The Ruby Red Slippers -- Stolen!

Last Saturday night someone broke into The Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, MN, where I was two months ago, and stole the very pair of the ruby red slippers shown just below! They were used for closeups according to Ken, a friend I met at the Judy festival. I am surprised that more Judy fans didn't make posts on the Yahoo! groups about this; I for one did to register my disgust at the crime. I bet the shoes aren't recovered; it may have been a job done by someone who knew how to circumvent the alarm system since the theft wasn't discovered until the next morning by a museum staff member. I think it makes the museum staff look like idiots that they didn't have a security camera there--the police chief openly admits that there's not much evidence for them to go on. Some society we live in, huh?

The entrance to The Sawmill Inn. I would recommend it to any one going to the Judy festival or just wanting a restful retreat away from it all. The food is very good--and everyone raves about the pop-overs served at dinner! SMILE

This is me and Margaret Pelligrini, the "sleepyhead" Munchkin. She's a very nice lady--but she likes her coffee first before too many pictures get taken! hehehe

This is one of the ACTUAL pairs of the Ruby Red Slippers Judy wore. I'm not sure if this pair was used for the close-ups of the shoes or dancing or what; but they are genuine.

Me at the side of Judy's childhood home, from the rear. The home is only two doors down from The Sawmill Inn where I was staying.

This picture was taken at the "kick-off" to the Judy festival. And, man, was it HOT that day! It's very sweet. This is Clarence the Munchkin soldier with his wife to his immediate left; the Coronor (Meinhart Raabe), and Margaret Pelligrini, who played a "sleepy head" Munchkin in Munchkin land. You also see their great granddaughter! Late at night I could hear them out in the hallway ( their rooms were adjacent to mine) saying "I can see you!" playfully to each other. The voices sounded like the Munchkins sounded, even today after all these years.

This is the actual carriage used to transport Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley (not to forget Toto the dog) after their first arrival at Oz. It was used by none other than Abraham Lincoln during his presidency and bears his name on one side of it! The carriage found its way to MGM many years after Lincoln's death.

This was taken just before the Judy festival began. This is me and Clarence, a guy who played a Munchkin soldier in Munchkinland. He says the secret to staying well at his age--87-- is to "keep moving." I think he's right!

The Judy Garland Festival

This past June I went to the Judy Garland festival in Grand Rapids, MN. It was a beautiful trip getting there; I flew into the Twin Cities and from there drove through the fantastic countryside about 275 miles northwest to Grand Rapids. It was nothing like New York City, guys--the skies were actually blue! The water was blue! The air was fresh and didn't smell like the sewer pipes near the subway had broken--once again! I stayed at The Sawmill Inn which is a wonderful retreat even if you have no other reason to go to Grand Rapids, MN. Here come some pictures of the festival!