Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota

[George Kincaid]

http://www.examiner.com/x-20200-Madison ... nd-getaway

Classic movie pilgrimage: Judy Garland Museum great destination for weekend getaway

The Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, is a perfect family vacation destination for the classic movie buff . The Museum is housed in the historic birthplace of Judy Garland. Located about 4 hours north of Minneapolis in the North Woods region of the United States, adjacent to the Chippewa National Forest, Grand Rapids was originally home to tall timber lumber jacks and fur trappers. Today it offers visitors scenic byways, festivals, fishing, and golf as well as cross-country skiing and snowmobiling in the winter.

For “Judy” fans from Madison, Milwaukee, or Sioux Falls, a mini-vacation to the Judy Garland Museum could be made pleasantly in a 3 or 4-day weekend trip. For Garland fans from Minneapolis, Fargo or Winnipeg, the trip could work well as an overnight or weekend get-away.

Birthplace of Frances Gumm aka Judy Garland
Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922. The house which was to eventually become the Judy Garland museum was the family home to Frank and Ethel Gumm and their three daughters from 1919 until 1926, when they moved to California. Less than 10 years later, Frances Gumm had become Judy Garland and by age 13 had signed a movie contract with MGM, the studio “with more stars than there are in the heavens.” Surprisingly, one of the co-stars she was soon to meet in Hollywood, Mickey Rooney, was from International Falls, Minnesota, just two hours away from Grand Rapids.

Garland’s historic birthplace moved and restored
The Judy Garland Museum was founded in 1975 as a non-profit educational organization, beginning its work of celebrating all that was “Judy” by hosting a Judy Garland Festival. The 35th annual festival will be held the 4th weekend of June 2010. The two-story house that was the childhood home of little Francis Gumm was built in 1892 and has survived two moves, according to John Kelsch, director of the museum. The first move was in 1938 while the second, in 1994, ended with the house relocated to donated land as a permanent museum site and work began to restore the house to its 1920's state, the time when the Gumm family lived there.

Museum opened in 2003 with world’s largest Judy Garland collection
After years of collecting materials and with the support of the Judy Garland Heirs Trust, the museum held its grand opening in 2003, featuring tours of the house, an Oz-themed flower garden, and exhibits showcasing memorabilia of Judy Garland and her career from her birth in 1922 to her early death in 1969 at age 47. The museum has, according to its website, the most extensive Judy Garland collection in the world.

The pride of the museum is the carriage used in the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz (1939). Other artifacts include Dorothy’s dress from the Wizard of Oz, a Winkie sword, and the Gold Record for the millionth copy of “Over the Rainbow” sold. Celebrity guests of the museum and the Judy Garland Festival include Garland’s children (Liza Minnelli, Joe Luft, and Lorna Luft), Margaret O’Brien (co-star of Meet Me in St. Louis), Mickey Rooney, Donald O’Connor, June Allyson, Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West), and five of the original Munchkins from the Wizard of Oz.


Grey suede shoes worn by Garland in Meet Me in St. LouisGarland tops many lists of great movie stars
The museum celebrates Judy Garland as one of the world’s greatest entertainers. The AFI (American Film Institute) has named Garland as one of the top 10 female stars in American film. She starred in 3 of the top 10 AFI-listed musicals: The Wizard of Oz (1939), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), and A Star is Born (1954). Her daughter, Liza Minnelli, kept success in the family by adding a 4th musical to the top 10 list, Cabaret (1972). The Wizard of Oz was named by the AFI as the top fantasy film and its signature song “Over the Rainbow,” which is sung by Garland, as the top movie song of all time. She also had considerable success off screen as a singer on stage, on radio, and as a recording artist, with more than 100 singles and more than 24 albums. Her two-record album Judy at Carnegie Hall, based on an April 23, 1961 performance, won 5 Grammy Awards, including album of the year. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded Garland a posthumous Grammy for Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.


How to find the Judy Garland Museum
The Judy Garland Museum (2727 US Hwy 169 South, Grand Rapids, MN) is open year-round: April thru Memorial Day, Mon – Sat 10 am to 5 pm; Memorial Day to Labor Day: Mon – Sun 10 am to 5 pm; September Mon – Sat 10 am to 5 pm; October thru March, Fri and Sat only 10 am to 5 pm. It is closed on New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Admission is $7 and includes the adjacent Children’s Discovery Museum, which includes a variety of hands-on exhibits teaching about geography, nature, and history. It also has a display of more than 200 classic fairy tale dolls created by “internationally acclaimed doll maker Faith Wick” and a model train set complete with detailed village. Children age 1 and under are free. The museum also houses a Judy Garland gift shop, with a full range of books about Garland, Oz books, CDs and DVDs with her songs and movies, and collectibles.

Other Area Attractions in Grand Rapids
Pilgrims to the Museum will also want to make a stop at the Heritage Museum of the Itasca County Historical Society which has a Judy Garland exhibit: “A Gumm Family Scrapbook.” The Heritage Museum is open year-round: Memorial Day thru Labor Day, Mon – Fri 9.30 am to 5.00 pm; Sat 10 am to 4 pm; Sun 12 noon to 4 pm. Admission is $4 Adults, $3 Seniors, $2 Children over 6; a family pass is $12. Children 6 and under are free.

Visitor information, including information on other area attractions such as the White Oak Fur Post and the Edge of Wilderness Scenic Byway, Fall color reports and “hot” lodging deals, can be found at the Visit Grand Rapids website.

**A thank you to the Judy Garland Museum for permission to use the photographs in this article.**


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