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Discover Mid-America — June 2007

Disney magic in Marceline

Walt Disney has always been one of my heroes. One of my first possessions was a Donald Duck pull-toy that made a quacking sound and waved a baton as if leading a parade.

Often, when I was 8 or 10, I paid my dime to watch the Saturday matinee at the theater in our town while my parents did their “trading.” I was among those who cheered when the cartoons came on.

After the matinee, I would hit the drug store for a 20-cent milkshake. Then, I’d head for the comic book section, where I’d usually pick out a Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse comic to add to my collection.

I’ve seen most of Disney’s animated films, some of them more than once. (Although I never made it through Fantasia without falling asleep.)

Unknown to farm kids like me who hoarded piles of Disney comics was the fact that Walt Disney got much of his inspiration from rural life. He spent part of his boyhood on a farm near Marceline, MO. Elias Disney moved his family from Chicago (where Walt was born) to the small Missouri town when Walt was five. They lived for a while with Walt’s uncle until Elias bought a house and 45 acres.

During his four years in Marceline, Walt developed two passions: drawing, and a love for trains. He had a natural artistic talent, which attracted the attention of a neighbor, retired physician “Doc” Sherwood.

The doctor hired 7-year-old Walt to draw pictures of his horse, Rupert. Other neighbors followed suit and soon Walt was spending most of his time sketching everything in sight. Perhaps the height (or bottom) of Walt’s childhood art career came when he decorated one side of the family’s farmhouse, using tar his dad had prepared for patching the roof.

Marceline, a town of 2,645 in southern Linn County, MO, is just south of US 36, about halfway between Brookfield and Macon. It was founded in 1888 to serve the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad, completed between Chicago and Kansas City the year before.

Located about midway between the two cities, Marceline was the spot where the early trains refueled and changed crews. Eventually, the town lost its importance as a railroad stop, becoming the site of a burgeoning printing industry and an agricultural center.

When he wasn’t drawing, the young Walt Disney would watch for the trains to arrive. One of Walt’s heroes, his uncle Michael Martin, was a railroad engineer who worked the route between Marceline and Fort Madison, IA. Walt would later take a summer job with the railroad, selling newspapers, popcorn and cold drinks to train passengers.

Marceline kept its ties with Walt Disney, naming a swimming pool and recreational center after him, and later an elementary school. Disney came “home” to Marceline for the dedication ceremonies. In 1960, when the school was completed, he took the Santa Fe “Super Chief” to Marceline, where it made a stop — the first time ever.

It is claimed that Marceline’s main thoroughfare was the inspiration for “Main Street U.S.A.” in Disneyland. The Uptown Theatre was the site of the world premiere of the Disney film The Great Locomotive Chase in 1956, and The Spirit of Mickey in 1998.

At the Disney farm, located north of town, visitors can still see the “Dreaming Tree,” a cottonwood that Walt and his younger sister Ruth used to play under and dream of magic yet to come. There is also the restored barn similar to the one Disney built for his studio in Anaheim, that is referred to as “The Happy Place,” and the birthplace for “Disney Imagineering.”

But the destination for most Disney buffs is the Walt Disney and Santa Fe Railroad Museum in the restored Santa Fe Depot in the center of town. Staffed by volunteers, the museum contains photos, letters and personal memorabilia of the Disney family. There are examples of Disney original artwork on display, including a comic strip Walt drew for his high school newspaper.

Also in the museum is the Midget Autopia car, a small kid-operated vehicle that was one of the attractions at Disneyland from 1957 to 1966. When first shipped to Marceline, the Autopia ride served as an attraction at a local park.

My guide was Deanna Lisac, one of 20 volunteers who keep the museum going in the large station building.

“The railroad decided in the 1980s that it was no longer profitable to stop at such a small town,” Lisac said. “They just boarded up the doors, not the windows. Soon all the windows were gone.

“The Santa Fe offered to give the building to the city, which didn’t have the funds to maintain it. Five local families got together and made an offer, which the railroad accepted. So the museum building is private property now.”

Lisac said more than $1.5 million has been put into the restoration of the station.

Alongside the museum are the Santa Fe tracks, where trains rumble by on a regular basis. When they do, the visitor is reminded of Walt Disney’s passion for trains, which stayed with him all his life. Late in life, Walt would build a miniature train with a mile-long track at his home in California.

“Walter was just a little bitty boy,” Lisac said. “His first train ride was to Marceline. When the family arrived (from Chicago), a man with a wagon and team of horses met them and took them out to the farm.”

Lisac said that Disney’s first “theater” occurred in Marceline.

“Walt got doll clothes from his younger sister’s dolls, and dressed some dogs and cats up, and charged ten cents. He was going to perform magic with these cats and dogs. A boy in the audience loudly objected: ‘That is nothing but a stupid cat and a stupid dog.’

“Walt’s mother, Flora, overhearing the commotion, told Walt to give the children their money back. Much later, Walt said, ‘Right then I knew, you have to give people more than they expect or they’re going to ask for their dime back.’”

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5. For more details go to www.startedbyamouse.com. To contact the museum go to www.waltdisneymuseum.org.

Ken Weyand can be reached at kweyand1@kc.rr.com

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