings alone by the fire in reflection of one kind or another.  It was only in his final years that ill health isolated him, compounded by the dwindling correspondence with his siblings.  Dr. Dhruv Khullar's article ends with these words, obviously of particular relevance for the elderly and the home bound:  Human connection lies at the heart of human well-being.  It's up to all of us--doctors, patients, neighborhoods and communities--to maintain bonds where they're fading, and create ones where they haven't existed.  

Hannah Arend, one of the most influential political philosophers of the 20th Century (1906-1975) believed that "The lonely man finds himself surrounded by others with whom he cannot establish contact or to whose hostility he is exposed.  The solitary man, on the contrary, is alone and therefore can be together with himself."

Blogger Aditi Khurana summarizes the differences between Loneliness and Solitude in the following ways:  Loneliness is painful and negative, leaving us feeling excluded, unwanted, unimportant or unnoticed, even when we are with others.  It causes a sense of punishment or rejection that depletes us.  Solitude, however, is a positive state in which we can enjoy our own company and reflect on ourselves, others, our life, and our future, providing greater self-awareness, creativity, growth, and fresh insights.  It is something we choose and grounds us in who we are, enabling us to reach out and give to others.

Combining some of the issues raised in last week's blog about social media with ideas expressed in this blog, seemed to me appropriate.   

Introducing Young Readers to Oz & Other Classics

Librarian Lynette Armstrong Introduces Lyn to 5th Graders

It has been so much fun sharing Oz with fans, young and old.  However, with many young readers, the book is a surprise.  Their acquaintances with Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, and Lion is through the movie.

Librarian Lynette Armstrong invited 5th graders at her school to join a lunch time book club, and their first book was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  When she brought all of the 5th grade students to Forsyth Library on the Fort Hays State University campus, I hope I encouraged those who had read the first Oz book to consider reading more of the Oz series by L. Frank Baum, and perhaps to continue reading those books by Ruth Plumley Thompson and other authors that carry on the series, and for those who had not read the first book, perhaps I tempted them.

"I think I'd like to read that book."

I was delighted to hear from a friend who attended the events in Hays that his enthusiasm for Baum's book rubbed off on his young son.  He told me that he had tried unsuccessfully to interest his boy in an Oz book for young readers, but in telling his son about the events at FHSU, apparently something clicked, and during the boy's bedtime bath he told his dad, 'I think I would like to read that book.'  His father remembered how frightened of the flying monkeys he was as a child, and that just may have been an inherited trait, as his son didn't like the monkeys either!

Without the 1939 MGM movie, many children would never have heard of Dorothy and her trip to Oz.  Yet, why are they no longer discovering the book?  I decided to go online to explore why so many kids only know the movie.  After all, there continue to be new Oz editions with incredible illustrators like Charles Santore, Michael Hague, and Robert Ingpen.  Scott Gustafson's beautiful painting of the main characters is available as a jigsaw puzzle. Access to Oz for this generation of kids is still easy.

Dorothy by Charles Santore

I found a website called Common Sense Media with "50 Books All Kids Should Read by Age Twelve, but almost no children's classics were on their list.  Alice in Wonderland did make their list, as Alice did at another website with a specific list titled 'Our Favorite Classic Children's Books,' which included Alice, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, and several newer classics, Golden Books, and European Fairy Tales, but no Baum.  I finally tried Wikipedia, and under 'List of children's classic books,' which is organized by centuries and then listed by year of publication, I finally found The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. 1900 as the first listing under 20th Century.  If I were making my own list of recommended books for young readers, I would select a great many from years before 2000.

Hans Christian Anderson

In the 19th Century listing I noticed Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, first published in English in 1846.  Since L. Frank Baum said he wrote the Oz series to be the fairy tales of American children, why are young parents reading European Fairy Tales to their children and neglecting Baum's books?

Alice in Wonderland certainly deserves to be on book shelves of American children.  The original edition by Lewis Carroll was published in 1865, thirty-five years before Baum's in 1900.  While both Dorothy and Alice arrive unexpectedly in different lands and meet unusual characters, the author of The Real Oz, The Life and Times of L. Frank Baum, Rebecca Locraine, explained in an interview:  "...their similarities are, I think, only superficial...For me, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has always been far more direct and elemental, whereas the Alice books are more intellectual, and were less satisfying to me as a child."  So why omit Oz from modern recommended reading lists.  (See last week's post for reasons why adults should read Baum.)

From Carroll's original manuscript

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie was first published in 1911, eleven years after the first Oz book but during the time other books in the Oz series were being published.  Like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Barrie's book as been the subject of movies, animated and live action, yet it was included among current book recommendations while Oz was not.

In 1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain was published, and like the other books already mentioned, it has been the subject of movies and other adaptations.  Other books written for young readers during the time Baum's Oz books were published are Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908, and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett in 1911, both of which have been adapted for films and television.  All three of these books remain popular.

Other popular books from the period, like The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908), and Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (first publically published 1902)  feature animal characters in a real landscape.  Christopher Robin, which was published in 1926, was based on a real child, author A.A. Milne's son Christopher Robin Milne, but the land in which he played with his friends was Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England, and his friends were his actual toys brought to life by Milne.    

Cover Art of 1915 Edition

The six wonderful books mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs lack the supernatural fantasies of Baum's characters, but their publications and the times in which the fictional characters lived are during the period Baum's books were published.  Clearly, writing styles and settings from the past are bridges children easily cross.

I did not take a survey of the 5th graders to whom I spoke to see if they had read any of the books I have mentioned in this blog, so perhaps their familiarity with these books is also from movies and television.  Perhaps my blog should not be about disappointment that more young readers are not reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz but a broader regret that more young people are missing the delight of other great children's classics, and worse, those books are being ignored on recommended reading lists.

I have quoted Einstein before in this blog saying, "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.  If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

Cover of 1st Edition

L. Frank Baum intended his stories to be American fairy tales, and his imaginative characters and their adventures would certainly seem to stimulate the minds of children in the same way as the European fairy tales Einstein recommended.

Author Gregory Maguire, a former professor of children's literature and well known for his four adult novels of the Wicked Years sequence,  inspired by Baum's books, was asked by an interviewer whether there is still a place for L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carrol, and the Brothers Grimm in our post-modern world.  

Cover of 1st U.S. Edition

Maguire replied:  "For adults, there is such a thing as post-modernism.  For children, there is only modernism--the here, the now.  Learning that the fairy tales, for instance, were largely maintained by an oral tradition and not collected until the 18th and 19th centuries, is a very adult understanding.  Kids don't know about what happened the year before they were born, much less what several centuries ago means.  Because of this peculiar limitation in children's understandings of time and culture, the fairy tales remain always news, always new.  And so do the works of great nonsense fantasists Lewis Carrol and L. Frank Baum.  That Dorothy doesn't instant-message her Best Friends Forever back in Kansas while her house is elevated by a tornado offers no confusion to young readers.  They take each story, and all its parameters, as mysterious givens.  So did we, in our time and place as children."

Gentleman Don

Regular followers of this blog may remember the fun series "Your Favorite Children's Books, 1-4 (March 26, 2015 through April 16, 2015) in which blog readers shared memories of their own favorite children's books.  One of my childhood memories was of a book titled Gentleman Don, published in 1910, long before I was born.  I loved it.  Many years later I located a copy online and ordered it.  Sadly, the Victorian style held far less appeal to me as an adult.  My experience reinforces the truth of Gregory Maguire's opinion that youngsters relate differently to stories, allowing their imaginations to eagerly slip into the text. 

Illustration by Robert Ingpen

I began this blog to encourage parents and grandparent to introduce the children they love to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  The 5th graders I spoke to at the Forsyth Library certainly did not give me the impression they thought they were too old to read Oz.  I urge you to skip the reading lists for modern children for a while and consider Aesop's Fables from 600 B.C. or Robinson Crusoe from 1719.  Do you remember the fun of reading some of these 19th Century books, like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1819), The Three Musketeers (1844), A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864),  The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883), Black Beauty (1877), Heidi (1884), and Treasure Island (1883).  

Don't forget the 20th Century--Just So Stories (1902), The Call of the Wild (1903), Mary Poppins (1934), The Diary of Anne Frank (1947), Charlotte's Web (1952), The Borrowers (1952), To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), and by all means, don't forget The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). 

Oz Goes to College, a Photo Album

Michael Hague poster and the Yellow Brick Road

On February 1, 2018 the Wonderful Wizard of Oz came to Fort Hays State University for a sold out performance by a wonderful touring company!  However, even if you missed that performance, you can still enjoy the display of the Larry & Lyn Fenwick Oz Collection at the Forsyth Library on the FHSU campus.

I have written before about our taking some of the collection to the Macksville Grade School to share with students.  (See Isaac and The Wizard of Oz, 12-15-11 in the Blog Archives), and I have also shared our visit to Wamego to see the Oz Museum there (Yellow Brick Road in Kansas, 2-11-2016, Blog Archives).  

Scott Gustafson's puzzle provides a way to relax from studying

Larry and I had to leave Kansas to discover how important the Wizard of Oz has been as an ambassador for our home state!  Meeting people from across America, we have been asked about Dorothy and her acquaintances in the Baum books, as if people outside of Kansas think of Baum's characters almost as if they were real residents of our state.

Sandwich Board in Lobby

Of course, I have developed a particular interest in the period of Kansas history in which Dorothy Gale lived as I have researched the Populist Movement centered in Kansas during the late 1800s.  L. Frank Baum described the hard times for Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on their Kansas farm before the tornado lifted Dorothy off to Oz, during the same time Isaac Werner was struggling with debt and drought.

Larry & Lyn wait to speak

Interview by Cyndi

It has been Larry and my great pleasure to share our collection and to be invited to speak at the pre-show reception, and the following morning to have been invited by Librarian Lynette Armstrong to speak to her 5th grade classes.  We were also interviewed by a freshman video reporter for the student online newspaper, by Diane O'brien for the university online paper, and by Mike Koerner for Eagle Community Television.  We love encouraging young and old to read "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," (published 1900) and perhaps continue reading the full 14 book series of Oz stories by Baum (published through 1920), continued by other writers after his death, particularly Ruth Plumly Thompson who added 20 more Oz books to the series.  Much like the Harry Potter series more recently, the release of new Oz books brought the same excitement to children (and adults) of that time!  

With scholar Lisa Penner & FHSU President Dr. Tisa Mason 

One of the points I made in speaking to the pre-show audience was that while the Oz books were written for children, Baum included many more sophisticated references that children may miss but adults can enjoy discovering.  Baum once said, "I like  a good pun almost as well as a good cigar," and his puns are hidden like Easter eggs throughout his books.  Socrates debated whether 'knowledge ensures happiness,' which Baum presents through the Scarecrow's longing for a brain and the Tin Man's wish for a heart.  Baum's stories are filled with historical, literary, and Biblical references to delight adult readers willing to watch for them. 

Lyn's Power Point for 5th Graders

The Oz Exhibit at Forsyth Library on the Fort Hays Kansas State University campus can be visited through March 16th.  This week's blog shares a photo album of some of the events during this past week, as well as the displays still to be seen at the Library.  Remember, you can click on the images to enlarge them.

South Wall Cases at back of Library

One of single cases with Oz chess board and pieces

The Exhibit includes 4 cases near the front of the library and 2 triple display cases at the rear of the library.  The single case at right shows the Oz chess board and the set of chess pieces I made.  Dorothy and the Wizard are the King and Queen, with Lion, Tin Man, and scarecrow as the remaining pieces, plus Toto pieces as pawns.  The opposing set has the Wicked Witch of the West as Queen, the Winged Monkey King, and Winkies, Kalidahs, and crows as the other pieces, plus black bees as pawns.  I created the drawing on the framed poster top left for the Youth Ballet in Charlotte, NC, which was also used on their programs and on t-shirts they sold. 

My interview by Mike Koerner, with pieces from the exhibit

The images show only some of the items on display, among which are hand-crafted dolls of the four main characters (See Scarecrow and Tin Man at left), the four figures created in straw by a Kansas wheat weaver, a Limited Edition Print by children's illustrator Scott Gustafson, music boxes, posters, jack-in-the boxes, my portrait of L. Frank Baum, and many more unique pieces.

Scarecrow, Lyn & Cyndi await the Eagle interview

I want to close this blog with a huge thank you to so many people at Fort Hays State University and the Hays community who participated in making all of the Oz events so wonderful and in making us so welcome.  A particular thank you to Jon Armstrong and Deb Ludwig, with whom the conversations about combining our Oz exhibition with the Encore Series presentation of the "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" first began.  Many people became a part of the event, and many guests made the long trip to Hays to enjoy the evening, which we truly appreciate.  A very special thank you goes to Cyndi Landis, who orchestrated the library and publicity events.  Remember, the exhibit at Forsyth Library on the FHSU campus can be visited through March 16, 2018

A New Year and Forgotten Pasts

Glen Campbell in his prime

Last week my post was about New Year's Eve Resolutions for the coming year.  However, a part of the Old Year tradition is also remembering those who passed away during the closing year.  Among them are movie and television stars that have not been active in several years but who have not only fans who remember them in their prime but also young fans who have seen their performances on channels that show old movies and television shows.  Jerry Lewis may be familiar from his MS telethons as well as from his old movies.  Mary Tyler Moore's two popular series--The Dick Vandyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show--have continued to win younger viewers.  Glen Campbell won new fans with the courage shown during his final tour as he faced Alzheimer's disease.  Sometimes he forgot the once familiar words, but he could still play his guitar like a master.  James Bond fans would surely remember Roger Moore's portrayal of Bond from 1973 to 1985.  All of these entertainers passed away in 2017.

Eugene Cernon

Less widely known but no less important are those like Isabelle Papin, the child neurologist who devoted her professional life to autistic children, and Julius Youngner, who helped develop the polio vaccine.  The last man alive to have walked on the moon, Eugene Cernan, left us this year, as did Robert Pirsig, author of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," which used a father-son trip as a means to explore life's great questions.  The character of Dick Tracy became more famous than his creator, Dick Locher.  We lost all of these people in 2017.

We memorialize celebrities and notable people, and yet, how quickly their names are forgotten by most of us.  A few give their names to posterity, like Houdini and Darwin.  Some literary giants endure, like Shakespeare or  Lord Byron, or children's book author of the Oz series, L. Frank Baum.  For most, however, "fame is fleeting."

(c) Lyn Fenwick graphite on paper

So every year on New Year's Eve when television programs memoralize important people that died during the year, I pause to note their passing and wish them farewell.  I shed a few tears, especially if their performances or achievements touched my life in some way.

This blog has often been used to remind those who follow it of moments in history, once important places that have disappeared, and people who played significant roles in the past for which neither they nor their achievements are remembered.  In the more than six years since beginning this blog, I have seen many familiar sites in the old community where Isaac Werner claimed his homestead disappear--houses collapse, barns torn down, businesses close, and elderly people that I interviewed about their memories of earlier years pass away.  This blog has preserved pictures of some of those things and stories that were shared with me.  I hope that 2018 is the year that "Prairie Bachelor, The Story of a Homesteader and the Populist Movement" can be published to share the important but largely forgotten stories of these people, places, and events.

Yellow Brick Road in Kansas

Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas

Isaac B. Werner may have died before L. Frank Baum began publishing his Oz books, but both men were impacted by the Progressive Movement, and certainly Kansas is an important part of both men's stories.  (See "Isaac and the Wizard of Oz," in the blog archives at 12-15-2011.)

Our interest in all things Ozian motivated us to stop in Wamego to see the Oz Museum located there.  It was a great decision.

Scarecrow

We were greeted warmly and encouraged to take photographs as we toured the museum.  While we may be kids at heart, I can only imagine how excited children must be to see the full-sized main characters in dioramas.  

We learned that most of the objects in the museum were accumulated by a collector who now lives in New York City.  He collected for many years and has acquired enough objects that the collections on display can be changed regularly.  Visitors are encouraged to return so they can see the new items.

Oz monkey from the movie

Since I am a stickler for accuracy according to the book, rather than the movie, I immediately mentioned Dorothy's "silver" slippers vs. the ruby slippers used in the movie.  Of course I like the alliterative sound of silver slippers, although I understand that the ruby slippers were more beautiful in the technicolor movie.  We were told that the collector acquired Baum's books and advertising materials and other objects that incorporate the silver slippers, but he also collected movie-related objects with the ruby slippers.

One of my favorite objects was this small flying monkey from the movie.  Many monkeys were created and used in the film for the flying monkeys scenes.  Most disappeared after the filming, so this surviving model is fairly rare.

One of many display cases

Of course, the Baum books and the movie have generated many objects--puzzles, figures, sheet music, games to name a few.  There are many cases in the museum filled with interesting objects.

Letter written by Margaret Hamilton

Another object that I enjoyed was a hand-written letter from Margaret Hamilton, the actress that played the wicked witch.  The type-written transcription is displayed in the foreground, but the hand-written letter is also displayed behind it.  I was impressed by the thoughtfulness of the actress to reply by hand with such a long letter to a fan.

Contract signed by Baum

My husband spotted a 3-page typed contract signed by H. Frank Baum.  Dating from the era of hand-typed documents, before copy machines and computers, the contract with its less than even margin, visible correction, and signatures that appear to have been written with each signers' own fountain pen is quite a historic document.

Oz Quilt

Another unique object was the quilt designed by a lady in Kansas City and given to the museum.  

Tin Man

When we lived in different regions of the country and people we met learned that we were raised in Kansas, they nearly always mentioned The Wizard of Oz.  While more people have seen the movie rather than having read the books, everyone seems to know about Oz.  Dorothy may be our best ambassador for the state of Kansas.  

I can't imagine anyone who would not enjoy going out of their way to stop in Wamego for a stroll through the land of Oz at the museum!

Flour Mills on the Prairie

Grinder near the granary

Isaac Werner went to nearby mills to have his corn ground.  He generally went to the Webber Mill a few miles north, and after one visit he complained about how some neighbors failed to clean their corn properly before bringing it to be ground.  The result was that the dirt left on the grinding stone made his corn too gritty to feed to his chickens.  The foundation of that old mill can still be found by someone who knows where to look.  Isaac also took corn to be ground in Saratoga, where the mill was located on the Ninnescah River.  (See "Cemetery on the Hill," 2-7-13 in the blog archives.)

Site where old grinder was used

I was told that a concrete pad with a metal rod for the pivot located just south of the old family granary was where the grinder was set up for grinding grain periodically.  There was a crib in the southeast corner of the barn where I took a coffee can to dip out a measure of ground milo for the chickens every day, but I don't recall having seen my father grind the milo.  In the photograph above, taken in the early 1920s, a cone-shaped object can be seen.  It is located about where the concrete pad is located.  I was also told the metal rod was used to secure an apparatus used while butchering hogs in the early days, although I never saw my father butcher anything when I was growing up.

However, this blog is about mills, not butchering.  The mill I know about is the flour mill in Hudson, Ks.  It is a very old business, although not quite old enough for Isaac's time, as the business began in 1904 when Otto Sondregger, a German miller, built a small flour mill.  In 1913 the mill was expanded to a 300-barrel capacity, and further expansions have continued to this day.

Bags of Hudson Cream Flour

Recently I was surprised to see a headline in the newspaper reading "Stafford County Flour Mill going green."  It seems that the Hudson Cream flour mill has put up a wind-powered turbine.  According to the current mill president, Reuel Foote, the cost of electricity was one of their biggest expenses, so they began investigating a wind turbine in 2013.  On November 5, 2014 the rotor hub was lifted into place and the three large blades were attached.

Nearly 200 feet off the ground, the familiar Hudson Cream logo can be seen, installed before the hub was lifted into the air. St. John sign painter Brett Younie was glad his Signtec business was given the job of mounting the huge logos but said he had no desire to do the job that high off the ground!

Scarecrow from Oz with flour sack head

Several years ago we were in Montreal, Canada, and as we walked into an upscale bakery we spotted a huge display just inside the entrance, piled high with sacks of Hudson Cream Flour, advertising that they used the "best" flour in their baking.  We couldn't believe that the flour from a mill only a few miles from our farm was so highly regarded that it would be used to attract customers to that bakery.  The bakery is correct about its superior quality, however.  It is great flour and I don't buy anything else.

When I made Wizard of Oz dolls of the four main characters, I carefully read L. Frank Baum's description of the Scarecrow.  It said his head was made of an old flour sack.  Naturally, I had to use a Hudson Flour sack for my scarecrow.  Today, however, the sacks are made of paper, which would not do.  When the mill had a small gift shop in the office, I had purchased fabric with the logo imprinted on it, but nothing I had was small enough for my doll's head.  So, I drew the logo on some unbleached muslin.  I could not imagine a proper Kansas scarecrow with his head made of anything other than a Hudson Cream flour sack!

(To see all of my Wizard of Oz dolls you may visit "Isaac and the Wizard of Oz," 12-15-2011 in the blog archives.  Look closely in the first photograph to see not only the Dorothy doll I am holding but also the Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow on the floor beside my chair.  The Tin Man also appears in the photograph near the end of that blog.)

If Isaac Could Only Imagine



Isaac's arm stabilizer



The margins of Isaac's journal contain many sketches of his ideas for improving or inventing machines.  As a young druggist he designed and built an apparatus to stabilize a man's sore elbow enough to allow it to heal.  As a farmer in Kansas he designed and built a 3-horse cultivator, the first of its kind, for which he sought a patent.  He rarely bought a piece of equipment without modifying it in some way to improve its performance.  With his inventive mind, how he would have loved to attend the exhibition we know as The Chicago World's Fair!

 

The proper name was the World's Fair:  Columbian Exposition, organized to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World.  When it opened to the public on May 1, 1893, it covered 600 acres, with about 200 buildings and pavilions containing exhibits from around the world.  Isaac would have loved all of it, but the single thing that might have impressed him the most was the amazing invention of George Ferris.

 

George Ferris

Born on Valentine's Day 1859 in Galesburg, IL, Ferris attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, and earned a degree in civil engineering.  By the late 1880s he had opened G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with their principle business being building tunnels and rail lines.

 

Although Ferris made a good living from what he was doing, he was ambitious, and the construction of the Eiffel Tower for the Paris Exhibition of 1889 inspired him to consider what he might build that would exceed the famous Paris landmark.  He imagined an observation wheel, and when plans were announced for the Chicago World's Fair, he believed he had found the perfect venue for his invention.

 

Unfortunately, when he presented his idea to the committee in charge of accepting or rejecting entries to the Fair, some regarded it as impossible to build, some saw it as too dangerous for riders, and some even called him a "crackpot."  Ferris enlisted endorsements from other engineers, and the committee changed its mind and accepted the concept of George Ferris for a giant observation wheel.  Their delayed approval resulted in the Ferris Wheel being incomplete when the fair opened, but when it was finished and open to customers, people lined up in great numbers to ride the new invention.  In fact, ticket sales for the Ferris Wheel are credited with keeping the fair from indebtedness.

 

The Ferris Wheel at the Chicago Fair

Imagine a bicycle wheel with the axle of the wheel set on two steel pyramids, with the wheel spokes consisting of heavy steel beams.  Now, consider the engineering genius of the construction.  The axle was the largest piece of steel that had ever been forged in the United States, weighing 46 1/2 tons!  The wheel itself was 264 feet high, and the towers supporting the wheel were 140 feet high.  There were 36 passenger cars outfitted to impress Victorian tastes and capable of carrying 40 seated passengers or 60 standing.  Two 1,000 horsepower steam engines turned the wheel, and a huge air brake stopped it.  George Ferris had indeed created a marvel to equal or exceed the Eiffel Tower!

 

Sadly, the Chicago World's Fair was only a temporary site, and the location to which the Wheel was moved was not successful.  In addition, when others attempted to use Ferris's ideas, he became involved in many patent infringement lawsuits.  He gained his fame but died in 1896 at the young age of thirty-seven.

 

The above image of the Ferris Wheel was taken from a wonderful book of photographs of the Chicago World's Fair published in 1893 that is now part of the archives of the Stafford County Historical Museum.  In the background of the photograph may be seen some of the buildings said to have inspired L. Frank Baum in his depiction of the Emerald City.  If you happen to be in Stafford, KS, on a weekday, stop by and ask Director Michael Hathaway to see the wonderful book of photographs from the Chicago World's Fair.  

 

Today there are taller Ferris Wheels in the world.  The London Eye towers 400 feet above the River Thames, dominating a fairly flat city and altering the lovely, traditional skyline.  The tallest Ferris Wheel, however, is the Singapore Flyer, that pierces the sky at 541 feet!