One of the Coolest Movie Museums is Hiding in This Tiny Wisconsin Town
Before you see this incredible story, answer this question. Do you have any obsessions? This obsession brings Kansas and the Land of Oz into small town Wisconsin.
What's Your Obsession?
There was a time that I pretty much bought any Michael Jordan merchandise I thought was cool, I still do the same thing with Prince. Any thought I ever had about my collection being large went away quickly when I first read this obsessed fan's story at Only In Your State.
I'd like to start by stripping the negative tones from the word obsession. I get it, he loves the Wizard of Oz, his gigantic merchandise collection left his basement and into an American Legion building in his hometown.
The World's Biggest Wizard of Oz Fan
Meet Garry Parrett, the curator of the Land of Oz Museum in Wausaukee, Wisconsin. You probably have never heard of this little town of just over 500.
Hiding in this tiny Wisconsin town is an immersive museum experience, featuring more memorabilia than you'd think could have ever been created to honor the classic 1939 movie.
Take a Look Inside the Land of Oz Museum
Garry, like most of us, saw the Wizard of Oz when he was pretty young. When my youngest daughter was just 3 years old, she was obsessed with the movie and watched it almost daily. We always had to skip the tornado part because she found that too scary.
The love of 'all-things-oz' didn't begin for Garry until 1989 when his wife bought him a Wizard of Oz collector's plate. From that point on, his collection grew immensely. Garry's collection grew to the point that he could no longer keep his makeshift museum in his basement.
Garry's museum is actually 10 different themed rooms. According to the Land of Oz Museum Facebook page, the themes are Christmas, Party, Halloween, Toys, Kitchen, Dolls and Figurines, Oz Plush, Classrooms, Library, Beauty Parlor, Tinware, Garden, Time, Judy Garland, other Oz movies, Bedroom, Authentic Memorabilia, and lastly, that room with all the stuff that's hard to put in a specific category.
This is what I meant about more items that you'd think were made to commemorate this film. I sure wish I could try the Oz Peanut Butter. And who knew that peanut butter used to come in cans?
Garry's Land of Oz Museum is open April through the first weekend in October of every year. For tickets, call (715) 927-0767. The museum's Facebook page is filled with info and more photos.
Thanks to OnlyInYourState.com, you can see if you have the same Wizard of Oz plate as the one that started the Land of Oz Museum.