Liberal, KS: Land of Oz
Sash and I had been fighting a strong wind blowing up from the south as we rode into Liberal, KS along US 54.
The look on Dorothy's face suggests she still hasn't found her way home, or perhaps that she's worried about another tornado.
Liberal, KS was not necessarily where Dorothy Gale lived. In the story, "Wizard of Oz", the book only said Kansas. In fact, the town of Liberal had no connection to the story at all. It was in 1978 that a resident of Liberal traveled to San Francisco for a convention. On his jacket was his name, "Max Zimmerman, Kansas". When a waiter said, "Oh you're from Kansas, that's where Dorothy is from", Zimmerman got the idea to make Liberal, KS the official home of Dorothy Gale.
He pitched the idea to city officials, and the idea took off.
Someone knew of an old house that happened to look like the house used in the movie. They moved the house here to "Land of Oz" and restored it to look more like Dorothy's house. In 1981, the governor of Kansas declared the house to be Dorothy's real house.
The Land of OZ consists of 5,000 square feet of animated entertainment – good and bad witches, the Munchkins, talking trees, winged monkeys, and of course, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and Toto, too.
Next door is the Seward County Historical Museum, displaying photos and artifacts detailing the county's history in the oil industry.
When you're finished head over to Cattleman's Cafe II, for some of the best chicken-fried steak and gravy you've had in a long time. The cafe is located at 744 E Pancake Blvd, next to Quality Inn.
BTW, Liberal, KS is also the official home of "National Pancake Day". Too bad we missed that!
Land of OZ
567 E. Cedar St
Liberal, KS
(620) 624-7624
http://www.dorothyshouse.com
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| Land of Oz, Liberal, KS |
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| Dorothy's House, Liberal, KS |
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| A typical room in old Kansas |
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| Seward County Historical Museum, Liberal, KS |
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| Awesome chicken fried steak & gravy at this place! |
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| At Cattleman's Cafe II, Liberal, KS |
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| Sash celebrates crossing into Oklahoma! |
Steve:
ReplyDeleteI think you are fortunate to have unlimited time to explore and find these neat places. The rest of us always have one eye on the calendar waiting to return to work. I've never had a chicken steak, must be a US thing or I don't know where to go to get one
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Any steakhouse or "Americana" style restaurant has chicken-fried steaks. Make sure to get your mashed potatoes and corn on the cob when you order!
DeleteI really like the statue :|
ReplyDelete