Brooklyn Smith curated this story by Kathy Gregory, which The Appalachian published June 25, 1970.
If you see a real hot air balloon flying overhead, don’t rush to the phone to call your doctor. It’s just Dorothy as she leaves Emerald City on her journey home to Kansas and “her own backyard.”
The place is Beech Mountain; the fairyland is The Land of Oz; the scene is fantastic.
Jack Pentes, a designer from Charlotte, was the one to envision the Land of Oz and was responsible for its realization.
The Carolina Caribbean Corporation was searching for an idea that would utilize the ski-lift year-round when they handed the project to Pentes.
Grover Robbins, as representative of Carolina Caribbean Corporation, took Jack to the top of the mountain and said, “Think of something to do with this.” And he did. Whether you ride the gondola or the bus to the top, from the minute you take the first step into The Land of Oz, the beauty of the place and the storybook aura overwhelm you.
The hours that elapse between the first step and the last sigh across the fourteen acres are ones for child and adult to remember.
On first entering, the Oz Museum welcomes you. It contains many of the original costumes and props from the all-time favorite movie, “The Wizard of Oz.”
After passing a fountain and statue of Dorothy holding her puppy Toto, Dorothy’s farm in Kansas is the next step. Authenticity is a rule there-crops are growing and real Kansas tobacco is planted. Uncle Henry’s blacksmith shop and the petting zoo (in the barn) which is sponsored by Ralston Purina furnish live animals to add to the “realness” of the farm.
Then comes Dorothy’s House, and you step into the world of farm life in the 40’s. Patch quilts, antiques, old books and pictures, a wood-stove-all lend the setting a freshness and hominess.
But after passing through the “storm” cellar where strobe lights and a tornado film create a strange sensation, you are staggered by the effects of the storm–or at least what seem to be effects of the storm. You enter an exact replica of the house–tilted–with things strewn as though the tornado had actually hit.
And next is that which has delighted people for over twenty years on screen and in song-the yellow brick road and the Land of Oz. This is Munchkin Land, and on every side you’re surrounded by pink, blue, yellow, any color mushrooms and gnarled trees.
From the Scarecrow’s house to the Lion’s den and on to the Tin Man’s house, the yellow brick road carries all-you’re confronted with the Witches’ Forest and Castle-and then you reach Emerald City where you watch Dorothy receive her wish from the Wizard.
You feel free and at ease-and you wonder what type of mind conceived such a fantastic escape route.
When Pentes undertook the project, he wanted to construct something that would fit into the natural landscape of the mountain. His idea was generated by looking intently at the beech trees-the gnarled limbs-which reminded him of the forest along the yellow brick road. And presto, he designed The Land of Oz.
Nowhere else in the United States has this concept of Oz been utilized. When the decision was made, Carolina Caribbean was represented by Debbie Reynolds at the MGM auction and purchased 140 of the actual costumes and various other props used in the motion picture.
For five months Beech Mountain and the Oz Museum is the home for these costumes. Through an agreement with Carolina Caribbean and the Hall of Fame in Hollywood, the latter displays them the remaining seven months.
The idea was conceived and construction begun last fall, and the project, which is complete except for the polishing touches, cost a little under $4 million.
(And in case you’re interested, the yellow brick road consists of 55,000 yellow glazed bricks.)
Although happiness is found in your own backyard, The Land of Oz furnishes a happiness and innocence usually found only in fairy tales and childhood.
Whether child or adult, the scenes are fantastic, the view is magnificent, and the escape … relieving.
