The barn raising nearly complete in Marceline. All photos courtesy of Robin Allan, unless otherwise noted.

Kaye Malins welcomes guests to the Disney Elementary School during the birthday celebration.

The Spirit Of Mickey 1998 And Walt Disney's Hometown 100th Birthday Celebration 2001
"The Spirit of Mickey" in 1998 was a run-up to the centenary celebrations of 2001, both charming festivals, modest in their aspirations; the latter culminated in the reopening of the depot railroad station as a museum, thanks to the indefatigable efforts of Rush Johnson and his colleagues. A special Amtrak train arrived bearing not only the Governor of Missouri and his family, but Mickey and Minnie too. There were other delights on hand including tours of the Disney elementary school, a barn raising on the Disney farm not far from the cottonwood tree where local legend has it that Walt and his little sister Ruth would go and dream together and make up stories. A picture of the dreaming tree and the children standing nearby made a delightful publicity motif. Other events included music in the park, Flora Disney's Wolf Apple Pie Eating Contest, a "Walt Sketching Rupert the Horse" competition, and other events including a Main Street parade. The highlight was the opening of the depot as a museum, lovingly and tastefully restored under the direction of the architect Dennis Bradley. Distinguished guests included Walt Disney's nephew Ted Beecher, son of Ruth Disney, and his wife and family; many of the letters and documents on display came from the Ruth Disney Beecher collection.

Missouri Governor Bob Holden, wife Lori Hauser Holden and family and friends attend the opening of the of the Marceline Depot Museum. Photo courtesy of Dennis M. Bradley.	The Friends of Marceline meet up with the Disney Scholars (l to r): LaVerne Stevens, Don Perri, Dennis Bradley, Robin Allan and Professor John Tibbets of the University of Kansas.

In the Uptown Theatre (where Walt Disney had personally premiered The Great Locomotive Chase in 1956) a continuous stream of lectures was given by Disney scholars, including Michael Broggie, Don Perri, LaVerne Stevens, Steven Watts, David Williams (4) and others including myself. We felt honored to be speaking from the same platform as Walt Disney, and in the same beautiful art deco cinema.

There was so much going on that we couldn't possibly see it all -- we missed the Gandy Dancer Review, the Crop Maize, the Raising of the Barn and many other events. This was barely ten days after September 11th and crowds were not as great as the organizers had hoped -- nevertheless, Small Town America was out to enjoy itself and there was an air of quiet jollity and a sense of patriotism and appreciation. Many flags were on display.

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Notes

4. Michael Broggie is the author of Walt Disney's Railroad Story (Pasadena: Pentrex, 1998); Don Peri is a Disney scholar who has interviewed many of the Disney artists; LaVerne Stevens is the author of Bread and Butter Days (Lakeland: Bread and Butter Press, 1992); Steven Watts is the author of The Magic Kingdom (see note 2 above); David Williams is the author of many articles on Disney, as well as curating exhibitions of Disney art. He presented his Fantasia exhibition to Marceline after its display there for the 100th birthday celebrations.