Christmas at Walt’s Barn
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| Walt's Barn was decorated for Christmas! |
Let me start off
with by saying once again what Walt’s Barn is. Walt Disney had a backyard small
scale railroad on his Holmby Hills, Ca estate. He built a small barn as a
workshop in a meadow in the backyard to work on his trains. After Lillian
Disney’s death the home was sold and Diane Disney Miller asked the new owner if
she could dismantle the barn and have it. The new owner said yes and the barn
was dismantled and moved it to the Los Angeles Live Steamer Museum in Griffith
Park, Ca near Travel Town and the Merry-Go-Round that Walt took Diane and
Sharon to ride on years before.
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| The Christmas Tree in the Barn |
December’s Barn
day was December 15th. This month was planned to be filled with
activities. Santa and Mindy Johnson were scheduled to be there to meet and
greet the visitors to the barn. Then with the passing of Diane Disney Miller a condolence
book was to be set out for any and all to sign. Nobody at the barn expected
what happened!
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| Santa collected toys for Toys for Tots! |
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| Here is Mindy Johnson singing her book. |
From the moment
the barn opened it was busy and exciting! Mindy was scheduled to be there from
1-3 to sign copies of her new book, “Tinker Bell: An Evolution” but she was
there at 11 when the barn opened! Along with Mindy Alice Davis (Disney Imagineering
Legend) came and shortly after Katheryn Beaumont (Voice of both Alice and
Wendy) followed. Then came Ginni Mack (Face model of Tinker Bell)! Soon came
Disney Animator Floyd Norman and his wife! Floyd just came to get Mindy’s
autograph and ended up signing some himself! Floyd had designed a Christmas
gift for the volunteers and ended up signing them for the us! Tony Anselmo (Disney
Animator and voice of Donald Duck) was there just to visit! It seems they are
all friends and when one decided to come they called each other and WOW!!!!
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| Here we are with Alice Davis and Ginni Mack |
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| Kathryn Beaumont and Tony Anslemo spent time chatting. |
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| Joanna Miller chatted with Alice and Ginni |
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| Animator Floyd Norman |
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| Floyd Norman's gift to the Carolwood Volunteers. |
The visitor that
touched the hearts of the volunteers and made us proud to be there spending the
day trying to remind people of Walt Disney the man and train enthusiast was
Joanna Miller, daughter of Diane Disney Miller, granddaughter of Walt Disney.
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| This was Joanna's reaction to being told how much the Disney family legacy means to people! It is more than just the parks and movies that touch lives. |
Joanna was there
to see her granddad’s barn. She was there to see what legacy her mother had
saved and shared with the public so generously. Joanna did not want people to
know she was there so the volunteers never mentioned to other guests she was
there and gave her space to look around and interact on her terms. Joanna in
turn appreciated that and returned the kindness with gracious thanks and photos
with us. Joanna was touched as she understood on a deeper level the impact her
grandfather, mother and other family members have had on people’s lives.
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| The Carolwood Barn Volunteers with Joanna Miller, |
This assemblage of
Disney Luminaries does not often happen at the Carolwood Barn. There are often
several around but not this number at one time. We could tell each of them
enjoyed their time at the barn as their presence was enjoyed by all the guests
and volunteers. Unlike other Disney events the luminaries (except Joanna who is
still grieving losing her mother and rightfully deserved and requested the
space) were more than happy to sign autographs when asked. No charge, no
problems! Each and every one was gracious and appreciative of the fans who are
interested in them. Every one of them was happy to answer a question or two.
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| George Bruns 2001 Disney Legend Award is on display at Walt's Barn. |
If you are ever in
the Southern California area on the 3rd Sunday of the month and have
the day free I suggest stopping in at Walt’s Barn. The barn is open from 11 am –
3 pm. There is no charge but donations are gratefully accepted. This is the
only free Disney display around!
The approximate
physical address is
5202 Zoo Drive
Los Angeles, Ca 90027
You can find out
more information about the Carolwood Barn at their website:
You can find them
on Facebook at:
My
Christmas book, “An Angel Remembers 25 Voices of Christmas” is available!!
This is a collection of 26 short Christmas stories that
together bring the amazing events of Christ’s birth alive. It is my hope that
this will help encourage families to spend 10-15 minutes a day together during
the busy holiday season remembering the true reason for the season.
You can
find it for ALL eReader formats and PDF at:
For your
Nook the link is:
It is also
available at the iTunes book store and many other ebook seller sites.
The only
big site not carrying my book is Amazon.
You can
download a Kindle version from Smashwords.com
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