Walt Disney officially got the U.S. stamp of approval on this day when his portrait was issued on a six-cent U.S. postage stamp. A grand celebration took place that day in Walt’s childhood hometown of Marceline, Missouri. Kaye Malins, affectionately known as the Queen of Marceline, vividly remembers the celebration.
‘Walt Disney Day’ really was an amazing day
“It was a huge event here in Marceline. They had 750 dignitaries come in. They sent invitations out, 1,200 formal invitations. Every foreign consulate in the U.S. got one to come to Marceline. The town worked so hard on this. Every store had decorations in it. The Disney family, of course, was leading the parade. When they turned around and came back, which everybody that comes to Marceline thinks is so funny, that our parades go one way and turn around and come back, they got out because they wanted to take pictures of the parade. So they all stood in front of the Masonic Temple and took pictures of the parade that they had led down the street. [Walt’s daughters] Diane and Sharon were both here, and [wife] Lillian, a big assortment of grandchildren, Diane’s children especially. [Walt’s brother] Roy Oliver and [his wife] Edna were here and Roy Edward [nephew] was there. Roy was here with his then-wife, Patty, and their children.
They brought a train in from Kansas City that they called The Walt Disney Special
“Everybody was here. It was huge. They brought a train in from Kansas City that they called The Walt Disney Special. The president of the Santa Fe Railroad was here with his daughter because of the huge Disney/Santa Fe connection and they put that special train on. It left Kansas City and they had bands playing at the station when the train pulled up. It brought the Disney family, a lot of the dignitaries and 400 of the inner city children that were sponsored by groups in Kansas City, to bring them to Marceline. They had lunch for all of them and they went to the Uptown Theater and saw the movie Mary Poppins, and then they had a lunch at the Walt Disney elementary school for all the dignitaries that day.
“The state of Missouri governor, [the late] Warren Hearnes, made September 11th ‘Walt Disney Day.’ September 11, 1968 really was an amazing day.”
