I've been covering the annual Wizard of Oz Festival for 17 years.

I was still a 20-year-old college student at Valparaiso University working as an intern at The Vidette-Messenger newspaper in Valparaiso in 1991 when my assigning editor called me over to his desk and asked me if I wanted to ride something called "The Munchkin Express."

Even though I was born and raised in this region, I really hadn't heard of The Wizard of Oz Festival in Chesterton, which by 1991, was already a decade old.

I accepted the strange assignment and discovered something bizarre, wonderful and rare: a festival that was both big and little at the same time.

As for "The Munchkin Express," that was the tag for the huge chartered bus that made the pilgrimage to O'Hare Airport each year to shuttle all of the invited "little people" celebrity guests arriving on flights from all over the country to attend this festival dedicated the legendary 1939 MGM film they had starred in opposite Judy Garland.

I'll never forget that first two-hour ride surrounded by so many little voices, many of them chain smoking, creating a low hanging haze over a sea of high back seats that appeared to be empty to an unfamiliar eye who might be boarding that odd bus headed over the rainbow.

But it was clear there were little bodies in all of the seats (remember, most of these little people also brought along little spouses and friends).

That's because as an added bonus, every year The Munchkin Express featured drop down television screens so the driver could play a VCR tape of "The Wizard of Oz." Even some of the more lethargic Munchkins always woke up right on cue, joining in with a shrill sing-along for their big scene's magical number serenading Dorothy with "We Wish to Welcome You to Munchkinland."

I knew each year that by the time I saw Dorothy on the TV screens leaving down the Yellow Brick Road from Munchkinland, it was time for my to start seat hopping around the bus to begin interviewing Munchkins to ferret out a fresh angle for my annual story.

One year, it was cigar smoking Munchkin Lollipop Kid Jerry Maren who fed me the best line for my next day's story.

"Do you realize that the dog who played Toto made more money that any of us Munchkins did on the set? We Munchkins got paid $50 or less per week and that dog made $125," Maren said.

And with every tiny hand I would shake, I would hear some new and fascinating tidbit:

- Ruth Duccini, Munchkin townslady: "Was Judy Garland nice? Yes, she was very nice for what we saw of her. She was only 16 years old at the time of filming and with her tutor most of the time."

- Clarence Swensen, Munchkin soldier: "What was it like to work with the flying monkeys? Or did the little people also play Flying Monkeys? No, we never even saw those costumes. Those scenes had been filmed months earlier."

- Margaret Pelligrini, Munchkin Maiden/Sleepyhead: "When I wear my flowerpot hat and Munchkin costume for these festivals, people ask if it's the original costume. Heck no, it's a copy. That was 60 years ago and I was only 16 years old at the time. You think I cared about keeping that thing?"

- Karl Slover, Munchkin trumpeter/sleepyhead: "What were the other main characters like, the Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man. ...? We didn't have any scenes with any of those actors. We did have Judy Garland and Billie Burke (aka Glenda, the Good Witch) in our scene. When I saw actress Billie Burke without make up or her costume, I couldn't believe how homely she was before she was made up."

- Meinhardt Raabe, Munchkin Coroner who pronounces the Wicked Witch of the East dead: "Many of us little people had successful Hollywood careers besides doing "The Wizard of Oz." I wore a monkey suit and played Cheetah the Chimp's stunt double opposite Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller in some of the Tarzan movies."

I, like so many, will miss The Wizard of Oz Festival now that it's ending after a 27-year-run. Now, there are only just a handful of original Munchkins from the movie left, the youngest of which is 86-years-old.

And every time I watch the classic film and see Dorothy heading down the Yellow Brick Road from Munchkinland, my eyes will still water, as I think back about how smoky that Munchkin Express bus was every year.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or (219) 852-4327.