I know, I know. You’re tired of hearing about George Bush and John Kerry. You wish that it was November 3rd already so that all this presidential election nonsense would finally be over with. Believe me, folks. I can understand. As a resident of New Hampshire (Which — because we’re the lucky state where the first presidential primary is held as well as a swing state this go-round — means that we’ve been bombarded with campaign ads for over two years now), I can truly sympathize.
Which is why — in an effort to take your mind (temporarily, at least) off of that all important question (I.E. Which one of these pinheads is going to wind up in the White House for the next four years?) — I’d like to talk to you today about another not-quite-as-important issue.
As in: I wanna window for Wood. C.V. Wood, to be exact.
“And who’s C.V. Wood?,” you ask. Cornelius Vanderbilt Wood is the colorful character that Walt Disney hired back in the Fall of 1953. Walt wanted C.V. to find just the right spot in Southern California to build his family fun park at.
So Wood — with the help of his colleagues at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) — searched high & low in sunny SoCal before finally settling on those orange groves in Anaheim. And Disney was so impressed with the job that Woody had done that Walt asked C.V. — right then and there — to stay on with the project. To become Walt’s right hand man on the Disneyland project.
Which is how Woody wound up in charge of the construction of Disneyland. Doing whatever he had to in order to transform a dusty, hot 55 acre lot into “The Happiest Place on Earth” in just one year’s time.
That sounds like quite an accomplishment, don’t you think? And yet — were you to walk through that theme park today and try to find some mention of C.V. Wood — you’d find nothing. Diddly. Squat. Not a window on Main Street. Not a hidden tribute in a Disneyland attraction. Not even a simple paving stone out in Disneyland Plaza with Woody’s name on it.
Now — given that this is the Walt Disney Company that we’re talking about here, the corporation that regularly makes a very big deal about honoring its “legends” — you may think that it seens somewhat strange that the Mouse House has made absolutely no effort to recognize and/or honor C.V. Wood for his significant contribution to Disneyland history over the past 50 years. Me personally, I think that it’s really kind of odd.
But then you have to understand that Walt & Woody had a falling-out in the fall of 1955. What caused the rift between these two strong-willed guys? I’ve heard a number of stories over the years. But — to date — no one’s actually come forward with a definitive answer to this question.
What is known is that — by January of 1956 — C.V. was on the outside, looking in. And soon after this, Disney Productions representatives began a systematic campaign that basically erased all mention of C.V. Wood & his sizable contributions from the official company histories.
Don’t believe me? Then go pick up a copy of “Disney A – Z,” the book that’s supposed to be the Disneyana encyclopedia. The 633 page volume that Disney archivist Dave Smith himself put together. Now turn to the “Ws.” You’ll find that Elijah Wood rates a mention for his work in the 1991 Touchstone film, “Paradise” as well as the 1993 Walt Disney Pictures release, “The Adventures of Huck Finn.” But C.V. Wood — the “Master Builder of Disneyland” — gets squat.
You find that the same sort of thing happens in some of the very best books that have ever been written about Disneyland. In Randy Bright’s stellar “Disneyland: Inside Story” (1987, Harry N. Abrams, Inc.), Woody rates only a single mention in this entire 240-page volume. Likewise — in Bruce Gordon & David Mumford’s otherwise excellent “Disneyland: The Nickel Tour” (1995, Camphor Tree Publishing) — C.V. only gets a single fleeting mention. And — in David Koenig’s gossipy but great “Mouse Tales” (1994, Bonaventure Press) — Wood doesn’t rate a mention at all.
Well, me? I’m tired of this continuing to happen, folks. I’m tired of C.V. Wood’s obviously enormous contributions to Disneyland history being swept under the rug. Of the Walt Disney Company pretending that Woody — in picking out the precise location for constructing Disneyland at, then personally overseeing the construction of the theme park, not to mention running Disneyland during its first six months of operation — didn’t play a sizable part in Disneyland history.
Which is why I’m asking for your help here, folks. I think that it’s high time that the Walt Disney Company finally acknowledged its debt to C.V. Wood. Which is why I’ve decided to announce my “I Wanna Window for Wood” campaign today.
My ultimate goal here is really rather simple, people. Sometime during 2005, as part of Disneyland’s year-long 50th anniversary celebration, I’d like the Disney corporation to finally acknowledge Woody’s contribution to the creation of “The Happiest Place on Earth” by giving C.V. his own very window in the theme park.
Of course — in order to convince the Mouse to actually do this — we’re going to have make some noise, people. Collect a lot of signatures. Get the press interested in the “I Wanna Window for Wood” campaign. So that the Walt Disney Company will finally realize that we’re serious here and ultimately do the right thing.
Now I know, I know. This campaign isn’t perhaps as exciting as — say — the whole “Save Disney” effort. Nor — if we’re successful — will this effort result in a long-on-moratorium film like “Song of the South” finally being released on DVD. Or save the interior of Epcot’s “The Land” pavilion from being turned into a giant airport terminal.
But — should we succeed here — what WILL happen is that a man who has (for far too long now) been consigned to the shadows of Disneyland history will finally recieve his day in the sun.
Mind you, C.V. himself won’t be able to attend his “Window on Main Street” ceremony. Sadly, he passed away back in March of 1992. But Woody’s children & grandchildren would no doubt be thrilled to hear that the man was finally being recognized for everything that he did back in the mid-1950s to help make Walt’s dream a reality.
So does the idea of the “I Wanna Window for Wood” campaign intrigue any of you folks? Well — if so — we’re just getting started here, people. So if you’d like to help out in some way, head on over to the JHM discussion boards and offer up your suggestions as to how we can actually get this campaign off the ground.
Or — if you’d like to make a more public statement about your sentiments on this issue the next time you visit “The Happiest Place on Earth” — you can follow this link over to cafepress.com. Where you can check out some of the great “I Wanna Window for Wood” stuff that JHM’s creative director, Cory Mitchell, has already thrown together.
In the weeks ahead, look for even more stories here at JimHillMedia.com about the truly important role that C.V. Wood played in Disney Company history. Which will hopefully convince you undecided types (Who still probably haven’t figured out — even at this late hour — whether you’re going to vote for Kerry or Bush) that C.V. Wood deserves his very own window on Main Street U.S.A.
So never mind about the Democrats or Republicans. It’s time for all you Disneyana fans to jump on the “I Wanna Window for Wood” band wagon.
Your thoughts?