Judy Garland Museum needed in Lancaster

AV author makes case for a Judy Garland museumThis story appeared in the Antelope Valley PressFriday, October 10, 2008.

By VERN LAWSON Special to the Valley Press

LANCASTER, CA - Bonnie Stone is campaigning for a cause - greatly expanded tourism in the Antelope Valley. The local author presented an illustrated lecture Wednesday night at the West Antelope Valley Historical Society in the Cedar Centre Auditorium.
She screened still photos of the three houses in which Judy Garland (then Frances Gumm) lived during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Stone has been urging that one home - a vacant house on the southwest corner of Cedar Avenue and Newgrove Street - be acquired for a Judy Garland museum. She also urged that a yellow brick road be painted along Cedar Avenue from Lancaster Boulevard to Avenue J.
Displaying photos obtained from Grand Rapids, Minn., she pointed out how the town in which Judy was born in 1922 has converted her family's home into a museum-gift shop and each year stages a Garland Festival.
About 20,000 tourists visit the Grand Rapids museum each year, despite the fact that it is not on a major thoroughfare, she said.
Stone emphasized that any promotion of a Garland project should be tied in with some existing Lancaster celebration - such as the Poppy Festival or the Aerospace Walk of Fame ceremonies.
About 60 members attended the meeting, and Stone asked for any help the group could provide in preserving the Garland era.
She showed a picture of the old Lancaster Grammar School auditorium, on Cedar Avenue between Milling and Newgrove streets, and noted the Lancaster School District Foundation has begun an effort to renovate the facility and name it the Judy Garland Theater, with permission from the star's family.
In addition to her discussion of the woman who has been acclaimed one of the brightest stars in entertainment history, Stone focused on a number of other celebrities who lived for a time in the Valley.
She showed the UPS headquarters on Avenue L, west of Sierra Highway, the site of the homestead where John Wayne (then Marion Morrison) lived from 1914 to 1916.
Other residences included the homes of Frank Zappa, famed and innovative rock musician, and Barbara Mandrell, country singer.
Stone is the author of an extensive Antelope Valley tour guide, "San Andreas Ain't No Fault of Mine," and is continuing to research local history and lore to be included in each successive edition of the book.