The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation celebrates the connection between Baum and his mother-in-law, who were very close. Gage was Baum's intellectual mentor, as well as being credited by the family as being the person who encouraged Baum to write down the Oz stories he was telling his four sons and the children in the neighborhood.

The Gage Foundation regularly sponsors Baum functions at the Gage House in celebration and education of the family connection.  The Gage Home the only home open to the public in the United States where L. Frank Baum spent time.  Tours available--click here.

Mac Hudson, grandson of Janet Baum Donaldson and great-great-grandson of L. Frank Baum, portrayed Baum at a May 15, 2002 birthday celebration for Baum at the Gage House.

At our 2002 and 2003 celebrity auctions, we auctioned items donated by Willard Carroll, Robert Baum, John Fricke, Michael Patrick Hearn, Margaret Pellegrini, Clarence Swensen, and David Moyer.

In March 2003, Dr. Gita Dorothy Morena, daughter of Ozma Baum Mantell and great-granddaughter of L. Frank Baum, participated in the Matilda Joslyn Gage birthday celebration as mistress of ceremonies at The Spirit of Gage Awards. Cynthia Baum Tassini, daughter of Dr. Henry Clay Baum and niece of L. Frank Baum, was honored by the Gage Foundation. She appeared in public for the first time in over two years. Mac Hudson, Gage/Baum descendant, took part in the November 2003 celebrity auction.

David Moyer lectured in the fall of 2002 and 2003 on Baum and the Baums' trip to Egypt (the former lecture co-sponsored by the Fayetteville Free Library, the latter by the Syracuse Library Associates). An Oz Holiday with decorations made by local Brownie and Girl Scout members was held in December 2003.

Members of the Gage and Baum families are very supportive of the Gage Foundation through public and financial support, along with serving on the Foundation Board and Descendant Advisory Committee. Please come and visit the Gage House. When you see it, you will understand the importance of its preservation to the many people who appreciate L. Frank Baum as well as Matilda Joslyn Gage.