LIVING HERE
A blue and white checkered gingham dress was worn by Judy Garland in the famous movie called The Wizard of Oz.
This dress was considered to be lost forever but was recently found, and the supposed rightful owner lives in Lake Geneva. This specific dress was worn during the ‘terrifying’ scene when Dorothy was captured by the Wicked Witch of the West in the witch’s castle. The dress is set to go up for auction on May 24th in the ‘Classic Hollywood: Film and Television auction’ to be held in Los Angeles, with bids expected at around $1.2 million.
A Lake Geneva woman, by the name of Barbara Hartke, is claiming to be the rightful owner of the dress that was originally, and allegedly, given to her uncle, Father Gilbert Hartke, who was head of the drama department at the Catholic University of America. After the university put the dress up for display at a New York auction house Barbara Hartke was made aware that the long-lost dress had been found. The dress was discovered last year by a lecturer of the university above some old faculty mailboxes. The dress was allegedly donated to Gilbert Hartke by a dear friend of his, Judy Garland, and actress Mercedes McCambridge. McCambridge gifted Hartke the dress as a thank you for helping her with her addictions and to show her appreciation for all his hard work.
The university is claiming that the dress belongs to it since Hartke didn’t take the dress with him after his retirement. He’d supposedly left it at the school to help motivate and encourage students in the drama program to become the best they could be. The university also claims that McCambridge’s intent was to donate the dress to the university to show support for its students. There are six authenticated dresses worn by Garland, each with her name and wardrobe number stitched in or written on them. The last one sold was in 2015 and it sold for $1.5 million. The next step is most probably going to be up to a court of law to decide who the rightful owner is, and then see where the dress will go to be preserved as a part of film history by the auction winner.
Summer weather is here and it’s all about the lake.
A little update on what’s going on at the Riviera, the lagoon, the beach, and the boat launch. The city voted well before the summer weather arrived to turn the beach and launch into a cash-free business. The process is a complex thing in itself and getting everything set up and ready to go has been a bigger undertaking than anticipated.
The harbormaster has some work to finish before it’s a done deal. The goal is to have the vendors in the Riviera sell beach passes via cash or card. This is to help out those who are not happy about losing the pay by cash option. However, this comes with a cost and the cooperation of others. The cashless beach (with retail exception) and boat launch pier facility may be held up a bit but accomplishing that is still the ultimate goal. The harbormaster shared an update on the necessity of dredging the lagoon leading into the White River at the dam. Last summer the weeds were almost uncontrollable, as they filled the lagoon, wreaking havoc on boat propellers. Employees, along with some city staff, tried repeatedly to remove as much as they could, only to have the weeds come back days later. Dredging has not been done for approximately ten years, so it’s well overdue. The plan is to get it done this year.
Summer in Lake Geneva is a beautiful time, and the pristine lake is the reason. Keeping it that way is full-time and fully expensive.
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