Practical Magic

By Barbara Donovan

Practical Magic is the story of Barbara Donovan, expressed as a collection of Barbara's memories about the facets her life so far. Throughout her journey, Barbara has touched the lives of many; opening her heart to help those in need or simply 'getting the job done', whatever that may be. Her influence has helped shape our social landscape, including the areas of civil rights, disability rights, natural childbirth and gay rights. Barbara's life and work have been carried out with humility and grace, always upholding her religious and family values. Her commitment to equality and humanity is inspiring.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barbara Donovan
• Release date: Mar 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311621320

Barbara Donovan

Barbara Donovan met the cast of the Wizard of Oz in Kansas City, Missouri, when she was just 41⁄2 years old. This began her life-long love of its characters, story and meanings for life. She was raised in Kansas City and became a teacher. Marriage, motherhood and supporting ‘outsiders’ in getting a fair go in life were her passions. In time her ‘yellow brick road’ presented more people and possibilities which she embraced in her journey to Oz.

Book preview

Practical Magic

Barbara Donovan

Practical Magic

© 2015 by Brian Donovan

All rights reserved

Artwork copyright belongs to Christopher Guilfoil

Ebook formatting by MrLasers.com

A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others

—The Wizard of Oz

Contents

CHAPTER ONE The Early Years

CHAPTER TWO A Coming of Age

CHAPTER THREE Adventures in Germany

CHAPTER FOUR The Busy Years

CHAPTER FIVE Sarah and New Challenges

CHAPTER SIX The Times are Changing

CHAPTER SEVEN Finding Friendship Forever

CHAPTER EIGHT New Love

CHAPTER NINE Changing Lives Down Under

CHAPTER TEN A New Life: Friends, Family and Footy

CONTRIBUTIONS

Brian Donovan, Jim Guilfoil, John Philipps, Cassie Dahm, Tom Philipps, Kevin and Julie Donovan, Christopher Guilfoil, Tim Guilfoil, Pam Guilfoil, Greg Guilfoil, Danny ‘Bobo’ Guilfoil, Sarah Guilfoil, Jean Marie Guilfoil, Joyce Guilfoil, Meg Guilfoil, Allison, Olivia, Anna and Emma Guilfoil, Rebecca Jahn, Marty Jahn, Cheyenne Jahn, James ‘Jimmy’ Jahn, Samuel Guilfoil, Greta Grace King, Joy O’Grosky, Joe Neumaier, Ada Foster, Julie Brylow, Max Stephens.

FINAL THOUGHTS

CHAPTER ONE

The Early Years

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I am told that I screamed into the world as blue as the sky, my umbilical cord wrapped around my neck. My 20-year-old Daddy stood back, white in the face, as my grandma helped my mom bring me into the world in the upstairs bedroom at my grandmother’s house on Quincy Street. My great grandmother had been a midwife, so my grandma knew more about childbirth than the average person on the street. Mom was just 19, I was tangled and the doctor was running late. I know how easily my birth could have gone awry, but when the doctor finally arrived I was settled safe and warm on Momma’s chest.

I was born on February 23rd, 1935, in Kansas City, Missouri. My big sister Alice had arrived the year before. She was my very best friend; we were like two peas in a pod. We did everything together. Our parents were Alice Edith Philipps (whose maiden name had been Harrison) and Martin John Philipps. Momma was very pretty with dark hair and eyes and Daddy was tall and handsome with wavy black hair. They were good, working class people and they were mad about each other.

The year before Alice was born, they had eloped and married young, despite their parents scorn. Mom had been raised a Protestant and Daddy was a Catholic. In those days religious differences could mean the end of a relationship but thankfully Mom and Dad fought the battle and won their war to be together. Mom converted to Catholicism when I was about five or six-years-old and both their sets of parents came to accept their love and realize that it didn’t really matter what background you were from, if you were a good person, you were a good person. I learnt this from my parents from a very early age.

I was born at the end of the Great Depression and Mom and Dad used to collect ration stamps for food, pinching pennies where they could. Suburban Middle America had been a hard place to live, but with the Depression ending, things were looking up. It was a place of change and the Philipps family was darned if they were going to be left behind. With their heads down, Mom and Dad made sure we clambered out of the 1930s and prospered in the 1940s.

My Daddy sold magazines and later landed a job as a red cap for the Union Pacific Railroad. This would be the making of him. He worked hard and over the years he managed to climb the ranks from red cap to passenger agent and then to become the assistant manager.

When Alice and I were still young, Daddy set us up in our first home. As the decade worn on, our dresses got prettier and things got easier. Mom was a beautiful, strong woman who also inherited a hardworking spirit, perhaps from the fact that she descended from two American presidents: the 9th President William Henry Harrison (1841) and the 23rd President Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893).

I remember when Alice and I were little girls, Mom would work long hours at a nearby beauty shop. Our family was full of drive and ambition but there was always time for fun. Daddy was a film buff and he knew all about Hollywood actors and the latest movie releases. I don’t know what it was about the lifestyle that engaged his interest: perhaps it was the glamour, the glitz, the dream-like life that he escaped to in his imagination. We had movie posters up all around the house and Alice and I would often dress up and act out movies and skits, dance tap, sing and pretend we were stars.

Daddy loved music and played the piano and took us to the movies nearly every Friday night. He would make popcorn at home while us girls were getting ready and we’d take it along in a sack. I remember it so clearly: the music, the bench seats, all the kids scattered on the floor up front straining to see the screen so close. They used to give away carnival glass as you gave your entry ticket so each week we would retreat with a new bowl, a glass, or a vase. This iridescent glassware was cheap so people at the time didn’t think of it as having much value. Movie theatres and supermarket chains bought it in bulk and gave it away as prizes. So, each Friday night we’d go home, reeling from our cinematic experience, carrying a shimmering vase, pitcher, goblet or candy bowl. Nowadays this stuff is worth a lot of money but back then it was free with your entry fee, which was a nickel – five cents.

When I was about four-and-a-half, something very special happened to me which would send my life on a particularly magical course, influencing me in ways I can only make sense of now as I reflect on the life I’ve lived. It was 1939, and Dad’s friend Mr McManus, who was the manager of the theatre, told him that Kansas City would be hosting the premiere of the latest Hollywood film, The Wizard of Oz, and that the stars of the film were coming to town. Because Daddy worked for the railway he was able to make arrangements for Alice and I to meet the stars as they arrived. This was a really big deal. We were going to meet real-life movie stars! Momma dressed us in our very best dresses and curled our hair, tying it tightly with satin ribbons.

We were waiting at the station when a long carriage pulled up in front. Daddy was grinning as he carried his wooden stool to the ledge, connecting the carriage to the platform. The doors swung open and he held out his hand to the disembarking passengers. Out stepped Judy Garland. I remember her long, curly hair and warm smile as she bent down to shake my tiny hand. After Judy, out stepped Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan and Jack Haley and hellos and welcomes were exchanged on the platform. It was surreal. Then, all of a sudden, the actors linked arms with me and Alice and we all started skipping up and down the platform, in an impromptu rendition of We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz. It was amazing. I can still remember it now, after having been retold the story by my mother time and time again throughout my childhood. All of us went to the drugstore in the Union Station and had a chocolate soda. Judy reached down and lifted me up on her knee. I can remember her bouncing me gently up and down as the group chatted away, sipping on their drinks. Sadly, Daddy wasn’t allowed to bring his camera but I have the memories and also what my mother told me about the time.

The movie premiere was shown that night and the stars’ visit was reported in the Kansas City Star. We got to sit front-row at the Lowes Midland Theatre, in Kansas City, Missouri. This wasn’t like the theatre we were used to going to on Fridays. It had big, soft seats and rich red velvet curtains concealing a huge screen. There was an orchestra down below that played music as the excited crowd waited in anticipation. Then, out came the stars, dressed in