Cache Is Not At The Posted Coordinates
Mr. Toot is the mascot not only of the North Iowa Band Festival, but also for Mason City as a whole. His image has appeared on everything from T-Shirts to business cards to city light poles. Now his image also appears on the geocaching map just south of Mason City Iowa. Each of these puzzles will include a fact or story in theme with the art series. Some may also include a question or two for you to answer correctly to find the coordinates.
Mason City
Bill Baird was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, he grew up in Mason City, Iowa. He traced his love of puppets to the moment when his father made him a simple string puppet when he was eight. In 1921, he attended a local performance of the Tony Sarg production of “Rip Van Winkle”, which cemented his interest. By the time he was fourteen, Baird was creating his own puppets and giving performances in the attic of his parent's home.
A graduate of the University of Iowa and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, he began work with childhood idol Tony Sarg in New York City in 1928. In 1934, Baird formed his own company, the Baird Marionttes. Their first performance was at the Chicago’s World’s Fair.
In a career that spanned over 60 years, Baird and his puppets performed for millions. Baird received many awards and honors, including the Medal of Achievement awarded by the Lotos Club of New York and Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Iowa, and was honored in 1980 by the Union International de la Marionette and Puppeteers of America at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Baird's children Laura and Peter sold nearly all of the Bil Baird Marionettes at auction. This 800-lot auction sale was held at The Greenwich Auction Room, 110 East 13th Street, NY, NY over two days September 19–20, 1987. Marionettes depicting Elsie the Cow and her family were sold to a New York collector, a group of Rockettes and FDR and Truman puppets were sold to a Pennsylvania toy dealer; Olly Oilcan from the 1939 Chicago World's Fair sold for $11,000.00.
The Bil Baird: World of Puppets became a major subdivision of the Charles H MacNider museum in Mason City. It has been part of the permanent collection since 1981. The MacNider Collection of Baird puppets is the largest holding of the late puppeteer’s work to be found anywhere.
Seven marionettes used in a 1948 film for Nabisco, The King Who Came to Breakfast. This production was shown in schools and on T.V. in order to teach the history of wheat. The film was written, produced, and directed by Bil Baird.