Laurel and Hardy Society Sons of the Desert Way Out West Tent Los Angeles
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The Brushwood Gulch Gazette is the newsletter of the Way Out West Tent. It is published six times a year, shortly before regular tent meetings. Members receive the complete printed edition in the mail. The online edition features most of the articles found in the printed version, minus photos.

Ollie Falls In Love Again & Again & Again At January 26th Meeting

Oliver Norvell Hardy was born in Harlem, Georgia on January 18, 1892, one hundred eighteen years ago. As even the most casual Laurel & Hardy fan soon finds out, one of the recurring themes of Oliver Hardy's film character finds him falling in love with the wrong woman. On the evening of Tuesday, January 26th, join us at the Mayflower Club to celebrate the birthday of Babe Hardy, where we will see three examples of his on screen persona finding love in the all the wrong places.

We'll start off our evening with the screening of Oliver the Eighth (1934). In the film, barbers Ollie and Stan both answer a personal ad from a wealthy widow (Mae Busch) who is looking for a new husband. Ollie mails only his letter, and not Stan's. The widow soon answers Ollie's letter and wants to meet him. Because they have always been equal partners in their barber business, Stan feels that he should go along with Ollie to meet the widow to get his equal share of her wealth.

In Beau Hunks (1931), Ollie and Stan join the Foreign Legion, so Ollie can "forget" his girlfriend after she writes him a "Dear John" letter. The first person Ollie and Stan meet in the Legion is the Commandant (Charles Middleton). How soon will Ollie forget his lost Jeanie Weenie?

Our evening of all Laurel & Hardy films will conclude with Swiss Miss (1938). In the feature film, Ollie and Stan are down and out Mousetrap Salesmen in Switzerland. When they can't pay for their meal in a fancy hotel, they must work in the hotel's kitchen. When Ollie meets hotel guest Anna (Della Lind) who flirts with him, he quickly falls for her. He doesn't know that Anna is married and is just trying to make her husband jealous. He also doesn't know that Victor (Walter Woolf King), another guest at the hotel, is Anna's husband.

The Mayflower Club is located at 11110 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood. We open the doors at 6:30 PM. Our meeting starts at 7:15 PM. Fisher Frank Hot Dogs and your choice of chips will be sold at the Mayflower Kitchen. Refreshments will be sold at the Mayflower Bar. On our second break, we will serve free birthday cake for Babe. Start the New Year off right and join us on Tuesday January 26th for a night of laughs with Stan Laurel and our "Birthday Boy" Oliver Hardy.

Click here for a map to the Mayflower Club...


2010 Wow Dues Are Due - Please Pay Now

As the New Year begins, it's also that time of the year when we must collect dues. The good news is that our charges for dues are unchanged from last year, and we will again have six regular meetings and one special event in 2010. For our annual due rates, please refer to the right hand column on the back page of this newsletter.


2010 Sacramento Convention Deadline Extended

The early registration deadline for the Sacramento Convention has been extended to March 15, 2010. The Sacramento Convention is now less than six months away (June 17 through June 20th). If you are thinking about going--and you should, because it will probably be a long time before the International Convention comes back to California--you will receive a $25.00 discount, if you postmark your registration application on or before March 15th. There are also two pre-convention events on June 15th and June 16th (not included in the registration fee). For more information, go to the convention web site at:http://www.afmoasis49.com/convention.html


Congratulations Ernie

In a December 22nd newspaper column by Dennis McCarthy in the Daily News, celebrity WOW member Ernie Weckbaugh was honored under the title: 'Stinky' Gives Gift that Helps Saves Lives. In the column, we found out that Ernie recently donated his 203rd pint of blood (that's over 25 gallons!). That's enough blood to put Stinky (his Our Gang name) into the National Blood Donors Hall of Fame and to be Mister April on Fenwal's 2010 calender (a global medical technology company). Ernie started regularly donating blood at the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, after he was treated there for a serious infection in 1976. Kudos to Ernie. We all hope to see you and Patty at a meeting soon!


Happy Birthday Jerry Maren

On January 24th longtime Way Out West celebrity member Jerry Maren and his wife Elizabeth will celebrate Jerry's 90th birthday. As most people that grew up in Southern California know, Jerry was "Little Oscar" the spokesman for Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs. But his most famous film role was as the "Lollipop Kid" in The Wizard of Oz. Happy Birthday Jerry!


A Longtime Member's Father Passes

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Harry McCaffery of London, England. Harry was the father to our own Colin McCaffery and Father-in-Law to our Lori Jones McCaffery. Harry lived with his wife, Ivy, in an upstairs flat in London, and remained active until the past few months. Harry was soon to turn 100 years. He was a true gentleman and loving husband to Ivy, and loving father to Colin and Lori. We who were privileged to have known Harry will truly miss him.


Notes From Our December Meeting

To add a little Christmas spirit to our December meeting, we began our film program with a screening of Charley Chase's silent There Ain't No Santa Claus. The rest of the evening had a nautical theme, when we screened Men 'O War, The Live Ghost, and Saps at Sea. As an addition to the evening's film program, we also saw Walt Disney's Mother Goose Goes Hollywood with animated Stan and Ollie as Simple Simon and the Pie Man.

To show appreciation for the great attendance and support from our members for all our 2009 regular meetings and special Location Tour, we again had a free December raffle. Five names were drawn for five free special door prizes during the meeting. Also at the meeting was longtime Way Out West board member Dorothy Barnhart, who celebrated her 91st birthday.

My thanks to Stan Taffel, Victor D'Agostino, Randy Johnson, Dave Greim, Ken Runyan, Jayne Barnhart, and Bob Duncan for helping me with the toasts and song.