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- [00:00]
Holly Fry
Breaking News T Mobile Network outperforms expectations in all sectors because T Mobile helps keep you connected from the heart of Portland to right where you are on America's largest 5G network. Switch now. Keep your phone and T Mobile will.
- [00:12]
Tracy V. Wilson
Pay it off up to $800 per.
- [00:13]
Holly Fry
Line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com keepandswitch up to 4 lines of your virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlocked device, credit service support in 90 days device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.
- [00:30]
Maria Tremarchi
Explore the winding halls of historical true crime with Holly Fry and Maria Trimarchy, hosts of Criminalia, as they uncover curious cases from the past. The legend of the Highwayman suggests men dominated the field, but tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrars, Known as the Wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s, her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Find more crime and cocktails on Criminalia. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:10]
Tracy V. Wilson
After a crime. You read the headlines, but do you know the story?
- [01:15]
Holly Fry
At the time that I called the police, he knew I had called them and left the house with a firearm and was texting me that he was gonna use it.
- [01:22]
Tracy V. Wilson
I'm Hannah Smith. And I'm Pasha Eaton. We host the Knife, a podcast from the Exactly Right Network that cuts to the heart of the story. Through in depth interviews and candid conversations.
- [01:33]
Holly Fry
We'Ll bring you firsthand accounts of people living through the ripple effects of crime.
- [01:39]
Maria Tremarchi
Most of us don't know the legal process.
- [01:42]
Holly Fry
And because they always tell you this word, closure, I really wish people would.
- [01:46]
Maria Tremarchi
Stop using that word because there is no such thing as closure.
- [01:48]
Tracy V. Wilson
These are the scars that are left behind. These are the voices you haven't heard. New episodes every Thursday. Listen to the knife on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [02:05]
Holly Fry
From the producers who brought you Princess of South beach comes a new podcast, the Setup. The Setup follows a lonely museum curator, but when the perfect man walks into his well, I guess I'm saying I like you, you like me. He actually is too good to be true. This is a con. I'm conning you to get the Dilano painting. We could do this together. Listen to the setup on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in history class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Hol Fry.
- [02:49]
Tracy V. Wilson
And I'm Tracy V. Wilson.
- [02:51]
Holly Fry
This is the second part of our two parter on artist and author Wanda Gog. In part one, we talked about her formative years and her financial struggles as she tried to finish her education, get to art school, and support her mother and six siblings after her father's death when she was just a teenager. We're going to pick up right where we left off, so if you haven't listened to the first episode, you should probably go back and do that or this won't really make all that much sense or have all that much gravity.
- [03:18]
Tracy V. Wilson
So we mentioned at the end of Part one that Wanda had published an essay called A Hotbed of Feminists. That's kind of where Part one ends. And this was published in the periodical the Nation. And while it was obviously about the Gog household, the family's name in this piece was changed to Mur, and it shares the story of growing up in a family of almost all girls. It opens with, quote, the smell of olive oil and mama in bed. This combination always meant a new baby in our family. It was one girl after another, which pleased me greatly, for I considered boys not only unaesthetic but extremely unnecessary creatures. It offers insight into the growing up years of the household, noting, quote, my mother, who was a natural iconoclast, arranged our hair in unusual ways, refused to burden us with starch clothes, and considered shoes and stockings unnecessary in hot weather, Sundays included. It also shares what it was like for Wanda growing up in a non religious home, noting that when her classmates asked her what denomination they were, she just told them they were nothing. Which led said classmates to tell Wanda her family was unfit for heaven. When she asked her father about it, he tells her, quote, nobody knows what will happen to us. Just do the best you know how and everything will be all right.
- [04:45]
Holly Fry
This essay also shares the details of the really difficult times the family faced immediately after Anton's death. It mentions how the final year of her father's life was stressful because he couldn't work, and that while her mother had been told to take in washing to make ends meet afterwards. Quote but mother, after the strain of the past year, was too weary and ill to even do her own housework and I could see that the few dollars I would ear as a clerk in the village store would never solve our problem. Besides, I was needed at home to help with the housework and to take care of the baby This I did, and by drawing place cards and writing children's stories, which I illustrated, I earned about as much as the store job would have brought. There followed years of struggle for us all.
- [05:34]
Tracy V. Wilson
This essay may or may not have led to the next big accomplishment in her life. Some versions of Wanda Gog's life story say that a woman named Ernestine Evans read this essay and was inspired to reach out to Wanda. Other accounts say that Evans attended an early 1928 exhibition of Gog's work and there became interested in her. It's also possible that she saw the article and then sought out the exhibition. Still other versions say that Evans was a socialist and recognized Wanda's socialist values and wanted to elevate them. But regardless of how, Evans found Gog and loved her work and was in a position to offer her a project that would become a significant part of her legacy. Ernestine Evans was an editor at Coward McCann Publishing, and she offered Wanda a contract to create a children's book.
- [06:28]
Holly Fry
Wanda actually had a kid's book that she had been working on since at least 1920. Her partner Earl had even helped her shop it around to publishers, but no one had wanted it. For the next several months after meeting Evans, Wanda worked on the manuscript and illustrations, and it was published before the end of 1928. That book, millions of Cats, was groundbreaking in a number of ways. The layout of the book was very unique for its time. This was a period when children's book illustrations were not typically laid out in a way that integrated them with the text. There was usually text and story on one page and an illustration on the facing page, but GOG's illustrations flow from page to page in concert with the lettering, and the story features an elderly couple who want a kitty, but when the husband ventures out to find a beautiful cat, he cannot choose just one and ends up leading millions of cats home without thinking about the resources it will take to care for them. They do things along the way like they all want to drink water, and if each of them has one lap, they empty out a lake and they all want to eat. And if they each eat a blade of grass from a hill, the hill is left. Baron, et cetera. Spoiler alert. Jump 20 seconds ahead if you don't want to know. The cats all eat each other except for one skinny straggler who becomes the couple's beloved pet.
- [07:55]
Tracy V. Wilson
One of the most alluring aspects of Gog's Book for children, present right here from the beginning in Millions of Cats, is that the stories are actually kind of dark obviously from that synopsis. In this way they hearken back to the oldest fairy tales and their often ghoulish twists. This is generally attributed to the cultural tone of her family's background and her upbringing. She would have been told stories as a child that came from her parents Bohemian folklore rather than the more sanitized, hyper positive and cheery children's stories that had become popular in the US in the early 1900s. This reflected in her own account of her early years, written in 1940. Quote I was born in this country, but often feel as though I had spent my early years in Europe. My father was born in Bohemia, as were my mother's parents. My birthplace, New Ulm, Minnesota was settled by Middle Europeans, and I grew up in an atmosphere of old World customs and legends, of Bavarian and Bohemian folk songs, of German Marken and Terenveren activities. I spoke no English until I went.
- [09:04]
Holly Fry
To school Millions of Cats is, despite those weird circumstances of the denouement, incredibly charming with its repeated refrain of cats here, cats there, cats and kittens everywhere. Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats. And if you want to hear that read in the best possible way, there is a version of it that's read by James Earl Jones and I highly recommend it. Wanda was a cat lover herself, although she only had two cats, not millions, one of which was named Snoopy, which is so cute, and she used her own cats as models to create the drawings of the hordes of cats in the books.
- [09:43]
Tracy V. Wilson
We'll talk about the success of millions of cats and what the book meant to Wanda in just a moment, but first we will pause for a sponsor break.
- [09:54]
Charlamagne Tha God
Peace to the Planet. I go by the name of Charlamagne Tha God. And guess what? I can't wait to see y'all at the third Annual Black Effect Podcast Festival. That's right, we're coming Back to Atlanta, GA Saturday, April 26th at Pullman Yards and it's hosted by none other than Decisions, Decisions, Mandy B and Weezy. Okay, we got the R B Money podcast with Tank and J. Valentine, we got the Woman of All podcast with Sarah, Jake Roberts, the Funky Friday Podcast with Cam Newton, the Naked Sports Podcast with Carrie Champion, Good Moms, Bad Choices Podcast, the Trap Nerd Podcast and many more will be on that stage live. And of course it's bigger than podcast. We're bringing the Black Effect Marketplace with black owned businesses, plus the food Truck Court to keep you fed while you visit us. All right, listen, you don't want to miss this tap in and grab your tickets now@blackffect.com podcastfest there's a lot in.
- [10:43]
Tracy V. Wilson
Life that feels like it should be.
- [10:45]
Holly Fry
Guaranteed that just isn't. Fortunately, AT&T guarantees connectivity you can depend on or the make it right.
- [10:51]
Tracy V. Wilson
AT&T connecting changes everything.
- [10:54]
Holly Fry
Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.comguarantee to learn more.
- [11:01]
Maria Tremarchi
Explore the winding halls of Historical True crime with Holly Fry and Maria Tremarchi, hosts of Criminalia, as they uncover curious cases from the past. The legend of the Highwayman suggests men dominated the field, but tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrers, known as the wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s. Her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Hear the story of the Gentleman Robber, the romantic darling of the ladies, and a tale about a wager over a sack of potatoes. But you'll have to tune in to learn who won that one. Some highwaymen were well mannered or faked it. People were concerned about the romanticism of robbers, but most were just thugs. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Call them robbers or bandits, some are legendary figures. Listen to stories about historical crimes on Criminalia now, plus the cocktails and mocktails inspired by each. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [12:02]
Tracy V. Wilson
Are your ears bored? Yeah.
- [12:05]
Holly Fry
Are you looking for a new podcast.
- [12:07]
Tracy V. Wilson
That will make you laugh, learn and say, que? Yeah.
- [12:11]
Holly Fry
Then tune in to locatora radio season 10 today. Okay, I'm Diosa. I'm Mala, the host of Lokatora Radio.
- [12:20]
Maria Tremarchi
A radiophonic novella, which is just a.
- [12:22]
Tracy V. Wilson
Very extra way of saying a podcast. We're launching this season with a miniseries, Totally Nostalgic, a four part series about the Latinos who shaped pop culture in the early 2000s. It's Lala checking in with all things Y2K 2000s. My favorite memory, honestly, was us having our own media platforms like Mundos and MTV Tres. You could turn on the TV, you see Thalia, you see JLo, Nina Sky, Evie Queen. All the girlies doing their things, all of the beauty reflected right back at us. It was everything.
- [12:57]
Holly Fry
Tune in to locatora radio season 10. Now that's what I call a podcast.
- [13:03]
Tracy V. Wilson
Listen to Locator Radio Season 10 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [13:11]
Holly Fry
Sonoro and iHeart's Mikeultura Podcast Network present the Setup, a new romantic comedy podcast starring Harvey Guillen and Christian Navarro. The Setup follows a lonely museum curator searching for love. But when the perfect man walks into his life. Well, I guess I'm saying I like you, you like me. He actually is too good to be true. This is a con. I'm conning you to get the Delato painting. We could do this together. To pull off this heist. They'll have to get close and jump into the deep end together. That's a huge leap, Fernando, don't you think? After you, Chulito. But love is the biggest risk they'll ever take. Fernando is never going to love you as much as he loves this job. Chulito. That painting is ours. Listen to the setup as part of the Microdura Podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Millions of Cats was hugely popular right out of the gate. It had sold 10,000 copies by January of 1929 and another 5,000 by the end of February, and it just kept going. Its success offered Gog her first taste of real money and lasting financial stability, and that book is still in print almost 100 years later, making it the longest running illustrated book in print in the U.S. millions of cats was an accidental insurance policy for economic uncertainty. The royalties from this and later book projects provided Gog with a dependable income even throughout the Depression. Though the first 38 years of her life had involved a lot of financial difficulty, Millions of Cats really ended all that very quickly, and it also won her a Newberry Award.
- [15:09]
Tracy V. Wilson
Writing for Minnesota history magazine in 1975, Richard W. Cox noted, quote, when Wanda took her manuscript of millions of Cats to publishers in 1927, little did she suspect the significance of this moment to herself or American art. Millions of Cats became the prototype for the picture book, defined as one in which a single artist conceives, writes, illustrates, and supervises the printing of the whole book project. Her success in the children's book field should not have come as a surprise, as her upbringing and later training left her peculiarly prepared for the new genre. Telling, reading, writing, and illustrating stories was a major pastime in the GOG home, and Wanda proved to be more imaginative here than the other children. Wanda may have been the most imaginative of her siblings, but she was not the only one with artistic talent, and she involved her family in the project. Her brother Howard lettered the book. This was in service to its quality. Howard McCann had a letterer do the work and Wanda had rejected it. So then she had her brother do it instead, and he would letter everything.
- [16:17]
Holly Fry
She worked on going forward. Millions of Cats, as we said, made Wanda money, and it also made her famous. She was suddenly put in a position of having to do interviews and have appearances. But the success for her was all about putting her in the more important position of being able to make for art's sake. Everything in her life was in service to her art. And she was adamant that the priority was always going to be art. Coward, McCann and other publishers were eager to make deals for more books with her signature style. But her business decisions were always guided by the question of whether it would enable her to make the art she wanted to make. Like, basically, how much can I make on this project and how long can I then just go to my studio and paint the stuff I want to make? Everyone knew Wanda because of millions of cats. But to her this book was just a tool to sustain her true calling. She also had a lot of offers to illustrate children's books written by other people. And that was always a hard pass. With one sort of odd exception.
- [17:23]
Tracy V. Wilson
That was in 1929 when she illustrated Michael Wigglesworth's the Day of Doom. That was not the work of a contemporary author. It was Originally published in 1662. Wigglesworth was a Puritan minister and the book describes the Day of Judgment. It's fairly dark, so it was sort of up Wanda's alley. She took imagery from New England gravestones for the art in the book.
- [17:46]
Holly Fry
Many of Gog's most well known works have sort of long stories in how they develop over time. For example, jumping forward for a moment in 1941 she produced a lithograph called Macy's Stairway. And this shows a fairly pedestrian view of an industrial style stairway illustrated in Goggles Dog's moody, almost cartoonish way showing the coiled up emergency fire hose on one of the landings and the mounted handrail along the exterior edge of the stair with a glimpse of the heavier wooden newels and balusters on the other side of the stair. But she started working on this image 11 years earlier. She apparently loved Macy's department store. She often shopped there and she spent an afternoon there drawing in January of 1929. And then that drawing was refined to a finished drawing and then was made into an etching. She was not very happy with the etching. And then it wasn't until 11 years later that she was ready to revisit this image for its lithographic form, which is essentially a copy of that original finished drawing.
- [18:53]
Tracy V. Wilson
Later in 1929, Gog published her second book with Coward McCann. The funny thing. The story is about a man named Bobo who serves the birds and rabbits and Mice, beautiful food that he prepares. Until one day a very strange creature shows up. That quote, looked something like a dog and a little like a giraffe. And from the top of its head to the tip of its tail, there was a row of beautiful blue points. This creature is the Funny Thing. It calls itself an aminal and tells Bobo that it doesn't want his cheeses and puddings because he eats dolls. This distresses Bobo so much because he cannot bear the thought of children losing their dolls in this way. So he comes up with a way to feed the funny things something else. So in spite of the stock market crash, people seem to have money to buy the Funny Thing because it, like millions of cats, was very popular. Gog found herself once again requested for all kinds of appearances and interviews. She also had a book tour during which she visited her family, including her sister Stella, who was at that point married with a child. And she visited her grandparents. These visits were very inspirational for Gog, and she produced a series of lithographs that captured scenes from her family's living spaces, including Grandma's Parlor.
- [20:15]
Holly Fry
One of the hallmarks of Gog's work is this sense that the lines used to create the images are moving or vibrating slightly. And Grandma's Parlor is a perfect example of that. What is essentially a static scene showing part of a Victorian looking couch, a bureau and a small side table that sits in front of a window with long curtains, feels very much like there's movement in the room. It's a really interesting and unique illusion, particularly because the style of the art is not realistic. So it's kind of like looking into a slightly cartoonish parallel dimension.
- [20:51]
Tracy V. Wilson
During the 1920s, Gog and Earl Humphries spent a lot of time at a rented place out in the New Jersey country they called Tumble Timbers. The rural life that Wanda loved, which came with few amenities, would not have been possible if Earl had not been willing to handle a lot of the heavy labor aspects of life on a farm. He kept the firewood chopped and ready, made sure they had food, and tended the gardens that Wanda loved so much. His willingness to do the farm's heavy labor made it possible for Wanda to work on her art without having to concern herself with the day to day chores. But there was tension in this relationship. Earl cheated on Wanda at the end of the 1920s, and Wanda reciprocated by also cheating. The pair decided at that point to have what basically sounds like an open relationship. Although they called it vacation.
- [21:48]
Holly Fry
Admittedly the parlance of an open relationship did not Exist then.
- [21:52]
Tracy V. Wilson
Right, Right.
- [21:54]
Holly Fry
So it makes sense that they're like, we're on vacation from our regular. Yeah.
- [21:57]
Tracy V. Wilson
Yeah. There were no polycules at this point.
- [21:59]
Holly Fry
No.
- [22:01]
Tracy V. Wilson
Wanda eventually began an affair with Carl Ziggerser of Waya Gallery, as he had long made it clear that he was interested in her. Once they started their sexual relationship, though, it seems to have gone pretty awkwardly. It was an on again, off again kind situation over several years, and it seems like it just sort of wound up feeling kind of forced.
- [22:22]
Holly Fry
Yeah. Wanda also saw other people. Once she was on vacation, she felt very free to flirt and see whoever she wanted. Like, when she went to visit New York, she would often have dates and have brief romantic dalliances with people there. Wanda and Earl moved away from their home at tumble timbers in 1930, and they first moved to a place in West Cornwall, Connecticut, that was owned by a friend. And there she worked on her her book Snippy and snappy, which is about two sibling field mice and a wild adventure that they go on when the ball of yarn that they love gets picked up by a little girl and they follow that little girl home.
- [23:00]
Tracy V. Wilson
During the years leading up to the 1930s, Wanda had moved a lot. While she spent spring and summer in the country, she was often back in New York for the entire winter. And she was tiring of the inconsistency of just picking up and moving every few months. She wanted a more permanent and stable home and not to be maintaining two residences. She had reached a point in her career that she had the money to start looking for her own property. So In June of 1931, she purchased a farm in Milford, New Jersey. When she purchased it, the house, which sat on a pretty sizable acreage of land, was not updated. But Wanda and Earl renovated it. They added indoor plumbing. Her brother Howard did some of the renovation work on the house. Wanda also had a separate studio space built on the property away from the house, which she called All Creation. That's a name that eventually came to be used for the entire farm.
- [23:57]
Holly Fry
Once she was settled in a place that felt truly her own, Gog once again found her groove as an artist, and she produced a lot of lithographs and multiple books. Her lithographic work during this period showed an embrace of nature and a move away from representing city life, Instead focusing on landscapes and still lifes. She was working at the time on what would become the ABC bunny for Coward McCann. When her artistic interest was drawn elsewhere, she started working on an illustrated version of her favorite book, Henry David Thoreau's. Walden. This was initially something she wanted to submit to a book contest, but although she put in a load work to prepare it, at the last minute, she changed her mind and didn't submit it because she felt that this would only get a limited run if it actually won the contest, and she wanted it to have a wider audience. But oddly, she never seemed to pursue it any further. It was never published. Meanwhile, the Great Depression had caused her income from selling her fine art to slow to just about nothing, so she.
- [25:05]
Tracy V. Wilson
Went Back to the ABC Bunny, which was published in 1933. The ABC Bunny isn't solely an ABC book. It has a narrative structure with each letter representing the next event in the bunny's story. Like her other books, her brother Howard lettered this one and her sister Flavia also wrote a song for it, which is included in score format at the beginning of the book.
- [25:29]
Holly Fry
Coming up, we'll talk about the last years of Wandagog's life, starting with a sabbatical that she took to just paint and draw whatever she liked. We'll talk about how that worked out after we hear from the sponsors that keep the show going.
- [25:46]
Charlamagne Tha God
Peace to the planet. I go by the name of Charlamagne Tha God and guess what? I can't wait to see y'all at the third Annual Black Effect Podcast Festival. That's right, we're coming Back to Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday, April 26th at Pullman Yards, and it's hosted by none other than Decisions, Decisions, Mandy B and Weezy. Okay, we got the R and B Money podcast with Tank and Jay Valentine, we got the Woman of All podcast with Sarah, Jake Roberts, the Funky Friday podcast with Cam Newton, the Naked Sports Podcast with Carrie Champion, Good Moms, Bad Choices Podcast, the Trap Nerd Podcast, and many more will be on that stage live. And of course, it's bigger than podcast. We're bringing the Black Effect Marketplace with black owned businesses, plus the Food Truck Court to keep you fed while you visit us. All right, listen, you don't want to miss this. Tap in and grab your tickets@blackffect.com podcast festival.
- [26:35]
Holly Fry
There's a lot in life that feels.
- [26:36]
Tracy V. Wilson
Like it should be guaranteed that just isn't. Fortunately, AT&T guarantees connectivity you can depend.
- [26:42]
Holly Fry
On or they'll make it right.
- [26:43]
Tracy V. Wilson
AT&T connecting changes everything.
- [26:45]
Holly Fry
Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.com guaranty to learn more.
- [26:52]
Maria Tremarchi
Explore the Winding Halls of Historical True Crime with Holly Fry and Maria Tremerki, hosts of Criminalia, as they uncover curious cases from the past. The Legend of the Highwayman suggests men dominated the field. But tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrers. Known as the wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s. Her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Hear the story of the Gentleman Robber, the romantic darling of the ladies, and a tale about a wager over a sack of potatoes. But you'll have to tune in to learn who won that one. Some highwaymen were well mannered or faked it. People were concerned about the romanticism of robbers, but most were just thugs. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Call them robbers or bandits. Some are legendary figures. Listen to stories about historical crimes on Criminalia now. Plus the cocktails and mocktails inspired by each. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [27:54]
Tracy V. Wilson
Are your ears bored? Yeah.
- [27:57]
Holly Fry
Are you looking for a new podcast that will make you laugh, learn and say, que?
- [28:02]
Tracy V. Wilson
Yeah.
- [28:03]
Holly Fry
Then tune in to locatora radio season 10 today. Okay. I'm Diosa. I'm Mala, the host of Locatora Radio.
- [28:12]
Maria Tremarchi
A radiophonic novella, which is just a.
- [28:14]
Tracy V. Wilson
Very extra way of saying a podcast. We're launching this season with a miniseries, totally nostalgic, a four part series about the Latinos who shaped pop culture in the early 2000s. It's Lala checking in with all things Y2K 2000s. My favorite memory, honestly, was us having our own media platforms like Mundos and MTV Tres. You could turn on the TV, you see Thalia, you see JLo, Nina Sky, Evie Queen. All the girlies doing their things, all of the beauty reflected right back at us. It was everything.
- [28:49]
Holly Fry
Tune in to locatora radio season 10. Now that's what I call a podcast.
- [28:54]
Tracy V. Wilson
Listen to Locatora Radio Season 10 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.
- [29:00]
Holly Fry
You get your podcasts. Sonoro and iHeart's Mikeultura Podcast Network present the Setup, a new romantic comedy podcast starring Harvey Guillen and Christian Navarro. The setup follows a lonely museum curator searching for love. But when the perfect man walks into his life. Well, I guess I'm saying I like you, you like me. He actually is too good to be true. This is a con. I'm conning you to get the gelato painting. We could do this together. To pull off this heist. They'll have to get close and jump into the deep end together. That's a huge leap, Fernando, don't you think? After you, Chulito. But love is the biggest risk they'll ever take. Fernando's never going to love you as much as he loves this job. Chulito, that painting is ours. Listen to the setup as part of the Mikeultura Podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. After the publication of the ABC Bunny, Gog felt like she had earned some time to once again focus solely on her own art. But once she had that time, she was not feeling especially inspired. So she eventually went back to working on another book that became Gone is Gone, or the story of a man who wanted to do housework. And in this story, a man named Fritzl is convinced that he works harder in the fields than his wife. Lisi works, taking care of the house and the animals and the baby, so the pair decide to switch places for a day. Some rather frightening things happen in this book. We've already mentioned that Wanda Gog's art style and her book style is a little dark. Fritzel almost kills the family's cow by accident, for example, and at the end of the day, he begs his wife to please take back the housework so he can go back to the fields. Lyci did great in the fields, by the way, throughout these early years at All Creation, when she was working initially on sabbatical and then on this book. Gog's diaries show a new maturity where she's very reflective about her work and less prone to the sweeping generalizations about artistic gifts that she made in her younger years. She evolved her view of the artist's job as including the need to cultivate their own work and be judicious about creative choices instead of only following every muse that pops up.
- [31:32]
Tracy V. Wilson
Her next two book projects were adaptations. She published her version of Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tales from Grimm, which she rewrote and illustrated in 1936. And in 1938, she published Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. That was the year after Walt Disney released his film version of Snow White, and the Gog version serves as sort of a counter to it. An alternative version In Gog's telling of the story, the queen turns literally green with envy when the mirror tells her that Snow White is more beautiful. And when the prince finds Snow White in an eternal slumber in a casket in the woods, he does not kiss her back to life. He decides to carry the princess back to the castle, and she's jostled on the journey with a piece of apple lodged in her throat, being, being dislodged that leads to her awakening.
- [32:21]
Holly Fry
There are interpretations of Wanda Gog's literature for children that see it as an expression of Wanda's larger worldview. Richard Cox, once again writing for Minnesota history in 1975, notes quote, the cat battle in Millions of Cats may reflect her revulsion against the destruction caused by World War I. Peasants abound in nearly all her stories, and Wanda's regard for the peasant class was almost legendary. Her seven dwarfs are frugal, hard working, sensible men, not Disney's famous likable comic fools who anxiously stumble around the forest cottage awaiting Snow White's next kiss. Wanda spoke of peasants in the sense of all honest workers trying to maintain their integrity amidst the pressures of the industrial Western world. The picture book proved to be a good way for her to serve humanity and to vindicate herself from earlier accusations of elitism and being out of touch with ordinary human beings. She also revealed in her children's books the strength and dignity of women like Wanda herself. Females in her books assert their opinions and make decisions. They suffer the same sins of pride, vanity, and greed as men. Wanda's artwork in these books, over which she had complete editorial control, is whimsical, but it's not simplistic. Gog refused to apply lesser standards to her work for children's picture books than she would to any fine art lithograph she made.
- [33:52]
Tracy V. Wilson
Coward McCann remained eager to leverage Gog's popularity and had been suggesting that she write about her unconventional upbringing. This led her to revisit her journals from her early Life, and in 1940 Gog published the diaries she had kept from the ages of 15 to 23, basically the period of time between when her father died and when her mother died. She wrote in the opening to it, quote, I had often wondered how I would feel upon rereading them and had even speculated about it in my diary. At times I found that I was able to regard my youthful outpourings while with a natural interest and hence not complete detachment, still with considerable objectivity. True, all the usual juvenileties were still there, the slang and silliness, the girlish gush and crush, the introspection, the agonizing over love, the youthful arrogance and turgidity. But recognizing these traits as typical of the various age groups of which I was successively a part, I saw myself as only one of many going through the normal phases of adolescence.
- [34:57]
Holly Fry
Yeah, people were very interested in this book. Of course, I will say she also did edit those diary entries a good bit, including the name change that we mentioned earlier in talking about her. Through the years, Wanda and Earl had stayed together, although they had continued to have their vacation periods where they were free to see other people. And they definitely did. And then on August 27, 1943, they married rather suddenly. And this sounds pretty romantic, and there may have been an element of romance to it, but this move was actually catalyzed by a work issue for Earl. So because it was wartime, Humphreys was working in a war job, he working in a machine shop, and he had organized the workers there into a union. The shop managers threatened to fire Earl, but their reason had nothing to do with his unionization, even though it really did. The reason that they gave was that he was living in sin with a woman who was not his wife. So Wanda and Earl fixed that lickety split and Wanda became a bride at the age of 50.
- [36:05]
Tracy V. Wilson
Wanda was having some health issues at this point point. She'd gone to various doctors and they'd all told her that she just needed rest. Problem that still exists today when women go to the doctor. Wanda felt she was having menopause related problems, but the doctors told her she was too young for that. In some cases, they were reportedly shocked when she told them she was almost 50. She was very petite and thin for her whole life. And a lot of times that made her seem a lot younger than she really was. She was mistaken for a teenager well into her adult life. But none of that addressed why she felt terrible a lot of the time.
- [36:44]
Holly Fry
Yeah, there are some references in her diary where you can tell she's talking about not feeling great. And it reads as being almost tentative to actually write down what she's experiencing because it seems a little scary. By 1944, though, Wanda was often complaining of shortness of breath. And it was bad enough that she could not work on her art, which for her was like not being able to breathe. And then just day to day things like brushing her teeth became simply too much for her. At this point, she had started staying exclusively in an apartment that she had gotten in New York. Because the winters at all creation were too cold and traveling between the two was too arduous. Finally, In February of 1945, she was admitted to Doctors Hospital for exploratory surgery. And the resulting news was very bad. Wanda had lung cancer and had months to live. This news was not given to Wanda, but to Earl. And Earl and Wanda's brother Howard discussed the matter and decided not to tell Wanda or her sisters.
- [37:52]
Tracy V. Wilson
This is how it was often handled at the time. I'm not excusing it, but that's like how it was often handled at the time. Yes, Wanda still had treatments and her diary entries indicate that she figured out from those treatments that she must have had one or more malignant growths and she knew she was only getting worse. Earl did everything he could to make Wanda's life as comfortable as possible. They spent time in Milford when she felt well enough and he drove her to Florida for a vacation in the spring of 1945. After they got back to New York and then to New Jersey, she oversaw the planting of her annual vegetable garden and worked on another project, More Tales from GRIMM for Coward McCann. In late June of 1945, Wanda rapidly declined and was admitted to Doctors Hospital once again. She died there on June 27th.
- [38:45]
Holly Fry
Today you can visit the New Ulm House designed by Anton Gog that Wanda and her siblings grew up in. If you happen to be visiting Minnesota. It is open regular hours June to October and then by appointment throughout the rest of the year. So if that's something you want to do, highly recommend you check out their website so that you get all the details before you show up and find out maybe you couldn't go in, but that is Wanda Gog. I have so much behind the scenes stuff to talk about for her and in the meantime I have a little bit of listener mail. This is a listener mail about one of my favorite topics of recent past, Spite Houses. This is from our listener Lily who writes hello lovely ladies. Your podcast has been one of my favorites for years. So firstly, thank you for all your good work and wonderful and interesting content. I got especially excited about your episode on Spite Houses, which is just a hilarious concept to me. In December 2022 to March 2023 I had the opportunity to work and live in Lebanon and towards the end of my time there I learned about Al Basa, translated to English, the Grudge. This is the thinnest building in Beirut and was the result of feuding brothers arguing about how to share the property their father had left them. I was so fortunate to have a friend in Beirut who took me there so I could see the building and the stunningly beautiful view that the one brother wanted to block from the other. Looking forward to hear about hopefully more Spite Houses around the world and all other things you come up with. I've attached photos I took of the Grudge and also a few of my little furball Wilma waffle. She's a 10 year old, cuddly and very gracious lady from a little island on the Arctic Circle right off the coast of Norway Traine, and she lives to lay on the floor for a big belly rub. She also loves smelly shoes and bird watching. You know, I had a cat that was very obsessed with smelly shoes and we used to discuss that. He looked like he was huffing when he got in there. She is adorable, by the way. I want to rub that tummy so much. And I love the grudge. I mean, I don't love it, but I love it. It's one that did come up when I was looking at spite houses online, but it's a little newer and also I didn't have a ton of info on it, but it is a very, very narrow house that has been built to block a beautiful view from another house. Because that's a number of spite houses come about that way. I'm just laughing about spite houses now. If you would like to write to us about spite houses or kitties or Wandagog or children's literature or any of the other many, many things, you can do that@history podcastheartradio.com if you have not subscribed to the show and you would like to, I promise you that is the easiest thing you will maybe do today. You can do that on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.
- [41:40]
Tracy V. Wilson
Stuff you missed in history class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
- [41:55]
Maria Tremarchi
Explore the winding halls of historical true crime with Holly Fry and Maria Tremarchi, hosts of Criminalia, as they uncover curious cases from the past. The legend of the Highwayman suggests men dominated the field, but tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrars, known as the Wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s. Her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Find more crime and cocktails on Criminalia. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [42:35]
Tracy V. Wilson
After a crime. You read the headlines, but do you know the story?
- [42:39]
Holly Fry
At the time that I called the police, he knew I had called him and left the house with a firearm and was texting me that he was going to use it.
- [42:46]
Tracy V. Wilson
I'm Hannah Smith. And I'm Pasha Eaton. We host the Knife, a podcast from the Exactly Right network that cuts to the heart of the story. Through in depth interviews and candid conversations.
- [42:57]
Holly Fry
We'Ll bring you firsthand accounts of people living through the ripple effects of crime.
- [43:03]
Tracy V. Wilson
Most of us don't know the legal.
- [43:05]
Holly Fry
Process and because they always tell you this word closure.
- [43:09]
Tracy V. Wilson
I really wish people would stop using.
- [43:11]
Maria Tremarchi
That word because there is no such thing as closure.
- [43:13]
Tracy V. Wilson
These are the scars that are left behind. These are the voices you haven't heard. New episodes every Thursday. Listen to the knife on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [43:29]
Holly Fry
I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on Good Company, the podcast where I sit down.
- [43:35]
Tracy V. Wilson
With the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Angeli.
- [43:40]
Holly Fry
Su, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming.
- [43:44]
Tracy V. Wilson
What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. There's so many stories out there, and if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen.
- [44:00]
Holly Fry
Listen to Good company on the iHeartRadio.
- [44:02]
Tracy V. Wilson
App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [44:11]
Holly Fry
Hi, I'm Sam Mullins and I've got.
- [44:13]
Tracy V. Wilson
A new podcast coming out called goboy.
- [44:15]
Holly Fry
The gritty true story of how one man fought his way out of some of the darkest places imaginable.
- [44:21]
Maria Tremarchi
Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted.
- [44:24]
Tracy V. Wilson
Had spent 24 of those years in jail. But when Roger Caron picked up a.
- [44:28]
Holly Fry
Pen and paper, he went from an ex con to a literary darling. From Camp, Inside Media and iHeart Podcasts.
- [44:34]
Tracy V. Wilson
Listen to GoBoy on the iHeartRadio app.
- [44:37]
Holly Fry
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.