...well, pretty late getting this done, but unfortunately had a lot of catching up to do at work... ...there are SOME pics from the proceedings, many of which were taken by that illustrious Gingerologist Christine McDonald, whom I deeply thank for her 'OK' to use them here - and who I will credit below with "(CM)".
...My first pic while on the way to the Saturday presentations... somewhat of a 'sneak peek' prior to the Sunday Open House...
Banner at the Truman Library... (CM)
...and for some reason, no pics were taken for any of the afternoon presentations... guess we were all so into it, just... forgot about it... however, all of the presentations were great... in order:
Tom Talbert, who was the cameraman present at the 1994 Ginger Rogers Day when Ginger last visited her birth home... Tom was sent to the event to just catch enough footage to make a 60 second or so 'report' for the local newscast... but he was 'moved' to capture the bulk of the proceedings on film, and then SAVE the film, which was a pretty haphazard process back in the day... we viewed the footage - it is on YouTube, but pretty cool to see the 'original' from the one who shot it... Kudos to Tom for saving this for posterity for all Gingerologists.
Audrey Elder, who is a local historian that gave a great overview of the 'history of the house', which is a bungalow style, popular at the turn of the century (19th to 20th)... these were affordable houses which provided owners the basic amenities needed, even for those who were just starting out and/or starting a family. Audrey also provided an interesting review of the nearby area, and Independence in general - a wealth of knowledge regarding the surroundings in which Lela and young Ginger were within.
Gene Padgitt, who, along with Marge, are the owners and curators of The Ginger House. Gene gave a detailed overview of the renovation effort, from foundation to roof, and all the work which needed to be done to get it to 'proper condition'. As a building code / construction person, I was pretty interested in this, even though my brief overview of the house even back in 2011 was enough to tell me that a LOT of work was needed... and Gene had a LOT more resources and knowledge base than I could EVER muster...great work!
Linda Lee Sutton - Doll Maker from the Rogue River Valley in Oregon, and neighbor of Ginger! Linda creates pretty awesome dolls, and has made several 'one-off' Ginger Dolls - unfortunately, like a LOT of things, she could not call them 'Ginger Rogers Dolls', so she named them 'Fancy Feet' dolls. She described her arduous process in creating these works of art, and had a few cool stories concerning Ginger as well... I know little or nothing about dolls, but... if I had to get one, this one would be pretty dang cool...
Marge Padgitt closed the 'afternoon session' with a very thorough overview of Ginger's ancestry - family tree... there were a few things I knew, but learned quite a few other things... I probably should have written them down (Barbara took immaculate notes), but... Marge did a great job going back at least four generations, I believe... she also noted there is a 'branch' of Ginger's descendants who have family reunions somewhere in Missouri, in a pretty remote area (again, should have written down that surname... dang it). Great work by Marge!
With that, we pick up at the Evening Session, at the Auction / Banquet...
...the dresses Roberta Olden donated to the Museum. The Blue one is from the 1967 Academy Awards Presentation. The Red and White - polka dot is from the 'promo program' from the... early 60's, perhaps? (should know that...) ...and the pink one is 'just' from Ginger's collection... (CM)
...more awesome Gingerbilia from Roberta... she had a cool story for each item... I could not do justice by trying to transcribe them here, so... sorry, y'all... (CM)
...Some of the incredible items up for auction... (CM) Christine scored the boots on the left! I believe she said (or maybe hoped) they are the same ones she had on in this pic during her stint as "Mame" in the late 60's:
...when the Auction and Banquet were completed, Keynote Speaker Roberta Olden gave an incredible overview of her time as Ginger's assistant. Obviously many great stories, some of which were a bit familiar, but Roberta delved deeper into them, which was pretty dang awesome to me... Afterwards, she fielded questions, which Barbara and I took full advantage of... I'd probably STILL be there asking questions if it were at all possible... Roberta was awesome and very gracious in her answers. Again, we all were pretty much in the 'GingerZone' when Roberta started speaking, so... alas, no documentation of that incredible proceeding... you just had to BE there...
...and thus the day's proceedings ended... onward to Sunday and the Open House Preview...
As mentioned elsewhere, NO pics were allowed within the house... Marge and Gene Padgitt noted that y'all just need to come see it 'In Person'! So, here's a few pics outside the house prior to the 'roundtable' discussion:
...someone photo-bombed the last pic with their hand... ...but a good overview of the gathering which got 'first crack' at touring the house...
Getting to check out all the incredible renovation work which Gene, Marge and their crew did to the house really made me feel great, as I have had a 'concern' for this place since I first visited it back in 2011... ...not long thereafter, the owner contacted me with designs on selling the place, and gave me "right of first (I guess) refusal" for it... the overall asking price was 'doable' (although my wife would have probably killed me), but... as a code official, I KNEW there was a LOT of work needed on the place, else it would fall into disrepair to the point of no return... and of course I am 12+ hours away from Independence, so, would have been a HARD road to hoe for any renovation / preservation attempts... thus, it was SOOOOOO cool when I learned of the Padgitts' purchase of the house, not only to own it, but to TOTALLY renovate it, and ultimately turn it into a museum... EXACTLY what I wanted to have happen to it, so... truly an answered prayer, y'all...
...after the viewing, everyone gathered in the front room to introduce themselves and speak to how they became Ginger fans... afterwards, Roberta gave us a lot more awesome info and stories, which again, kinda mesmerized us... well, me for sure!
We had to break up for the 'public opening' of the house, so... that was the end of the Festival... we did manage to get a few more pics, but we really should have gotten more... here are a few...
Christine, Barbara, and the Hu-ster... (CM...I think...)
Barbara and Roberta...
...AAAND, Roberta and me... pretty awesome!
Barbara and I 'carpooled' more or less during the festivities, and I drove her back to her nearby hotel, where John Murphy and three of his daughters (I believe he said he has four?) were also staying... so we got a few more pics:
John and his daughters... all the way from Canada!
Barbara, John, and Me...
...AAAAAND, a P.S.- here's an awesome donation to the museum from Christine, a VERY Gingery dress / gown from Ginger...
...this one will be on display in the house! (CM)
WISH I would have taken more pics - I never do enough of that... with that, shout-outs to Vivian Miner, Lisa Alkana, and all the other Gingerologists / Ginger Fans / Fans in general who attended... wish we could have taken a 'group pic'... and I didn't even get a pic of the Padgitts, for cryin' out loud... oh well, with that...
This WILL be an annual event, y'all... so... make plans to attend next year (here's the preliminary
INFO)... ...like someone on a TV commercial says... "Don't MEET me there... BEAT me there!!!" It was a really 'cathartic' experience hanging out with fellow Gingerologists, and just talking about Ginger to folks without getting a 'glazed look' or a furrowed brow... we Gingerologists are a persevering, if not tenacious, bunch... Keep in mind the Ginger House (Rogers makes it subject to 'copyright infringement'...grrrr...) is open for viewing, beginning August 17, 2018 (there's still work to be done, but it was pretty incredible in its current state...) Here is the info:
The Ginger House - Independence, Missouri
Also keep in mind there is still time to 'buy a brick (or two) (or fifty) to support the renovation process... just check out the info on the linked page.
Welp, that's a wrap... I think... It was a GRAND time, and the genesis of what will hopefully be an ever-expanding, bigger, better, more bodacious Festival of Gingery Greatness with each subsequent year!!!
Hope to see y'all there in 2019!!!
KIG, y'all!!!
Hu
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