Howdy, Mouseketeers!

Welcome to part two of our journey through Marceline. In part one, we showed you the history of Walt's time in this town, and one of the honors that Marceline has bestowed on its favorite son. In today's segment, we'll take a look at the newest addition to the Walt Disney legacy in Marceline - the Walt Disney and Santa Fe Railroad Museum.

Outside of the museum

Unfortunately, no photos are allowed inside the museum, but the sign didn't say anything about written descriptions, so we'll press on with what we have.

The museum itself is a "work in progress," meaning that the building still needs a lot of work. But from what I was able to tell, they've made significant progress so far in turning this old building into a lasting and loving tribute to the Disney family.

The exhibits themselves consist mainly of blown-up photos and mosaics of each of the Disney family members, including those you may have never known much about - in addition to Walt and Roy Disney, you'll find tributes to Walt's parents Flora and Elias, his brothers Herbert and Raymond, his sister Ruth and her husband Ted, their Uncle Robert, Walt's children Diane and Sharon, and Roy's son Roy E. Disney. There is also a room dedicated to the Walt Disney commemorative postage stamp that was released in Marceline on September 11, 1968, and a room filled with Santa Fe Railroad memorabilia.

One of the first sights you'll see as you enter the museum is a bright yellow Autopia car. But not just any Autopia car - this is from the Midget Autopia. The Midget Autopia ran at Disneyland from 1957 to 1966, as a way of letting the younger kids drive, too. (Supposedly Walt did not like the Midget Autopia, because only kids could ride it.) When the Midget Autopia was removed from Disneyland in 1966, it was shipped to Marceline, where it ran in a local park for several years.

So here's your chance to impress your friends with your Disneyland knowledge - the only Disneyland attraction to be removed from the park and operated outside of a Disney park is the Midget Autopia of Marceline. (Of course, Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade did run down the streets of Manhattan once, but for the sake of argument we'll call that a Disneyland parade, and not an attraction.)

The personal materials within the museum seem to have mainly come from the personal files of Ruth Disney Beecher and Ted Beecher, Walt's sister and brother-in-law. One of the nicest parts of the museum's collection is a display case in the back, which contains letters that Walt and Roy had sent to Ruth over the years. The letters are displayed in chronological order, and it is amazing to read what Walt wrote to his sister as he outlined the latest changes in his life, his company and his dreams.

From a letter Walt wrote to Ruth on December 6, 1961:

"We are working like Trojans on the new revamping for Disneyland. Right after New Years we will start construction in the Frontierland area on projects involving a Swiss family tree house, New Orleans Square with a pirate museum, and, also, a haunted house with a thousand and one ghosts.

We plan to reopen the area next June ... Of course everything won't be completed by that time (there's too much involved and not enough time to get it all done before the 1962 summer season starts.) But we will have a lot accomplished."

1,001 ghosts, huh? Wonder what happened to the other two... :)

Here's a portion of another letter that the proud Grandpa wrote to his sister:

"I don't know if you heard about the big news ... The birth on Tuesday November 14 of Walter Elias Disney Miller. Diane finally decided to name one of her sons for me and I'm thrilled to have a male heir bearing my name ... With the first boy Diane pulled a name out of the blue. She didn't seem to like tagging a son of hers with my name. She had a particular dislike for the 'Elias' part of it. But when this one came she changed her mind and gave him the full treatment. She certainly made me very happy."

Roy's letters to Ruth were always much shorter and usually straight to the point (his letters usually included a reference to an enclosed check or stock options for her), but you could tell how much he loved her, too.

It was amazing to be able to read this part of history -- if you ever have a chance to visit the museum, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to take it all in.

On one of the walls is a display of Walt's illustrations from when he was young, including cartoons and comic strips that he drew for his high school newspaper. One of the displays was of Walt's comic strip "Mr. George's Wife." The titles of each strip displayed were "As Luck Would Have It" and "It's a Question for the Senate." There was also one of Walt's homemade Christmas cards on display:

Christmas Thoughts

The card I send is just a thought
A sincere and friendly greeting.
Material things amount to naught
When hearts and souls are meeting.

Flora's section of the museum includes several newspaper and Hollywood journal clippings about Walt and Roy's newfound fame in the late 1920s - you can really tell how proud she was of her boys. But Flora's tribute is also heartbreaking; it includes a letter she wrote to Ruth on November 7, 1938, telling her about their new house in California, but complaining about the fumes from the furnace. Sadly, Flora was overcome by those same fumes just days later.

The tributes to Walt's brothers and sisters are also interesting to read. There are blown-up photos of Roy in his Navy uniform and on his and Edna's wedding day, samples of Ruth's costume design sketches, a copy of Raymond's free insurance calendar ("Any day of the year is a good time to insure with Raymond A. Disney"), and Christmas cards from Herb and Margaret Disney. There is also a very touching tribute called "Partners," which has a neat photo of Walt and Roy in Marceline. Roy is smiling wide while reading the local newspaper, while Walt is looking to the side, with that signature twinkle in his eye.

One of the biggest surprises I received while visiting the museum was watching the trains zoom right past the windows. The sound of the train chugging down the track and the whistle just seemed to bring it all together for me.

The trains still chug by to this day, right in front of the museum

The museum is staffed by volunteers, and I had a wonderful chat with Rose Marie, who was working the day I visited. She seemed to be sincerely thrilled to talk to everyone who came in, and she shared several stories about the Disney family and the museum with me. To Rose Marie, I cannot thank you enough for your kindness.

The museum is open Tuesday - Sunday, and only charges a $5 admission fee for adults. It was definitely worth every cent, and I highly recommend that you stop in and check it out for yourself.

One last thing before we wrap this segment up: The Main Street USA Charitable Foundation is selling fund-raising bricks to be placed in the walkway at the museum. You can have up to 3 lines, with 14 letters/spaces each, embossed with your name and hometown on a brick in front of this magnificent museum. Bricks cost $100 each, and the money raised will go towards continued restoration of the museum building.

If you want to order one:

Send your $100 check payable to The Main Street USA Charitable Foundation, Inc. to:

The Main Street USA Charitable Foundation, Inc.
207 N Main Street USA
Marceline, MO 64658

Their phone number is (660) 376-WALT; the Fax number is (660) 376-2009. I ordered a brick for my family; be sure to look for it the next time you're in Marceline.

Good work, Mouseketeers! We're halfway through our trip. Next up, we'll take a photo trip down Main Street USA!

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