Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Betty MacDonald Fan Club Newsletter

Hello this is Martine,

I hope you all had a very nice Christmas.

We are working on the Betty MacDonald Fan Club Newsletter.

More Info will come soon.

Happy New Year!

Martine



Linde Lund created the Betty MacDonald, Monica Sone and Wolfgang Hampel Blogs
http://www.blogger.com/profile/15388942569315864610

Betty MacDonald Fan Club Items
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Betty MacDonald Community
http://bettymacdonaldcommunity.blogspot.com/

You can find more info about our Betty MacDonald projects and events in the future.

Wolfgang Hampel, author of the Betty MacDonald Biography and winner of the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award founded Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Society in 1983. We are the largest Betty MacDonald Fan Club in the world - with members in 23 countries. Join our wonderful international Betty MacDonald Community!
We have tons of fun!

Betty MacDonald - Fan Club of Betty MacDonald and Society of Betty MacDonald
http://bettymacdonald.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Fan Club
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Forum
http://bettymacdonaldforum.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Society
http://bettymacdonaldsociety.blogspot.com/

Mary Bard Society
http://marybardsociety.blogspot.com/

Nancy and Plum Fan Club
http://nancyandplumfanclub.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Fan Club
http://pigglewigglefanclub.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone
http://monicasone.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Society
http://monicasonesociety.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Fan Club
http://monicasonefanclub.blogspot.com/

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

Monday, December 14, 2009

Book about Betty MacDonald

Hello this is Martine,

I was reading a book about Betty MacDonald which had never been mentioned before in all the info.

I'm going to write more in the next newsletter. It's very well written and it will be one of the many wonderful surprise items for the Betty MacDonald Fan Club members in 2010.

Linde Lund creates the Betty MacDonald, Monica Sone and Wolfgang Hampel Blogs
http://www.blogger.com/profile/15388942569315864610

Betty MacDonald Fan Club Items
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Betty MacDonald's loyal friends around the world

Hello this is Martine:

I'm a member of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society.
I totally agree with Faith who said:

And among the things I'm thankful for are Betty, and Betty's loyal friends around the world!

That's it, dear Faith. Betty MacDonald and her loyal friends around the world make our life very special.
The world is such a small place. It's so fascinating to see that so many people from different cultures adore Betty MacDonald's wonderful books.

It belongs to the most positive experiences in my whole life what I learned from many Betty MacDonald Fan Club members around the world. I'm really very close with several of them.
We even visited each other and learned from each other. I still do. I'm so grateful for this chance.

I want to say thank you so much, dear Linde Lund. You do such a wonderful job.
Thank you so much for creating the Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society Blogs. You are always in our hearts.

Thank you so much, dear Wolfgang Hampel. The Betty MacDonald Fan Club project began in 1983. Wolfgang Hampel's dream came true. He did lots of hard work and we are more than grateful. I adore his excellent research and interviews and I know I'm not the only one. Among the many fans are writers, poets, actors and artists. He can be very proud and happy.
Wolfgang Hampel really deserves the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award because his Betty MacDonald Biography and Interviews have fans in 23 countries around the world.
Wolfgang Hampel founded what became the largest Betty MacDonald Fan Club in the world.

We have so many very interesting and important projects in the future and I want to say to all Betty MacDonald Fans where ever they may be: Join us and your life will be very special. You'll have the same experience I have.
We are going to reach our common goal finding new readers for Betty MacDonald's unique books. Let's do it!

I'm going to support Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Society much more than I did in the past and I really can't wait to begin.

Love,

Martine


Linde Lund created the Betty MacDonald, Monica Sone and Wolfgang Hampel Blogs
http://www.blogger.com/profile/15388942569315864610

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Betty MacDonald Community
http://bettymacdonaldcommunity.blogspot.com/

You can find more info about our Betty MacDonald projects and events in the future.

Wolfgang Hampel, author of the Betty MacDonald Biography and winner of the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award founded Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Society in 1983. We are the largest Betty MacDonald Fan Club in the world - with members in 23 countries. Join our wonderful international Betty MacDonald Community!
We have tons of fun!

Betty MacDonald - Fan Club of Betty MacDonald and Society of Betty MacDonald
http://bettymacdonald.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Fan Club
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Forum
http://bettymacdonaldforum.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Society
http://bettymacdonaldsociety.blogspot.com/

Mary Bard Society
http://marybardsociety.blogspot.com/

Nancy and Plum Fan Club
http://nancyandplumfanclub.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Fan Club
http://pigglewigglefanclub.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone
http://monicasone.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Society
http://monicasonesociety.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Fan Club
http://monicasonefanclub.blogspot.com/

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Event

Dear Betty MacDonald Fans from all over the world,

we are going to organize a Betty MacDonald Event with the most important Betty MacDonald Collectors and Betty MacDonald Fan Club members from all over the world in 2010.

As a member of the Betty MacDonald Fan Club you will have the opportunity to see the most important Betty MacDonald Collections and much more.

We'll have the most interesting new Betty MacDonald Items in 2010.

You can read all the details in the next Betty MacDonald Fan Club Newsletter.

Let's celebrate our international Betty MacDonald Community with members in 23 countries. 2009 was a very successful year for Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society. Welcome to our many new members! We are so happy you joined us.

One of the very new members of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society is a gifted artist, poet and writer, who will contribute a lot for us in the future.

We also got a delightful message from a successful award winning american writer and we have many more wonderful news.

You'll be able to read more about these artists, poets and writers in our future postings.

As you can see Betty MacDonald has so many fans.

Thanks A Million for your support. We are so grateful for your contributions, incl. audio interviews, letters and other very important documents.


Linde Lund

Linde Lund created the Betty MacDonald, Monica Sone and Wolfgang Hampel Blogs
http://www.blogger.com/profile/15388942569315864610

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Betty MacDonald Community
http://bettymacdonaldcommunity.blogspot.com/

You can find more info about our Betty MacDonald projects and events in the future.

Wolfgang Hampel, author of the Betty MacDonald Biography and winner of the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award founded Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Society in 1983. We are the largest Betty MacDonald Fan Club in the world - with members in 23 countries. Join our wonderful international Betty MacDonald Community!
We have tons of fun!

Betty MacDonald - Fan Club of Betty MacDonald and Society of Betty MacDonald
http://bettymacdonald.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Fan Club
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Forum
http://bettymacdonaldforum.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Society
http://bettymacdonaldsociety.blogspot.com/

Mary Bard Society
http://marybardsociety.blogspot.com/

Nancy and Plum Fan Club
http://nancyandplumfanclub.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Fan Club
http://pigglewigglefanclub.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone
http://monicasone.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Society
http://monicasonesociety.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Fan Club
http://monicasonefanclub.blogspot.com/

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Betty MacDonald Community

Dear Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Society fans,

We got messages from several Betty MacDonald Collectors who will share all their info about Betty and Don MacDonald's wedding with photos.

Thank you so much for your outstanding support.

Wolfgang Hampel, author of the Betty MacDonald Biography and winner of the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award founded Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Society in 1983. Today we are the largest Betty MacDonald Fan Club in the world - with members in 23 countries. We are a wonderful international Betty MacDonald Community!

There are several Betty MacDonald Collectors owning huge collections. They want to invite interested fans to see their collections. You'll receive more info.

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Saturday, December 5, 2009

A huge Betty MacDonald Surprise

I remember reading that Betty MacDonald once illustrated a pamphlet or booklet for one of the oil or gasoline companies. Has anyone ever been able to track down a copy of that book?

Or a copy of Sandra Surrenders?

Wouldn't that be amazing???

Peter D. Sieruta, Author of Heartbeats and Other Stories

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7046320545497573335&postID=2951173424343227853
http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/search?q=Betty+MacDonald+

Dear Peter and Betty MacDonald Fans from all over the world,

It's a wonderful feeling. You can read all the fascinating info in our Betty MacDonald Xmas Newsletter. We hope you are as happy as we are about these great news.
We can promise you many more wonderful Betty MacDonald Surprise Items in 2010. We hope you like the photos with Betty and Bob at the chicken farm.

Linde Lund

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

A phone call with brilliant artist and writer Darsie Beck

Wolfgang Hampel had a phone call with brilliant artist and writer Darsie Beck, son of Betty MacDonald's very charming sister Alison. We are going to post more info soon.

Wolfgang Hampel, author of the Betty MacDonald Biography and Interviewer of Betty MacDonald's and Mary Bard's family and friends will receive the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award sponsored by a Group of International Betty MacDonald Collectors.
There is a huge media interest in this price and we are going to publish a DVD about the Betty MacDonald Memorial Award.

We got a wonderful mail from Darsie Beck:

Sa., 21. Nov. 2009

I really appreciated Wolfgang Hampel's phone call - it was as though the spirit of Betty was with me all night.
Please thank him for me.

I simply want to say thank you for attending last nights Essential Nature book debut. I am basking this morning in the glow, the warmth and the support your presence generated. I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did and that this new day becomes the best day of your life.

Of course in hindsight there are many things I wanted to share but either spaced out or got carried away or who knows what but in the keep it simple category much if not all of what Your Essential Nature is all about is helping us create a heightened sense of awareness - of who I am and what is around me or what is my nature and what is the nature around me. It is about trying something new - doing something different - about creating good change in our lives - Author Dan Millman's new book Awareness is Power suggests "Learning is more than knowing something new; rather, it involves doing something new."

Thank you again for your attendance and your support.

Love,

Darsie Beck

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Betty MacDonald Gedächtnispreis für Autor und Journalist Wolfgang Hampel

Wolfgang Hampel, Autor der Betty MacDonald Biographie und Interviewer von Betty MacDonalds und Mary Bards Familien und Freunden wird den ersten Betty MacDonald Gedächtnispreis erhalten, der von einer Gruppe internationaler Betty MacDonald Sammler gestiftet wurde. Es besteht ein großes Medieninteresse an diesem Preis und wir werden eine DVD über den Betty MacDonald Gedächtnispreis veröffentlichen.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, lieber Wolfgang Hampel.

Wolfgang Hampel verdient ohne jeden Zweifel den ersten Betty MacDonald Gedächtnispreis.
Viele Fans auf der ganzen Welt sind von seiner faszinierenden Betty MacDonald Biographie und den Interviews regelrecht begeistert.

Wolfgang Hampel Gründer des Betty MacDonald Fan Clubs und der Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Famous artists enjoy Betty MacDonald Biography

Famous artists Jim Woodring and Peter Bagge from Seattle enjoy the Betty MacDonald Biography and the interviews by author and journalist Wolfgang Hampel.

http://readersvoice.com/interviews/2003/March/55/

JIM WOODRING is a painter of colorful, cartoony, surreal pictures, and the creator of the comic, FRANK (Fantagraphics).

His favorite humor book is The egg and I by Betty Macdonald.
It's the reason he first moved to Washington.

Jim Woodring, cartoonist

I'm sure Betty MacDonald was a lovely person, but in her books she didn't hesitate to lambast people- with obvious relish- for their faults. It's one of the things I admire about her.

http://www.seattlepi.com/visualart/155658_woodring08.html

Lying in bed late at night and reading under the covers, Jim Woodring was inspired by Betty MacDonald's "The Egg and I."

Peter Bagge, cartoonist:

I recently read an interview with a cartoonist friend of mine, Jim Woodring, who proclaimed Betty as a big influence on him. This I did not know! Only he made a blanket comment, that she "didn't like Indians," that really annoyed me. I'll have to ask him about that!

Betty DOES have a bit of an acid tongue (people say the same thing
about me!), though that doesn't mean she's a mean person, at least not in my opinion.
It just means she's honest and observant.

http://heyoscarwilde.com/peter-bagge-betty-macdonald/
http://www.peterbagge.com/peter/bio.php


Wolfgang Hampel, author of the Betty MacDonald Biography and Interviewer of Betty MacDonald's and Mary Bard's family and friends will receive the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award sponsored by a Group of International Betty MacDonald Collectors.
There is a huge media interest in this price and we are going to publish a DVD about the Betty MacDonald Memorial Award.

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

New parts of Betty MacDonald Biography

Dear Betty MacDonald Fans,

Thanks A Million for the huge interest in the Betty MacDonald Biography and the interviews.

We have a very special surprise for our Betty MacDonald Fans in 23 countries.

You'll be able to read new parts of the Betty MacDonald Biography very soon - many more wonderful interviews with Betty MacDonald's family will be published.
You'll receive more info about it in our Betty MacDonald Fan Club Newsletter.

Wolfgang Hampel, author of the Betty MacDonald Biography and Interviewer of Betty MacDonald's and Mary Bard's family and friends will receive the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award sponsored by a Group of International Betty MacDonald Collectors.
There is a huge media interest in this price and we are going to publish a DVD about the Betty MacDonald Memorial Award.

Congratulations, dear Wolfgang Hampel.

Wolfgang Hampel really deserves the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award. Many fans all over the world enjoy his fascinating Betty MacDonald biography and interviews.

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Peter D. Sieruta, Author of Heartbeats and Other Stories:

I am so anxious to get the rest of the Betty's bios. And yes, I would definitely like to purchase all the CD's and DVD's. Thank you for making them available!

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7046320545497573335&postID=2951173424343227853
http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/search?q=Betty+MacDonald+

Ann, writer and journalist:

Congratulations on your Betty MacDonald biography!!! You have worked hard and deserve all coming successes. I'm so proud of you!!

Janet, writer and journalist:

Congratulations on being honored to receive the Betty MacDonald award. You deserve it for all the work you have done to promote her.

Ron:

Congratulations! A most appropriate honor. Also, noted Ingrid Noll like myself was born in Shanghai.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

First Betty MacDonald Memorial Award for Author and Journalist Wolfgang Hampel

Wolfgang Hampel, author of the Betty MacDonald Biography and Interviewer of Betty MacDonald's and Mary Bard's family and friends will receive the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award sponsored by a Group of International Betty MacDonald Collectors.

Congratulations, dear Wolfgang Hampel.

Wolfgang Hampel really deserves the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award. Many Fans all over the world enjoy his fascinating Betty MacDonald biography and interviews.

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Sunday, November 15, 2009

New Betty MacDonald Biography and Documentary

Wolfgang Hampel, journalist and author of the Betty MacDonald Biography, had the opportunity to interview bestselling author David Guterson, who wrote 'Snow falling on Cedars'.
A fascinating new Betty MacDonald Biography and Documentary will be available on CD and DVD in 2010.
Wolfgang Hampel visited all the places and interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends.

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Happy Birthday dear Monica Sone

Copyright 2009 by Wolfgang Hampel

Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and Betty MacDonald's wonderful friend, described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, celebrates a very special birthday.Today Moncia Sone is 90 years old. Congratulations!
Happy Birthday dear Monica Sone and many more of them!

Monica Sone has fans all over the world. She wrote Nisei Daughter and many authors adore her book for example David Guterson, author of Snow falling on Cedars.We got so many comments from our international fans. They learned so much after reading Nisei Daughter.To us it's one of the most important books we've ever read.
Thanks A Million dear Monica Sone in the name of your many fans for writing this fascinating autobiography. It's so important to know history and to learn from the past. We can understand everything much better because of your book Nisei Daughter.

Monica, you are so very bright, brave, wise, witty and you have the most beautiful voice ever just the way our beloved Betty MacDonald described you as Kimi in The Plague and I.Nobody wants to be ill and stay in a hospital but with you I bet it would be like in paradise.

Monica, I just love and enjoy our phone calls so much. To me it's such a gift.

Lots of love and kisses and hugs and many greetings to you and your family on your very special day today especially to Susan, because she does a great job and every time I talk to you you sound younger and younger.

You are a miracle, a genius but very human and warm!

Remain strong and healthy, please, dear Monica! The world needs wonderful personalities like you so much.

Many hugs and greetings from Master Peter to great Lady Monica!

Thanks A Million for your outstanding friendship!

We are with you and your family and friends in our thoughts.

Wishing you a very wonderful birthday!

All our love
Wolfgang, Angelika and Peter -
your old Wolf and your many fans worldwide

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

Dear Monica Sone,

what can I say after such a statement?
Wolfgang Hampel did it well, didn't he?

Dear Monica Sone, we all adore your writing skills and your brilliant personality.
I'd like to say thank you so much for writing this very important work of literature because I among others had no idea about this dark part of history.
Therefore Nisei Daughter is so important and after reading it nobody will ever forget it.

Best wishes,
Linde Lund

Linde Lund created the Betty MacDonald, Monica Sone and Wolfgang Hampel Blogs
http://www.blogger.com/profile/15388942569315864610

We'd love to hear from Monica Sone fans. Send your birthday wishes to lindelund2000@yahoo.com, please.
Thank you so much!

Regards,
Linde Lund

Interview with Monica Sone - author of Nisei Daughter
http://rhankins.blogspot.com/2008/10/daughter-with-author-monica-sone_16.html

Monica Sone
http://monicasone.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Society
http://monicasonesociety.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Fan Club
http://monicasonefanclub.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday, Monica Sone
http://blog.densho.org/2009/09/happy-birthday-monica-sone.html

Betty MacDonald, Monica Sone, Wolfgang Hampel Links

Linde Lund created the Betty MacDonald, Monica Sone and Wolfgang Hampel Blogs
http://www.blogger.com/profile/15388942569315864610
Betty MacDonald - Fan Club of Betty MacDonald and Society of Betty MacDonald
http://bettymacdonald.blogspot.com/
Betty MacDonald Fan Club
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/
Betty MacDonald Forum
http://bettymacdonaldforum.blogspot.com/
Betty MacDonald Society
http://bettymacdonaldsociety.blogspot.com/
Mary Bard Society
http://marybardsociety.blogspot.com/
Nancy and Plum Fan Club
http://nancyandplumfanclub.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Fan Club
http://pigglewigglefanclub.blogspot.com/
Monica Sone
http://monicasone.blogspot.com/
Monica Sone Society
http://monicasonesociety.blogspot.com/
Monica Sone Fan Club
http://monicasonefanclub.blogspot.com/
Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Betty MacDonald Interviews on CD/DVD

The mentioned interviews with Betty MacDonald, her family and friends in this article are real treasures and especially Betty's sister Alison is so funny and brilliant. These interviews are available on CD and DVD. You can read other comments of fans regarding the stories and interviews in my next blog. ( see Betty MacDonald Fan Club Page ) http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/

`THE EGG' AND BETTY AUTHOR'S LEGEND LIVES ON
By CECELIA GOODNOW Seattle P.I. ReporterNearly 40 years after her untimely death, the Seattle area's first million-selling author has largely faded from the annals of literature. But in Germany, Betty MacDonald just keeps going ... and going ... and going. Which has filmmaker Wolfgang Hampel coming and going as he scurries to gather local color for a television documentary about the internationally renowned author of ``The Egg and I." Never mind that some of MacDonald's humor books are out of print in the United States. In Germany, her fame lives on - a fact that becomes clear after just a few minutes with the ebullient Wolfgang Hampel. ``I think she is popular in Germany and Europe because she had a very hard life, but she could also smile, and she had for every situation a laugh," he said. ``Our life is tragicomedy, and she showed this. It's a masterpiece, her books. Therefore, she's unforgotten." Betty MacDonald, an incandescent woman with bobbed hair and a sweeping smile, developed a huge following in the 1940s and '50s with her comic tales of everyday life in the Northwest. ``The Egg and I," her first million-seller, was a bleakly humorous account of chicken farming near Chimacum on the Olympic Peninsula. She moved there in the late 1920s with her first husband, Robert Heskett. A film version starred Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert and led to a series of Ma and Pa Kettle movies. MacDonald wrote other popular books, including ``Onions in the Stew," which described her years on Vashon Island, and ``The Plague and I," an upbeat account of her battle with tuberculosis at age 30. Her children's novels include ``Nancy and Plum" and the ``Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle" series, which inspired a popular Seattle Children's Theatre production that has been staged three times since 1989. Wolfgang Hampel, who teaches career-development classes in Heidelberg, is part of a five-man group that has been researching Betty MacDonald since 1983, first as fans and now as free-lance filmmakers in a nation still hungry for news of the faded American legend. Although they have done projects on author Truman Capote and illustrator Maurice Sendak, it seems ``Betty" is their first love. On a three-week visit to Seattle, Wolfgang Hampel gathered enough material for a spate of documentaries.Betty MacDonald, who died of cancer in 1958 at age 49, won rousing reviews in her day. When ``The Egg and I" appeared in 1945, the Philadelphia Inquirer called it ``the most hilarious, earthy, rib-splitting piece of fowl-lettres to be hatched since chickens were invented." The Atlantic Monthly said MacDonald wrote ``with a breezy Western unconventionality," and The Saturday Review raved about her ``hilarious reminiscences" of anunconventional life in the ``Northwest Pacific. HarperCollins republished ``The Egg and I" in 1987, and the ``Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle" series is still available in HarperTrophy paperback, but some other MacDonald titles are more elusive. Buccaneer Books, a company in Cutchogue, N.Y., that specializes in republishing out-of-print classics, issued four of her titles in hardback, but none is in stock. The Seattle Public Library has most of her titles. ``She's still very much read," said librarian Michael Moffitt. ``We have questions all the time from people who want to locate the site of the farm or track down Ma and Pa Kettle. People come from the East Coast practically on pilgrimages. They want to experience Betty MacDonald first-hand." Betty MacDonald's sassy personality and colorful life are part of the draw. Born Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard, she moved to Seattle as a child, graduated from Roosevelt High School and married Heskett in 1927, at age 19. They separated after four years and later divorced. After the marriage ended, MacDonald became the only woman labor inspector with the Depression-era National Recovery Administration and later worked for the U.S. Treasury Department. She was sidelined with tuberculosis for more than eight months at Firland Sanitorium north of Seattle before resuming her career in 1939 as publicity supervisor for the National Youth Adminstration.In 1942, Betty married Donald MacDonald, started writing and quickly became a celebrity. On his Seattle visit Wolfgang Hampel gathered anecdotes from relatives and friends, Wolfgang Hampel treasures such recollections. ``Everyone said to me, `She was the most wonderful person in the world I've ever met.'

Link to Betty MacDonald Fan Club

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/

Monday, June 8, 2009

Betty MacDonald Research

After doing extensive worldwide research, including visits to places and people important to Betty, we are still looking for interesting and important information about Betty MacDonald and the Bard family. Our interest includes any interviews, articles, radio and television appearances.
We are also looking for more people who knew the Bards personally. If you have information to add to our research, please email us. Please also let us know your requests -- what kind of subjects interest you most about the work and life of Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard?
Your information will help us in our research and work to create and preserve a living portrait of Betty MacDonald's brilliant personality and her wounderful family. Please join us in this treasure hunt for more stories!
Do you have or know of an interesting sites with material about or related to Betty? Please send us the URL address. Thank you so much in advance for supporting our activities, and for your suggestions and help! Send us you research, suggestions and support to Research Department lindelund2000@yahoo.com.
Your information will be posted to the site promptly. Thank you!