The Natchitoches enterprise., 1917-08-09
A Visit to the Wizard OF Or

? of Oz man, Frank l.. Baum, which j
! little over half hours run, and tall
about a happy morn, we'll | found t.
: my dlsmay, it was after noon when
/. left.
Mrs Baum, the dearly beloved wift
e Of the Wizard, a merry middle aged
/ woman whom | liked the first time, lei
! US in and gave us a cordial welcome tC
! Ozc0t, and,n.aiied Frank" who was ir
the garden. lie had had a writing
streak and worked until three and was
resting by gardening; was setting out
thousands OF cary5anthemum plants,
tiny little ones in the finest pots | ever
saw, each one labelled.
The house was immense and beautiful
with art objects, pictures, statues, life
sized, carved furniture from all over the
world, bat felt SO hOnored when he
took Us in the garden, his hobby where
we, stayed several hours.
MF. Baum is the champion chrySan-
yhemun grower in the world and show
ed me the twenty-five silver cups he
had won. southern California has now
taken thE Championship from Japan
and Australia, former champions. We
talked flowers for an age, he mad lived
lin New Orleans two winters and we
agreed that the flowers were sweetet.
smelling in Louisiana. s.:
| His garden is immense and is inclOsad..
FnTthe center was MS iatticed studlo,.
q tiny artistic place with pictures,
! StatuaIy aud a Coucn: on one side was
| MIS- avi2ry q big screened place with
hundreds OF birds, tiny canaries, tincnes
paPoQuets etc and he Whlstled and all
came to him. Of course Kenneth was
thrilled with the.n and also at his fine
cat Lorena in a wired enclosure, an
immense taway yellow Angora.
At one side was a fish pond as big as
our lawn in Natchitoches with high
rocks n one side over which the water |
tell steadily into the pool Pink and /
white lilies were in bloom on it and .
it was stocked with dozens of loug- I
tailed Jap fish which came to eat out .
Of Kenneth $ hand as Mr. Baum gave
him 4 box OF oat meal to feed them. /
You never saw such beds of tall tulips
every color III bloom. Climbing roses
and rosetrees and at least fifteen kinds
of flowers | had neither ever seen or
heard of before.
We seated ourselves on the grass and
talked and IN the midst of our interest
ing conversation, a special representa-
tive Of the sunset Magazine appeared,
sent from Frisco to interview MIR.
Baum and he said simply he didn't care
to be interviewed or written up; it
a confidence in ones self
and the interest ones views might have s
for the public; even at the time some !
years ago, when interviews and notoriet-
y might have helped the sale Of MS books
ae wouldn't be interviewed and now
that. they were sold out edition after :
edition and lie couldn't even get the
)nes ne wanted for himself last Christ
mas, he cared even less for write up.
He is tall, merry, snowWhite haired I
nan and loved him at once he was so i
)lain and dear, talked SO cordially and v
old me unreservedly all about himself I
low he had started working on a little c
Daperof his own at the age of twelve, and a
truggled great many years on the {
4eW York papers before he succeeded: q
'esides his twenty seven Or books, h
e has written thirty four other child r.
ems books boy and girl series and | RI
vas dum5founded to learn that he lC
1rites under seven names and that we
ad read nearly every one of his books
lie told me he had number of films
yhich showed his travels 7all- over the B
lorld; some of which I've seen in the D
tudios here es
Mr.. Baum has made his home in Los d.
.ngeles for the past six years and bl
ays he will never live anywhere else: m
g has. just made ten years contract
nd told me of the number of articles
e turns out a year. He writes in
ing hand and his left hand with which h,
e writes was full of ink: then he tS
alles his. revisions as he typewrites ca
ays that is why he cannot use a secre-
Try. He laughed and said his publish
s had Just sent him shis galley proofs -,
I'D ne had made few changes which -
the work was linoty ped would cause ~ ~
lem some trouble but they never IL IL
)mplained. - -
We finally drifted into a music talk Ia Ia
ID he said he and ten others he named la la
cluding Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, the Sd Sd
an of Los Angeles. editor of The al al,
mes (Slnce the above was written Ip
en. Harrison Gray Otis died very ~ ~
ddenly last week and being a Mexi- Ss @
n, Civil and sMexican war veteran e., e.,
r correspondent writes was buried ilN ps
tn all military honors and given the -" ~
'gest public funeral ever seen before ~ n.
Los Angeles.) and other big men 'ip
We the Upift Club Saturday lunch
ms and the biggest celebrities that -,
me here are always thrilled to play tn'
sing for them, Schuman- Heink did me
It. and he invited Sidney to sing next tu'
ek and added dryly, that he would vi
set men he wouldn't have chance to ur'
lerWise IN ten years, and they were an
interested in Mexico where you al
oWs some of our best business inter- oV(
$ are. acc
dr ebaum is just wonderful company am
was an intimate friend of Gen tor
mer Lea and has SO many celebrities
ong his friends, tho it is only when [
mention people that he would quote the
m. He IS the most modest man | d.
n met. He has an autographed pic cerC
e Of Sunya Sun, ~ first Chinese heir
sldent, one of his best friends and A
ldreds of other famous foreigners. may
te said in their little congenial circle
Hollywood, his neighbors whom he n
nted US to meet were DR.. Frank bo
ne, elsa Baker, John Rice Bur- "
CHS, the Tarzan Of the Apes-man, draI a. q
Irles Van Loan, Carrie Jacobs Bond, VI g
IMAM, Princes Isianina and | can't
yea how many others whose names I
familiar and suggested that we or.
ye over near. that they go out so thlr
{ dlIu haVe theIr own lCtle gamer NEE
J, especially musicales. and really Is i
felt very much fattered, as this mer
ch is very exclusive and we felt it thel
quite an honor to be asked TO join II
With them. rect
could write about the Wizard all tati
/ but must close He spoke with serv
ing Of his. wire yesterday telling of senc
death. of Montgomery who with
le, made the Tinwoodsman and NJ
e Crow SO famous. He gave Ken Iiabl
one of his most attractive books, the
Magic Cloak and wrote his own than
e ard that Of Kenneth's init, who for,1