Oscar’s Dreamland has had a magnetic effect on me since I
first heard the name, and now there is a book about it which brings
back happy memories.
‘Oscar’s Dreamland’ was the dream of Oscar O. Cooke,
and he made it come true as a ‘Yesteryear Museum at Billings,
Montana, in a wondrous way.
At this Dreamland you can see hundreds of steam and gas engines,
many of them antique rarities, which Oscar collected in a long and
adventuresome and productive lifetime.
The book is suitably titled ‘Oscar’s Dreamland.’ It
is written and compiled by his daughter, Marcie Ann Cooke Limpp,
and it contains information of value to all collectors, plus scores
of photographs.
Oscar was a prince among men with a great brain, muscles of
steel, and a zest for life hard to match. He was a warm-hearted
host with an ability to conduct you through his establishment with
the aid of a photographic memory that told the story of every
exhibit.
My wife Margaret, and I met him first when we visited about 15
years ago with Jean and the late John Baucus, parents of the U. S.
Senator Max Baucus. Oscar was hospitality personified.
I can see him, now, two stories high, in the cab of the 1906
Best steam engine in which he is shown on the front cover of the
book. The paperback cover is in color, befitting a man as colorful
as Oscar.
We visited a second time and were given the royal treatment by
Oscar and Marcella, his devoted lovely wife. We won’t forget.
(See her obituary elsewhere in this issue.)
The book is useful for its history and excellent descriptions of
individual engines. Marcie Ann has done a fascinating job and Oscar
would be proud.
The book sells for $24.95 postage included. An Oscar’s
Dreamland video is also available, $29.95 postage included.
Combined price for the two is $44.95. Send order with remittance to
the publisher, Hayseed Publishing, 3100 Harrow Drive, Billings, MT
59102.
