HOLLAND, Michigan — The City of Holland installed its latest addition to the Pieces of Oz project Thursday. A sculpture of the Fighting Tree that the author of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" personified was delivered to Holland from Minnesota.
The over 12-foot statue now stands outside the Herrick District Library as part of the city's project that commemorates the book-turned-to-movie author, L. Frank Baum, who is believed to have written some of it in Muskegon.
The executive director of the Holland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau said the installation of "The Wizard of Oz" famed characters' statues have been in the works for five years, but the city isn't done with the project yet.
Sally Laukitis said a statue of the Wicked Witch of the West will join Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Fighting Tree outside of the library in April.
"Who knows, maybe we won't be done [then]," she said.
Across the street from the library at Centennial Park, fans of the book and movie can walk along the Yellow Brick Road.
The project was widely received by West Michigan residents and tourists since it opened in late August.
Laukitis said she had no idea there were so many "The Wizard of Oz" "aficionados" in the world.
"It's just been amazing. It's been so much fun," she said.
In 1989, the City of Holland also celebrated its roots to the beloved story. It held a "munchkins convection", Laukitis said, where all of the actors who played the munchkins in the movie visited.
And recently, one of their widows stopped by the Visitors Bureau to see the new installation of the statues. The 99-year-old lives in Muskegon, according to Laukitis.
"It was awesome," she said.
To learn more about the story's history in West Michigan, click here.
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