M
On The Road Again
The two-story facade of the Oz Museum in Wamego, Kan., is bedecked in emerald and yellow with touches of ruby red.
Wamego, Kan. By RAY BALOGH | The Municipal
(All photos courtesy of the Oz Museum, Wamego, Kan.)
You’re standing across the street, looking at the facade of emerald and yellow bricks dotted with flying monkeys and the likes of a lion, scarecrow and other fictional characters peeking through the windows. Yes, you are in Kansas. More specifically, you’re in Wamego, a quiet burg of fewer than 5,000 residents 50 miles west of Topeka. The building you are facing is the Oz Museum, opened in 2003, which contains the most comprehensive permanent collection of Wizard of Oz memorabilia in the world. Included in the displays are more than 2,000 artifacts, including costumes and props from the original 1939 MGM movie and subsequent adaptations “The Wiz” and “Wicked”; movie posters; merchandising, such as toys, dolls, cookie jars, ornaments, board games, coloring books and lunch boxes; and accounting documents from MGM’s books pertaining to the movie. Visitors enter a monochrome lobby, pay their admission through Dorothy’s farmhouse window, open a sepia-colored door and step into a kaleidoscopic wonderland of Munchkins and other beloved characters to learn the history of L. Frank Baum and his 1900 book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” which inspired the classic film, and to glean further information from the displays and exhibits. One feature not for the faint of heart is the tornado machine, located in the gift shop. For $2 patrons can climb inside and experience the force of 79 mph winds.
12 THE MUNICIPAL | AUGUST 2022
The cast of Munchkins consisted of 225 pituitary midgets MGM recruited from carnivals and vaudeville shows.
A yellow brick walkway in the alley down the block is lined with statues of the movie’s characters, including some of the 15 Toto sculptures located around town. The town hosts OZtoberFEST! every October, this year on Oct. 1. The festival includes a Toto look-alike contest, classic car show, indoor/ outdoor market, barbecue, beer and wine garden and other activities. The signature event is the costume contest, divided into nine
