Walt's Magic

Before American Bandstand, my afternoon obsession was The Mickey Mouse Club.  It was a wonderful blend of live characters and the beloved characters of Disney’s animation.  For a child of eight from a large family who lived on a farm in Michigan it was as close to the fabled Disneyland as they could hope to get.
 The Mousketeers were young people that we could relate to—not all were as pretty as Annette or as handsome as David Stollery—and they enjoyed the same things we did.  There was enough variety each day, as well as all week, to keep you from getting bored with any of it.
 Two great memories stand out from the years I watched.  I learned how to spell encyclopedia (I still sing it to myself when writing the word)—Jiminy made it easy and fun.  And while everyone else was fawning over Annette, my personal favorite was Darlene in the series with in the show called Corky and White Shadow. 
 Yes, I am aware that several pop divas were on later versions of the show, but by then I was on to other things.  But watching these videos instantly takes me back to those childhood years when watching The Mickey Mouse Club fueled the imagination and made a young girl believe that anything was possible if you believed.