A group of senior members from Central Christian Church of Dallas set out for Cleburne Friday morning to tour the Gone with the WindRememberedMuseum.
Having celebrated its 150th anniversary last year, the church has many historical ties with the Civil War era. Abe Lincoln was president and the war was still being fought when Central Christian Church was founded in a log cabin in downtown Dallas in 1863.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the epic film, “Gone with the Wind.” It premiered in Atlanta on December 3, 1939.
Like many of us, Gone with the Wind Remembered Museum Owner and Curator Vicki Rogers fell in love with the unforgettable characters and storyline when she first read the book as a young high school girl.
I can relate to that. I remember being in Mrs. Galvin’s accelerated English class my junior year of high school and writing my term paper on “Gone with the Wind.”
Rogers spent three decades collecting original books, costumes, props and other memorabilia from the movie set. After 30 years of amassing a 6,000-piece collection including a rare signed first printing of the novel, she went public with her treasures.
Converting the former Givens Grocery Store on East Second Street in Cleburne into a climate-controlled building, this past July, Rogers and her husband, Mike, opened the doors for visitors.
The journey back in time begins outside the museum, with three large murals painted by Stylle Read showing the burning of Atlanta, Tara (Scarlett O’Hara’s beloved plantation), and various characters from the movie. Read has also painted murals in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The entrance to the museum is a replica of Tara’s front door. Inside, visitors are surrounded by floor-to-ceiling exhibits of costumes from the movie, programs from the film’s 1939 premiere in Atlanta and products that were licensed for sale after the film was released.
Remember the green and white dress Scarlett wore to the picnic at Twelve Oaks? You can see it. And the pantaloons she wore while Mammy cinched her waist to the desired 16-inches in a new corset? They are on display.
Among the highlights are 600 dolls and the riding outfit worn by Rhett and Scarlet’s daughter, Bonnie Blue Butler, during the tragic pony accident scene in the movie.
Take time to relax in the media room to watch memorable scenes from the movie on wide screen T.V. while hearing a documentary of the history of the film in the making.
When the movie premiered at Lowe’s Grand Theater in Atlanta in 1939, the city was bursting with movie stars, politicians and socialites for the three-day affair that included a traditional ball.
Governor Eurith Dickinson (E. D.) Rivers declared a three-day holiday in Atlanta and politicians were asking that Georgians dress in period clothing.
A motorcade down Peachtree Street allowed thousands of fans to see Clark Gable and his wife, Carol Lombard, the most awaited of the Hollywood stars. Unfortunately, Hattie McDaniel (Mammy) and Butterfly McQueen (Prissy), black actresses with major roles were not welcome in the white side of the segregated Atlanta society during that time in American history and did not attend the premier. .
After the initial release, MGM first re-released the film in 1947 and again in 1954. Pepper Strain saw the movie in 1954. She loved both Rhett and Scarlett and still recalls Scarlett’s frequent use of the colloquialism “fiddle de dee” to dismiss whatever annoyed her.
The novel “Gone With The Wind” was published in 1936. Billie Marie Lindsey was about 15 years old in 1937 when she first read Margaret Mitchell’s classic. She still remembers the famous line spoken by Rhett Butler, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
“People didn’t use those kinds of words back then,” Lindsey said.
“She’s right! People didn’t. And that use of profanity resulted in the legendary rumor that producer, David O. Selznick was fined $5000 for using it in the film,” Rogers said.
Use of the word "damn" had been prohibited by the 1930 Motion Picture Association's (MPA) Production Code, beginning in July 1934. However, some references state that the MPA board passed an amendment to the Production Code on November 1, 1939, a month before “Gone With The Wind’s” release, that allowed use of the words "hell" or "damn" when their use "shall be essential and required for portrayal, in proper historical context, of any scene or dialogue based upon historical fact or folklore...or a quotation from a literary work, provided that no such use shall be permitted which is intrinsically objectionable or offends good taste."
The passing of that amendment resulted in the theory that the Production Code Administration had no further objection to Rhett's closing line and did not impose a fine upon Selznick.
Fine or no fine, the famous line was voted the number one movie line of all times by the American Film Institute in 2006.
The book was a Pulitzer Prize winning novel and the film won ten academy awards, including Best Picture and Best Adaptive Screen-play. Vivian Leigh won Best Actress portraying Scarlett O’Hara and Hattie McDaniel won Best Supporting Actress becoming the first African American to win an academy award. “Gone with the Wind” remains one of the most successful movies of all times.
After a morning of reliving the southern classic touring the museum and before heading back to Dallas, the group gathered at R & K’s café in Cleburne for some down-home southern cooking. All agreed that they ate way too much and would have to make up for it the following day. But “after all, tomorrow is another day.”
Central Christian Church is located at 4711 Westside Drive, just off Mockingbird Lane. It is home to Acer’s Community Garden named in honor of members Ebby Halliday Acers and the late Maurice Acers; Connecting Point of Park Cities, a day center for habilitating adults with disabilities and Central Dog Park, a community dog park. Worship service is 11 a.m. on Sundays. All are welcome.