It's Gingerology's...

...First Anniversary! Thanks to ALL of the folks who follow this blog, publicly or... er, 'non-publicly'! Your support has made Gingerology a very cool place to discuss all things Ginger, and has encouraged me through good times (like my baby boy being born) and bad (like my dad's illness and death). Over 50 followers is a bit mind boggling - I am very humbled that y'all take interest in the blog, and MORE jazzed that there is such an interest in Ginger, who could NEVER really be over-hyped, IMHO.

When I 'created a new blog' back on July 5th, 2009, the primary purpose was to be able to comment on Beth's blog, 'Finding Ginger'. Her blog was the primary inspiration for Gingerology; most notably, her "List of Ginger Rogers Movies I Have Seen" - I had just purchased the Ginger and Fred box set of all ten of their films, and was just getting into the 'beautiful science of Miss Ginger Rogers'... I knew she had been in a few other films... er, a FEW? How about over 60 more? Beth had crossed off WELL over half of her movies, in fact, down to a dozen or so she had NOT seen... so it got me to searching for more Ginger movies - of course there ARE quite a few on DVD, such as Stage Door, Roxie Hart, Kitty, Major-Minor, and so on.

But after the 'studio DVD' scope of Ginger had been exhausted, I had to resort to 'other' means to obtain her movies... including some 'iffy' purchases on eBay and iOffer, among others... and general obtaining of 'files'... which seems to be ok, since the movies are 70 years or so old (public domain?), and NOT available anywhere else... and of course, TCM has been a MAJOR player in the development of PG Huey's accumulation of VKM titles... so 'hats off' to Ted Turner, whatever continent he may be on or over at the present time. So, taking all of these 'sources' into account, I have somehow managed to obtain all but ONE of the feature films Ginger Rogers had a role in - and that one, that elusive white whale, is 'Hat Check Girl', by Fox Studios. I have heard of someone who saw it from an 'original reel', so there is a copy or two out there - just wish someone could transfer it to 'electronic media' of some type. But hey, we have to have SOMETHING to look forward to obtaining, right?

In addition to movies, I have also spent quite a bit of time and money on eBay purchasing various Ginger-related items, such as LIFE magazines, books, sheet music, and other various types of 'Gingerbilia'. One day, I better SELL a few things to counter the $$$ I have burned via PayPal. But, it has not been ALL in vain, for within the purchased items, I have learned quite a bit more about Ginger in various stages in her career and life, which were honestly one in the same, it appears... and just like any great subject, the more you learn about her, the more you WANT to learn about her - thus the need to continually update info on Gingerology, so y'all can also discover and share cool facts about Miss Rogers.

I have had some pretty neat 'blogships' with a lot of y'all over the past year... of course, Beth, who got me started in all of this (and coined the phrase, "Keep It Gingery!"), and Lauren, who has been a great help in 'setting my path straight' as to my mission of Gingerology, while being a good fellow 'gabber'... then of course there is Kate, a.k.a."The OGRE" - (Official Ginger Research Expert) - she has dug up gobs of great Ginger footage, audio and video-wise... and has shared with all of us, and we are all richer for it. So special thanks to these three ladies, along with all of you (if I start naming folks, will leave someone out... sorry) who have shared their knowledge and expertise in various subjects and situations, and patiently nudged me along the sometimes quite perplexing world of the blogosphere, which I am lost as a goose in most of the time.

BTW - the pic at the top of the post was the original 'header pic' for Gingerology - it is STILL one of my all-time favorites... her eyes in this photo are so sharp and clear, it is unnervingly beautiful to Huey, if that makes any sense... Maria of the blog, 'Let Yourself Go' (which, BTW, I could not find recently... any ideas where it went?) 'colorized' the current header pic for Gingerology, which is ALSO just a devastatingly beautiful pic... there is NO lack of visual images of our topic subject, thank heavens!

So, here's to many more years of Gingerology, and to all who follow and encourage it! It is great to be able to learn and share info on such a beautiful subject!

Thanks one and all! ...and,

KEEP IT GINGERY (KIG)!!!

Jeff Walker -

a.k.a. VKMfan, PG Huey, jwalker, Huey in the Ham, Sunny, Ginger Rogers' Perpetual Cabana Boy (GRPCB)

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