Celebrating Gone With the Wind's 85th Anniversary

Are you a Gone With the Wind movie fan?  To commemorate its 85th Anniversary theaters are showing the 3 hour 58 minute film tomorrow, April 10th.

I have blogged about the movie several times previously, and had the privilege of meeting Kathleen Maraccio, Michigan's foremost expert on all things pertaining to Gone With the Wind at two of her presentations.

I think the first time I saw the film in the theater was for its 35th Anniversary, and I have both VHS tapes and DVDs of the movie.

For its 80th Anniversary my hubby and I saw it at the retro Redford Theater in 2019.

I've attended as well as hosted Gone With the Wind teas, and while I don't have near the knowledge or memorabilia that Kathleen has, I was privileged to give two Gone With the Wind presentations for residents at Senior Citizen Retirement Communities.

A highlight was touring the Gone With the Wind Museum in Marietta, Georgia with a group of tea loving ladies in March of 2018.

Below is a photograph I purchased of Vivian Leigh from a scene in the movie.

I won't be going to see the movie in the theater tomorrow, but I may make some popcorn and put in my DVDs to watch it on my TV screen.  Will you be going to the theater to see it?

A Local "Gone With the Wind" Presentation

When I met my friend, Linda, for tea on Wednesday she brought her current issue of Bliss Victoria magazine, which features an article about Gone With the Wind she thought I'd enjoy [regarding the film exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, in Austin.]  Afterwards, I purchased a copy of the magazine.

I love Gone With the Wind, and have written two posts about it this year [they can be viewed here and here].  Following my August 8th post I received an e-mail from a lady in Michigan who said she was a GWTW enthusiast, and had been collecting memorabilia for 30 years, and attending GWTW events for 25 years.  She offered to send me her "GWTW Alert," a detailed newsletter that is chock full of information pertaining to the movie and events celebrating its upcoming 75th anniversary. I took her up on her offer, and have received eight "alerts." 

When reading this week's community newspaper I saw an article about a GWTW presentation to be held at the public library last night, free of charge.  I decided to go.

~ Promotional Library Poster ~

What a fabulous presentation about Margaret Mitchell and GWTW.  It was titled "From Bestseller to Blockbuster."  Kathleen Maraccio, spoke for about an hour and 15 minutes without a single note, and she brought a table of GWTW memorabilia to enhance her presentation.  I'm so glad I went.

She shared some local tidbits associated with GWTW that was fascinating:  Ernie Harwell, our beloved sportscaster for the Detroit Tigers for many years, grew up in Atlanta and was Margaret Mitchell's paper boy.  

Margaret Mitchell never had any children, but she had two nephews [from her only brother]. One of the nephews lived in Farmington Hills, MI [he passed away in 2007].

In 1928, Matilda Dodge Wilson [who owned Meadow Brook Hall] opened the Wilson Theater in Detroit. [It is now Music Hall, home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.] GWTW premiered in Detroit at the Wilson Theater on January 25th, 1940. The movie was also shown at the United Artists Theater in Detroit at the same time.  

[Internet Photo of the Wilson Theater]

Kathleen brought several fabrics that were made for quilters for the 70th anniversary of GWTW. Some are still currently available on e-bay.

My Georgia blogging friend, Angela, recently wrote a post about her visit to the GWTW museum in Marietta on her blog, Tea With Friends.  You can read the post here.  I loved the photo she shared of the Scarlett O' Hara tea that Dean & Deluca blended in 1997.  I wish they'd bring it back again for the 75th anniversary.

But back to Kathleen's presentation... when the question and answer session ended I went up to talk to her.  I told her I was a blogger and would be blogging about her presentation. "Are you Phyllis?" she asked.  A bit surprised, I told her I was.  She recognized me from my blog profile photo, and identified herself as the author of "GWTW Alerts."

For local readers, Kathleen will be doing the same presentation at the Roseville Public Library on October 21st;  at the Henry Ford Centennial Library, in Dearborn on Nov. 4th; and at the Thursday Tea at Two in Troy Historic Village on November 20th. I think I may need to go to that tea! 

75th Anniversary of Gone With the Wind

I love the classic, blockbuster movie, Gone With the Wind, and have written five posts about it [three are from the theme tea I hosted in 2013].  

I recently acquired two Gone With the Wind books, and one commemorative magazine.

When I was in Chattanooga, TN this past June, I saw a 1936 hardcover edition of the novel in an antique store for $15.  I almost bought it, but decided to wait until I got home and order a copy from half.com instead.  The 1,037 page book arrived a couple of weeks ago.  I've been taking it to the hospital to read while I sit at my mother's bedside.  What a talented writer Margaret Mitchell was. She descriptively brings all the characters to life in one's imagination.

The second book is a Gone With the Wind cookbook inspired by the motion picture.  It includes recipes for Tara Pork Scramble; Gerald O'Hara's Ham Steak; Mammy's Shrimp Cakes and Creole Rice; Melanie's Shirred Eggs with Ham and Popovers;  Aunt Pittypat's Cream Scones, and so much more.  I can hardly wait to try some of the recipes.

The 75th Commemorative Magazine is chock full of interesting trivia.  I read it from cover to cover one afternoon at the hospital.  There's a full page advertisement for Scarlett Letters, a book scheduled to be released in October 2014.  It's a collection of Margaret Mitchell's letters pertaining to the 1939 movie.  Also recently published this year is The Complete Gone With the Wind Trivia Book.  I'll definitely be purchasing both books.

Margaret Mitchell began writing the novel while she was recovering from a broken ankle. Her husband bought her a typewriter and suggested she write her own book to keep occupied because he was tired of lugging armloads of books home from the library.  The book took 10 years to complete and she wrote the last chapter first.  It was her only published novel, although she wrote several articles for the Atlanta Journal.

She died at age 49 when she was hit by a speeding car as she crossed Peachtree Street at 13th Street in Atlanta.

Tea in Texas magazine advertised a celebration for the 75th anniversary of Gone With the Wind at the Civil War Museum in Fort Worth this year. Scarlett's green velvet hat is on permanent display there.  I love the how they used the three beginning words of Rhett Butler's famous last line at the top of their invitation: "Frankly My Dear, You Won't Want to Miss It!" I've got to use that phrase on my invitations the next time I have a Gone With the Wind tea party.

[Photo courtesy of Tea in Texas Magazine]

The former J.L. Hudson department store in Detroit, MI had a circulating library on the Mezzanine floor which was very popular, even though a branch of the Detroit Public Library was located just across the street.  I found it interesting that Gone With the Wind held the record for the largest circulated book in the library's history.

In the book, Hudson's Hub of America's Heartland, author Jean Pitrone stated:  "By 1936 Detroiters looked forward to a continuing pattern of economic recovery.  At Hudson's women flocked back to the Beauty Shop to get $5.00 permanents, then stopped at the Books and Magazines Department to buy copies of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind.  They lingered at lunchtime in one or another of Hudson's five restaurants where they talked of "Scarlett and Rhett" and of King Edward VIII, the popular former Prince of Wales, and his well publicized love affair with an American woman - Wallis Simpson."

I don't own any Gone With the Wind tea accessories, but I found pictures of two Franklin Mint teapots on the Internet.

[1994 Franklin Mint]

[1998 Franklin Mint  - Scarlett in her BBQ dress]

A "Scarlett O'Hara Sweet as Sugar" Hamilton Collection teacup.  There are six in the collection.

Happy 75th Anniversary Gone With the Wind.  Long may you live!

Scarlett Fever / Gone With the Wind

A while back, one of my faithful blog readers, and a Georgia resident, sent me an e-mail saying the Georgia Travel Guide was featuring the 75th Anniversary of Gone With the Wind in its publication.  I wrote requesting a copy [which was free upon request], and received it.

Although the movie [released in Dec. 1939] was filmed in California, the fictional plantation, Tara, was about 20 miles south of Atlanta, Georgia, founded by Irish immigrant, Gerald O'Hara.  Atlanta has a significant role in the book and movie, and is where the movie premiered, and where author Margaret Mitchell lived.  There are three Gone With the Wind museums in Georgia. 

TV Guide also came out with a Special Edition Gone With the Wind magazine, which I purchased.  It's a must for Gone With the Wind fans, and a great resource for anyone planning a theme tea around the movie.

Those who read my blog in 2013 may remember that I blogged about Gone With the Wind four times.  The first post was about Gone With the Wind theme teas I attended. [View post here.] The other three posts were about my own theme tea that I hosted last October for my daughter's annual birthday tea.  [Posts can be viewed here, here, and here.]

Since the tea party I've acquired one more tea scene photo from the movie.

The March/April 2014 Tea Time magazine features an article on Favorite Green Teas [page 15], The Many Moods of Matcha [page 17], Teatime in Ireland, [page 48], and a great recipe for Layered Mint Brownies [page 43].  With St. Patrick's Day only three weeks away, this issue and Gone With the Wind resources, can provide great inspiration for a St. Patty's tea, that's sure to please your guests!