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Collection of Oz memorabilia will be on display during weekend shows

Linda Glass displays part of her collection of “Wizard of Oz” memorabilia, which will be showcased in the Huntington North High School auditorium lobby during this weekend’s presentations of “The Wizard of Oz” by Huntington Theatre Guild: Act II.
Linda Glass displays part of her collection of “Wizard of Oz” memorabilia, which will be showcased in the Huntington North High School auditorium lobby during this weekend’s presentations of “The Wizard of Oz” by Huntington Theatre Guild: Act II. Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Linda Glass was just a kid when she first saw the movie.

“My parents let me watch it when I was probably 6 or 7,” she says as she unpacks “Wizard of Oz” memorabilia.

She’s spent years accumulating the collection, which pretty much got mothballed when she became a grandmother.
But Glass, a North Manchester resident who works in the lab at Parkview Huntington Hospital, and Ruth Reed, who’s directing the Huntington Theatre Guild: Act II presentation of “The Wizard of Oz,” made connections through Reed’s husband Greg, who works with Glass at the hospital — and Glass agreed to display her collection in the lobby of Huntington North High School during this weekend’s run of the local production.

While Glass doesn’t have an on-stage role, she does plan to be a part of the audience.

“I’m going to be there to watch,” she says.

She says she’s watched the “Wizard of Oz” movie every year it’s shown on television, and points out that 44 million people watched the first televised showing of “The Wizard of Oz” on Nov. 3, 1956.

Her knowledge of Oz trivia runs deep — Toto, she points out, was paid more than the munchkins. While the little black dog brought home $125 a week, each of the 124 munchkins (12 of them children) made only $50 a week, and had to work six-day weeks.

She has to think a little bit before choosing a favorite character, finally deciding on Dorothy.

“At the end, she’s all set up to get her friends what they need, and she’s forgetting all about what she needs,” Glass says.

Glass is the proud owner of autographs from several of the actors who played munchkins in the movie, along with their wives. She met the actors at the Wizard of Oz Festival in Chesterton, an annual event that drew many of the actors and their wives — who, she says, considered it an opportunity for a reunion.

“I have one of the Lollipop Kids, the lead trumpeter, the youngest child munchkin who was 6 at the time the movie was made,” she says. “I got those in 1999.”

While Glass picked up some of her collectibles at the Chesterton festival, other items have come from a variety of sources. There are some Hallmark Christmas ornaments, two watches from Avon and a button given to her by a drug rep.

“Once someone knows you collect something, friends get them for you,” she says.

Her collection includes books, figurines, nutcrackers, a Matchbox car, a string of lights with the heads of the main characters and more.

It will all be on display in the lobby of Huntington North High School as Huntington Theater Guild: Act II presents “The Wizard of Oz” this Friday and Saturday, July 29 and 30, at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, July 31, at 2 p.m. Tickets are available in advance from any cast member, at Community Link Credit Union or by calling 224-3013.