1966 Winkie Convention

This is the report written by Peter Hanff for the eighth issue of the Winkie Newsletter.

The 1966 convention was held in La Cañada, California, at the home of Edna's daughter Florence Hurst. Once again the enthusiasm of the Baum family blended wonderfully well with the enthusiasm of the Oz Club members. Warren Hollister presented a paper on Oz villains, and Marucia Langford, a native-Russian speaker, talked about the several Russian-language Oz books written in the Soviet Union by Alexander Volkov, who had translated The Wizard of Oz into Russian in 1939 and then launched his own original Oz series for Russian audiences. The second Winkie Quiz was won by Warren Hollister, and for the first time the Winkies held an auction of Baum and Oz related collectibles, conducted by Fred M. Meyer. The proceeds helped offset expenses of the convention and surpluses were donated to support the Oz Club.

By the time of the third Winkie Convention, a number of active Winkies became increasingly visible. We were graced, as well, by individuals who traveled from outside the West to attend. These included Dick Martin, whose illustrations for the fortieth Oz book, Merry Go Round in Oz, had come out in 1963, just a few months before the first Winkie Convention. Fred Meyer, who traveled long distances only by train in those years, attended the first and third conventions. Richard Paul Smyers attended the first convention because he and his mother were traveling from Indiana and were in the area. From the Southern California area, Elizabeth and John Pattrick (parents of the late Robert Riley Pattrick), Jim and Sonya Brown, Judy Pike, Warren Hollister, Pete Hanff, Karen and Peter Van Boemel , Barbara and Clover Hughes, Reva Milne, and Al Vogt (a major collector of boys' series books), Edna Baum, Elizabeth Baum, Bob and Clare Baum, and Florence Baum Hurst (representing the Baum family), were active from the outset.