Return to Tennessee and Discoveries



The Bryn Bed & Breakfast is now
a private home. It stands on the
land where Will Gum once
had his store.
(Courtesy Michelle Russell)



      In 2003, I returned to Tennessee. By now I had been convinced to write a book on Judy Garland’s family. This time I flew to Nashville, rented a car, and drove down to Murfreesboro. My plan would stay in a hotel for a few days, and then close out my visit in a bed and breakfast on the corner of Maney Avenue and East Main, only doors from the home where Frank Gumm was born. In this way, I would have some time to absorb the atmosphere.

It was wonderful to be back in Tennessee. As I wrote in the preface of From Tennessee to Oz Part 1, my first stop was the Rutherford County Courthouse in the town square of Murfreesboro. I COULD NOT WAIT to see those papers which Gerald Clarke mentioned in the opening of his book, Get Happy. What surprises lay in store for me.





Inside the Rutherford County Courthouse, now used for county
meetings. It had recently been renovated here, with the
intent of restoring it to its 1895 appearance.
(courtesy) Michelle Russell

Walking to the third floor of the old courthouse, and peering into the empty courtroom below on my way up, my heart was pounding. Seated at a table in the tiny room just below the cupola, I filled out the paperwork for the file and waited patiently for its arrival. I had no idea what to expect, but when I opened the folder I was surprised to see that the court records were hand-written. This handwriting, some in pencil and some in pen, was written by people who had been in the presence of Judy Garland’s grandparents, great aunts and uncles. The past was getting closer.

I began to read the court testimony. The case was about Mary Ann Marable Baugh’s will. She was the mother of Clemmie Gumm, Judy Garland’s great grandmother and Curry’s great, great grandmother. Having spoken to Curry about her many times, Mary Ann was indeed very real to me. She now became even more real.

The “voices” of the people Curry had spoken to me about were in these pages. I was “hearing” their words and voices for the first time--Bettie Baugh White, John Mason Marable Baugh and others. These people spoke with southern accents, some quite country. They said things like “I reckon” and called their mother “mammie.” About the cause of her mother’s death, Bettie Baugh said, “I can’t rightly say it. I left my teeth at home and thems a heap o’ cares.”

It was funny and real. Then, I read something that hit me like a bolt of lightening. Clemmie’s nephew quoted his grandmother as saying, “I’d as soon see the Devil come through that door as see Will Gum.” Will was Frank Gumm’s father. What was going on here?

I had been taking notes, but suddenly I realized I was not going to be able to take enough notes on what was contained in these files. I would come back the next day, but I was going to need a copy of this case to take home and study. It was a treasure trove. It took me a year to type out these handwritten pages and make sense of them. There were over 100 pages and some were very difficult to decipher.



Oaklands during a Civil War
period reinactment.
(courtesy Michelle Russell)



My next important visit was to the historic house museum, Oaklands. Although Oaklands was begun around 1812, my main interest in the home was for the years 1880 thru 1910. The reason was that George Darrow, the man who sent Frank Gumm to Sewanee, the man whose letter appears in Young Judy, lived in that home with his wife, Tempe Swope, during that time. In fact, he wrote the letter arranging for young Frank’s entrance to Sewanee in that house. I don’t know if Frank ever visited it, but it was experience to visit. For anyone visiting Murfreesboro, I highly recommend that you visit Oaklands, which is directly down East Main Street, turn left on Maney Avenue and you will find yourself at its entrance.

I believe I may have visited Oaklands twice during that week. On my last visit, I was taken through the house by a student, who kindly took a photo of me on the front steps. Before I left, I asked him about Jefferson.

During my week in Murfreesboro, I had come to realize that the Gum family did not originally live in Murfreesboro. They lived in some place called Jefferson. I decided that I must go there and see what I could find, so I asked him, “Where is Jefferson?”

“Do you mean Old Jefferson?” he asked me. I explained it to him and he replied,

“Old Jefferson no longer exists. It’s under water?”

 “What?” I said shocked.

He then explained to me that this town, which had been the first town in Rutherford County, the county seat in 1805, had slowly gone down to a few people and when the Tennessee Valley Authority decided to create Percy Priest Lake in hopes of stopping some of the flooding of the Stones River, they had decided to sacrifice Jefferson, since it sat between the East and West Branches of the Stones River. The River, by the way, was not named because it has stones, but because it was first discovered by Joshua Stone in 1700.

The student brought out an old scrapbook to show some news articles about Jefferson. They had few photos and no mention of Gums, but  I was already hooked. It was almost as if I had learned of a town where King Arthur once lived. Jefferson was now a legend and I had to find out more about it. Perhaps the mystery of the early Gums existed in this history.

While in Tennessee this trip I went to visit another historic home – The Sam Davis Home. Sam Davis is a Tennessee here, a young man who died rather than betray his fellow Confederate. He was nineteen at the time.

Sam has a connection to Judy Garland’s family. He was born in the home that Mary Ann Marable Baugh’s great grandfather, the Rev. Henry Hartwell Marable built when he first came to Rutherford County. As a result of Sam’s birth in that home, some thirty years after Rev. Marable passed away, the home was moved and preserved on the Sam Davis property in Smyrna, which is a town which also resides in Rutherford County, somewhat north of Murfreesboro.



Rev. Henry Hartwell Marable's log cabin (circa 1812-
1830) The home has since been restored and can
be viewed on the property of the Sam Davis Home
in Smyrna, TN (courtesy Michelle Russell)



On my first visit to this historic and very fascinating home, the house was still sitting on  pilings on a back lot, not far from some cotton fields. Meanwhile, while I was at the Sam Davis Home, I was able to buy some recordings of traditional Tennessee music. They would help me when writing.

While I was in Murfreesboro this trip, I met for lunch with a lady who was a distant cousin of Judy Garland. She had been born a Gumm. Alberta Gumm Wilson and she was just about the age Judy would have been.

It was so interesting to meet Alberta with her southern accent. Many aspects of Alberta were not like Judy, but others were. She had the long legs and shorter trunk and some aspects of her face were clearly like Judy’s. I could imagine what Judy would have been like had her family never left Tennessee! Alberta also told me that her daughter some real similarities to Liza as well.

My last adventure was to try to find the family graves over at Evergreen Cemetery, which was not far from where I was staying and near Oaklands. Alberta gave me some great pointers for finding the graves as one day I had wandered for over an hour and was ready to give up.

To stand before the graves of the people I had read so much about was something. There were Frank’s parents, Will and Clemmie Gumm, and there was Mary Ann Marable Baugh, John Baugh and many of their children. Standing there, I pondered the mysteries of these people I had been reading about in the court trial. What secrets had they taken with them to their graves?

When I left Murfreesboro at the end of this trip, I realized that instead of closing my research on this remarkable family, I was only beginning. On long the journey ahead was I had no idea.

Understanding Judy Garland's Family - The Baughs

    In my last blog on  the series of events leading up to my book, From Tennessee to Oz, I spoke about the birth of the CD recording “Made In America – Vaudeville Songs” and the resulting show.

    After performing the show for three years on and off, the girls were growing up (kids grow up so quickly – we can imagine how Ethel saw that with her girls), and it was time to move on. Meanwhile, I moved part-time to Pennsylvania. At this point, several people urged me to write a book, telling me that the information I had should be preserved.  On principle, I did not want to write a book and adamantly refused, but that Christmas, after making a small book on my findings for one of Judy’s family members, I realized it would be doable. I pictured it as a simple book with pictures that I’d have completed in a year. Little did I know where the road would lead me.



Curry Wolfe, one one of our many
adventures. Here she is standing by
an old farm in the area of Old Millersburg
and Christiana where the Baughs also
lived, especially during the Civil War.



One thing I was certain of—I needed a better understanding of Frank Gumm’s family history. One day, while searching online, I came upon someone who said they were related to Clemmie Baugh Gumm. The lady’s name was Curry Wolfe and she had done ten years of research on this line of her family. Her great grandfather, John M.M. Baugh was Clemmie’s brother. Over the next years, as I came to know Curry and work on research with her, these ancient people, who were little more than names and dates on a piece of paper, became real to me. As a child, I knew two of my great grandparents. If Curry’s great grandfather was Clemmie’s brother – that was close! But when Curry first began to explain her family to me, I was a bit overwhelmed. There were a lot of children in that family!

For those of you who have the books (and those who don’t), it might be useful for me to introduce Clemmie Baugh Gum’s family in a simplified way.



Mary Ann Marable's grandparents, the Rev. Henry
Hartwell Marable's log cabin in Rutherford County.
Her parent's home no longer exists.



Clemmie’s father, John Aldridge Baugh, was born in Virginia. When he was a child, the entire family traveled as pioneers, in covered wagons to Tennessee. They remained there only a short time, and then moved across the border to the edge of Alabama, where they earned their living as farmers.

Why John Baugh came to Murfreesboro in 1828 is not completely clear. There is some indication that he may have come to teach school. Because he had a number of family members living in Rutherford County, it also seems highly likely that he came to visit relatives. One of those relatives was his grandmother’s sister, Lucy Marable. Lucy and Benjamin Marable had a beautiful daughter named, Mary Ann, with whom John fell in love. Mary Ann was equally smitten with John, and one week after her seventeenth birthday, John and Mary Ann were wed. When John returned to Alabama, he returned with seventeen year-old bride and her servant, Mirandy Marable, who would later be known as Miranday Baugh. There is more fascinating information in my book, but those are the basics.



Glorious Tennessee skies and land in the Blackman Community, not far
 from the land which Mary Ann Marable's father, Benjamin owned.
(c) Michelle Russell



While living in Alabama, the Baughs had a daughter, whom they named Caledonia (1831), and a son, Joseph Lawrence (1833.) Joseph was a big shorter and fairer than some of the other children.

Although it’s not known why, in 1835, the couple moved back to Rutherford County with their two children, and settled on Mary Ann’s parents’ farm. A short time later, she gave birth to a third child, John Mason Marable Baugh, who was named for both of his grandparents.

In an old letter I discovered at the Tennessee Historical Society, Joseph states that during this time he lived in his grandparents’ home. This fact makes one wonder whether Mary Ann was unwell or suffering from post partum depression and unable to care properly for her children.

Living on the Marable farm, which sat on some of the richest land in the area, John Baugh was able to save money and grow his wealth. In the next few years he would buy hundreds of acres of land and, also, slaves. During the marriage, the family moved quite a few times. It seems that often when a new territory opened up in the area (turnpike roads were being built during this time), John buy would buy acreage and move the growing family.

Curve in the road where the stage coaches stopped for
travelers to get a drink of cool spring water.
(c) M. Russell



During the next ten years, Mary Ann Baugh would give birth every two years. The year after John M.M. Baugh’s birth (1836), Mary Ann gave birth to a little girl they named Lucy Elizabeth, though she would always be known as “Bettie.” Bettie was a dark-haired child with dark eyes. (NOTE: Clemmie has sometimes been referred to as Elizabeth. This is obviously inaccurate; she was always Clemmie.) Two years after Lucy’s birth, Martha was born. She was always known as "Mattie."

In 1840, when Mattie was two, the Baugh’s oldest child, nine year-old Caledonia died. There were many diseases in those days; children died so frequently that some of the wealthy families had the servants take care of their children until they were ten or older, so as not to be too attached to them if they died.

 In 1843, Mary Ann gave birth to a son she named after her father, Benjamin Marable. Fredonia arrived in 1845 and Mary in 1847. The Baughs now had six children at home.



Old farm and Tennessee farmhouse in Big Springs
(c) Michelle Russell



Two years after Mary, a little girl named Eliza arrived. By now, the Baughs were living on a big farm in the Big Springs area, a cross roads town for the stage coach, protected by hills, with a spring where travelers loved to stop for a drink of fresh water. Here, in 1851, Mary Ann gave birth to her tenth child, Charles Richard Baugh. As stated before, Mary Ann likely thought this would be her last child. He had been giving birth now for twenty years! However, six years later, as I stated in my previous blog, she gave birth to a little girl with a birth defect, Clemmie.

Of course, my book gives many more details on history, what the living was like and the events in the family. Throughout my book, I also refer to the ages of the children frequently, in an effort to give some sense of the household and how many little ones were running around at any given time.

As for personalities in the family, Joe seemed to be the best businessman. After his marriage in 1854 to a British lady named Anna Butterworth (before Clemmie was even born), he moved south to Winchester. His daughter, Emma, became a fine musician and one of his sons, Ashton, was said to be a fine singer.

Bettie married Mr. Robert White and lost many children early. Being the eldest sister she seems to have been the most serious of all the children, with a sense of compassion toward her mother and her sister, Clemmie.

Mattie married young and died young, so not much is known of her personality. Her husband, Robert Howland, was in the Confederate Army when she died, as was the local doctor.

Mattie’s Sister Mary, who would later be called “Mollie,” married Mattie’s widow, Robert Howland, and had four sons with him.

Young Benjamin seems to have been his mother’s favorite son. Perhaps that was because he was named for her father and also because he went to war so young. He entered the service at the age of 18, was present for some of the worst battles anyone has ever seen, including the Battle of Shiloh, which I describe in detail in Part 1. What he saw and took part in destroyed him. He ended up in an insane asylum and was dead by the age of thirty-eight.

Eliza was rather a spirited girl. Before Clemmie came along, she had been the youngest girl. She seems a bit resentful of her sister, finding her spoiled and selfish. Perhaps the two were somewhat similar in character.

Not so much is known about Charlie. He was young when the war began and could not do what his brothers did, become a soldier. Between Clemmie’s disability and young Rollie (son of Mattie and Robert Howland) entering the family, it is possible that Charlie got lost, or did not care to partake so much in family events. He married young and was on his own. When John Baugh died in 1870, it seems Mary Ann was overwhelmed, having to take over her husband’s work and missing him. Less record of Mary Ann's inter-action exists Charlie than between her and her other children. There is one indication, however, that at some point he did something to displease her. There is a quote of her saying,

“I would not help him if he were as naked as the day he was born!”

You can see that Mary Ann had a temper and it is said that once she made up her mind, there was no changing it. She could be gentle and kind, a wonderful conversationalist, but you did not want to make her angry!

So this is a bit about the characteristics of the Baugh family, which may give you some insight into Clemmie and Frank Gumm.

It should be noted, that Frank Gumm knew all of the above people quite well. They influenced his life, and possibly that of his daughter.

Next blog: A Return Trip to Tennessee – the Second. And the adventure goes on!

A Visit to the Oz Festival



Some older Oz fans - fun for everyone!



What story has a meaning for young and old alike? “The Wizard of Oz!” Where can you go to find children, adults, teenagers and old people all involved and happy about the same thing – OZ!  There’s where I was last week--in Chesterton, Indiana at the Oz Festival. It is always a lovely place to be.

A younger fan is enchanted by the guard.

Chesterton is a small town in northern Indiana not far from Chicago. It’s an old town, built in the early 1900s, with charming homes, surrounded by cornfields, not far from the Indiana Dunes off Lake Michigan. It also has a train running through it every twenty minutes, which is charming or annoying, depending how you look at it.

Chesterton began celebrating L. Frank Baum’s Oz books in 1981. It was an idea begun by Mrs. Nelson, a woman in town who owned a Wizard of Oz gift shop . At this festival you may see characters, not only from Baum’s most famous book, but from his other books, like Ozma of Oz. During this two-day event, everyone is happy.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/duneland/chesterton/history-of-wizard-of-oz-festival/article_870de1a5-6f37-5aa4-ae40-2a24e2026bed.html



A mother as Glinda with her daughters as
charming Dorothy and Munchkin.



The Festival also has loads of vendors. John Fricke, Oz and Garland historian is the Master of Ceremonies. This year, only one original Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz film was able to attend, feisty and wonderful Margaret Pellegrini. There were also two wives of Munchkins who appeared in the film and Caren Marsh Doll, MGM dancer who was Judy Garland’s stand-in and in various scenes appears in the film as well. Ms. Marsh-Doll is now in her nineties, a beautiful and gracious lady. It’s a privilege to speak with her.

 

Caren Marsh Doll



Roger Baum, L. Frank Baum’s great grandson was also present, signing copies of his book, “Dorothy of Oz,” which has been made into an animated film, soon to be released. There are always plenty of events, celebrities and characters to keep this Festival exciting.

Here I am with the Scarecrow, Dorothy & the Tin Man. The Lion,
who has had his mane curled, is just out of range.

Having visited Chesterton’s Oz Festival for the second time, I am once again filled with happiness at having been there. I was there to sell my books, From Tennessee to Oz, Parts 1 and 2 and my new book, A Cat Named Toto. I have to say I received some guff from purists, but I can’t help the fact that at the age of eight I named my new cat Toto, in honor of the original Toto. My Toto had every reason to deserve the name and was a wonderful cat. I felt happy just writing this story with the hope that children will enjoy Toto just as I did.

While I was in Oz, I learned about another Oz celebration in our United States. The Oz Festival in North Carolina. I am told it is a beautiful and enchanted place which adds to the wonder of this Oz Celebration. For more information, please click here:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/3764

Thanks for reading my little story. The Oz Festival and the opportunity to celebrate L. Frank Baum’s wonderful books and MGM’s unforgettable film deserve some space on this blog.

The next blog will return to Judy Garland’s pioneer family history.



I meet the Lion, Tin Woodsman and Scarecrow dressed as the
Wicked Witch's guards. Fun!
Photo Courtesy Phyllis McCleary Turner



A Tribute to The Wizard of Oz



The first page as it appeared in
the original "The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz" book. I received
a paperback copy in the 1970s.



     “Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was a farmer’s wife.”

So begins The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Although it is now over one hundred and twelve years, since this treasured book was published, the simplicity, honesty and heart in the opening paragraph speak to children and adults now, in the same way they did long ago.

Soon, Dorothy will leave the gray world in Kansas where she lives with Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, and journey by tornado to another more colorful world. Through L. Frank Baum’s wonderful imagination, one of the most frightening things – a tornado – is turned into a vehicle of wonder. Even now, we are fascinated by it.

Although L. Frank Baum would write many children’s books after this great work, none would be more successful or beloved than The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Copy on the collector
stamps page, slightly
bent.

In 1937, the men at MGM film studios bought the book as a property for a little girl named Judy Garland. Prior to this time, the story had been turned into a stage play, and two silent films had been made, But while people were interested in them, nothing had struck gold the way the book had. This time the producers at MGM had much grander plans. The Wizard of Oz would be a musical, and even more exciting, with the advent of Technicolor, some inspired soul decided that Kansas should remain in black and white, “gray” just as L. Frank Baum had described it, but the land on the other side of the rainbow would be in COLOR! In 1939, two great films were released that are looked on as eternal treasures - both in color: Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

Of course, I had always heard that the studios tried to get Shirley Temple for the role of Dorothy. While working on my book, “From Tennessee to Oz,” John Fricke clarified this matter for me. The Wizard of Oz had always been meant for Judy. She was the only one that Arthur Freed and others wanted, but when the big money men in New York saw the budget for film, they got scared. Would an unknown be able to bring in the audience to make back the investment on this film, let along a profit? They thought top box office star Shirley Temple was a safer bet.

No one then dreamed that with the advent of television, VHS and then DVD and BlueRay how popular this film would be and how many versions of it would be released. Now, seventy-three years after the film was released, people are still buying copies of the film, going to see it in theaters and the memorabilia for it, especially the ruby slippers, is among the most recognized items in the world!

The money men who didn’t want Judy Garland would probably have been overwhelmed and full of disbelief had someone at that time shown them a crystal ball into the future.

Yes, Judy Garland truly was Dorothy and it is difficult to imagine anyone else playing the role and having the effect she had and still does have. Her simplicity and beauty of spirit is unparalleled. Most fans of Judy Garland first saw her in this role. It is a role that has ensured her immortality.

In addition, we cannot forget any of the wonderful players in this film: Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West, who it is said was a dear, sweet lady, certainly scared us all. Her opposite, Billie Burke was truly a fairy tale character of goodness as Glinda. We all love Frank Morgan as the Wonderful Wizard, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Jack Haley as the Tin Man and Bert Lahr as that very unusual Cowardly Lion. And we must not forget the very hardworking, Terry, as Toto, Dorothy’s dearest friend. In L. Frank Baum’s book he says that everything was gray in Kansas except Toto, who was black and made Dorothy laugh.

Though I was always a fan of The Wizard of Oz and the great Judy Garland, until 1995 when I first attended the Judy Garland Festival in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, I had no idea I could meet anyone associated with the film, especially not one of the Munchkins. I shall never forget the first time I went to see the film in a movie theater in Grand Rapids. The theater was said to be built almost exactly over the spot where Judy’s home once stood (The home has since been moved and turned into a museum.) 

Munchkin Margaret Pellegrina in the
kitchen of the Judy Garland Birthplace
with Carissa Farina, dressed to play
Baby Gumm. In the back, you can
see Meinhardt Raabe, Coroner.
Taken June 1997.



As I was coming out of the theater, two little boys in front of me were talking. One said, “Should we go see the Munchkins now?” “Okay,” said the other. I had just watched a film made in 1939, but in that moment the fifty-six years between the film’s making and the present were gone because we were going to meet the Munchkins! How amazing. We walked out of the theater, and there they were, all in costume.

During the years I attended The Judy Garland Festival, I was so fortunate to meet these lovely people, who were ever gracious and aware of their part in history. I have fond memories of meeting and speaking with Margaret Pellegrini (Sleepy Head), Jerry Marin (the Lollipop Guild member who handed the lollipop to Dorothy), and Meinhardt Raabe, the Coronor, as well as their lovely spouses and family members. In later years, I would also get to meet one of the soldiers, Clarence Swensen, and one of the trumpeters, dear Karl Slover, who sadly left us last year. Right to the very end of his ninety plus years, he went to every Oz event.

 

With the amazing Caren Marsh Doll
around 2001.



Another very special person I got to meet was Carin Marsh Doll, a dancer at MGM who was also one of Judy’s stand-ins in the film. At one Festival, Carin gave lessons in skipping down the yellow brook road properly, just as she had done. What a thrill that was!

It has also been a great honor to meet the great grandsons of L. Frank Baum, Robert Baum, who looks very much like his great grandfather and has given presentations with his wife, portraying him, and Roger Baum. Like their great grandfather, both gentlemen are authors!

All these years, it has been a treasure to meet the people connected with The Wizard of Oz and to be reminded of the messages of the book and film. Like the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion, we are reminded that we all have brains, heart and courage, we just have to find them and believe in them. And like Dorothy, while adventures are wonderful, we need to remember and treasure our homes and the people we love.

With cast members (Munchkins) from The Wizard of Oz
l. to r. Ruth Duccini, Karl Slover, Jerry Marin, Magaret
Pellegrini and (seated) Meinhardt Raabe.
Taken in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, 2001

For those of you who love The Wizard of Oz, and would like to know more about them, here are a list:

The Chesterton Oz Festival in Indiana. I will be there September 15^th & 16^th in the Authors & Celebrities area.

http://www.ozfestivalchesterton.com

The Wizard of Oz Festival in Wamego, Kansas is in October.

http://www.oztoberfest.com/events/default.htm

Chittenango, NY is where L. Frank Baum once lived. There is a museum and a festival every year in May.

http://www.oz-stravaganza.com

And finally, there is The Judy Garland Museum and Festival, though in recent years, due to it’s distance, fewer of the Munchkins have attended.

http://www.judygarlandmuseum.com

A Vaudeville Tour - Tribute to the Gumms

Ready for the first show at Don't Tell Mama in
NYC. (l. to r. David McMullin, Laura Oseland, Erin Romero,
Sofie Zamchick and Brian De Lorenzo.

After returning from that first trip to Tennessee in September of 2011, we set to work creating the musical CD recording, eventually be titled, “Made in America – Vaudeville Songs.” The first half of the title came from a song that Frank and Ethel Gumm sang shortly after their marriage.

The recording was under the musical direction of the very talented Mark Hartman, who was an expert in playing the music of that period. Brian De Lorenzo,  was cast as Frank Gumm, Erin Romero as Ethel, Laura Osland as Mary Jane, Ashley Birmingham as Dorothy Virginia and a little girl with a big voice, Melissa Magaliff as Baby Gumm. Since I was in contact with one of Judy’s cousins, Bob Milne, the son of Ethel’s brother John Milne, we cast David McMullin as “Uncle John” and had him sing one of his songs, “The Curse of an Aching Heart.”

The cast worked in New York City in the midst of constant warnings of new terrorist attacks and anthrax threats. Bomb sniffing dogs and guards roamed the subway stations, something we were not at all used to, while on the southern end of our beloved Manhattan, for months, fires continued to burn the remains of the World Trade Center. I could only imagine what it was like living in London during WWII. We were not being bombed, but it did feel as if we were living in the midst of wartime. Tensions were high and the sense of terror and feelings of deep mourning for those who had died was thick in the air. New York was not a happy place to be; the restaurants were empty, as were the Broadway theaters. Still, everyone went about their business, as they knew they must.



Brian and Jennifer sing
Berlin's "Alexander's
Ragtime Band," a big hit
three years before they
married.

My goal with this musical recoding was to create a little window into the past, something like an old radio show. We could not know exactly what Frank and Ethel Gumm sounded like or the children, but we could try to capture something of the atmosphere, and make it real to the people. For one of the girls’ numbers, I even brought in a group of kids to cheer them on.

In the long run, for various reasons, we were not able to use all of these ideas. Once the recording was completed, it seemed the best way to promote it would be to perform the music as a show. And so, on and off for the next three years, the cast performed “Made In America – Vaudeville Songs” at Don’t Tell Mama’s in New York City, retirement homes in New Jersey and old vaudeville houses. There were still a number of them around and people were interested in having shows in them. The neat thing about our show was we could take it apart and do sections without loosing the quality.



Ashley Birmingham
sings "Five Foot Two,
Eyes of Blue" on the
vaudeville stage.



At one point, the girls and I appeared at an old vaudeville house in Dunellen, New Jersey as the opening act for a Groucho Marx impersonator. We performed there every night for a week and, by the time we finished; the girls (who now included Laura Osland, Ashley Birmingham and Sofie Zamchick) had a real feel for vaudeville. What fun! I think they were able to imagine what must have been like for the Gumm Sisters.



Laura Oseland,
"When My Sugar Walks
Down the Street, the Little
Birdies Go Tweet, Tweet, Tweet
at the Dunellen Theater



            As mentioned above, Sofie Zamchick had taken over the role of Baby Gumm and did a marvelous job, eventually playing the role on the new revision of our CD. Sofie would go on to have some fame as Linnie the Guinea Pig in The Wonder Pets.



Jennifer Ackerman and Brian De Lorenzo as Frank and Ethel
Gumm. In this scene, Frank is courting Ethel as he sings
"Dream Girl."



Erin Romero, who played Ethel wonderfully on our original CD, had another show lined up and was replaced by Jennifer Ackerman. Eventually, Jennifer rerecorded some of the music with new arrangements. She did a wonderful job as Ethel, and could even play piano!  Unlike the living history in Grand Rapids, I never tried to have the performers look like the people they were playing with wigs, etc. We were simply working to pay tribute to them and give something of the feel of the period.

I remember one winter night in New Jersey. Some of the cast had appeared in a benefit at an old vaudeville house. It was late at night, and David McMullian and I were standing in the shadow of the old railroad station, in a tiny old fashioned town, waiting for the train back to New York City, when it began to snow. Standing there, under the street lights with the snow coming down it seemed that we were back in 1910. I couldn’t help thinking of all the vaudeville performers who had waited out in the dark and cold, just as we were waiting. Life on the road was not always easy, but sometimes it was enchanting.



Photo by
Cathy Zamchick



       There was one special place the girls performed as the Gumm Sisters. When we got this gig, it seemed like we were on our way to the big time.  This job was on 42^nd Street and Broadway, in a sort of vaudeville circus. There was a man who did rope tricks like Will Rogers, an arial act, a sword swallower and juggler, among others. And there were the three little girls, as the Gumm Sisters, singing, “Wear A Hat with A Silver Lining,” a song Judy performed at the age of six, but which I didn’t have a copy of when we were recording the original CD.  Eventually, the girls did record it as a single. It is now on the second (blue) version of Vaudeville Songs.



Photo by Cathy Zamchick



"Wear a Hat with a Silver Lining" at the
vaudeville theater on 42nd Street.
(l. to r.) Sofie Zamchick, Ashley Birmingham
and Lynda Senisi who joined us after Laura
Osland moved on to other shows.
Photo by Cathy Zamchick

At these performances, it was so much fun watching the girl’s eyes get wide as they viewed these acts (and remembered what fun Judy and Donald O'Connor had backstage looking for Haji Ali's tricks when there were none.)

It was also a lot of fun to see a little boy with glasses in the audience, looking lovingly at Sofie as she sang and danced. Past and present didn’t seem so far away,  and I was thrilled to feel that my girls and audience were learning that those old songs were not to be discarded. In fact, I was informed that at home the girls and their families were walking around singing them—especially “Carolina in the Morning, said to be the Gumms’ favorite song!

Having experienced this, I can imagine how much fun Judy and her sisters had in those early days. I believe Judy’s bitterness about performing as a child and about her mother only came later, when she realized that all the excitement and the dreams had come to sadness and ill health.

In 1935, she spent all those months out on the road, on the last year of her father’s life. That was time she could never get back. And although she made wonderful films at MGM, the personal cost was great and would affect the rest of her life.  I believe that after she finally left MGM and went back onstage, she felt that she had indeed come home. I think that’s how it felt to her all her life when she went onstage.



"And that's vaudeville!"



For our last shows at Don’t Tell Mama, I played the Vaudeville MC. It was such a thrill for me at the end to talk about Judy Garland playing vaudeville at the Palace “only two blocks from here” and point my hand in its direction, down 46^th Street! These are wonderful memories I know none of us involved in the show and CD will ever forget. Thank you all!

For further information about “Vaudeville Songs,” please visit these sights:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/miamerica

The original CD, with Erin Romero and David McMullin can still be purchased from:

 http://www.catsongpublishing.com

The revised CD with Jennifer Ackerman and Sofie Zamchick, some  added violin and clarinet plus the song, "Wear a Hat with a Silver Lining," can be purchased or downloaded from CDbaby.com  



Judy Garland at the Palace, NYC in 1951.



 Because this blog ended up being so long, I will continue with my story in two weeks. Meanwhile….

On September 15^th & 16^th, I will be in Chesterton, Indiana at The Oz Festival. You can find me in authors/celebrities section, near….   In preparation for this great event, this coming Friday, I will be paying tribute to "The Wizard of Oz" and the many people I’ve met who worked on the film.

See you soon!!!