The Whole Story
George Phar Legler was born in Evansville , Indiana on November 19, 1885. A gentle, peaceful man, George saw the need to heal the mind and soul as well as the body. George's greeting was A-ZE-O, which means Health to All. Since 1923 all of George's works, including Valley of the Moon, have had one central theme: that Kindness to All is the Golden Key to Happiness.
George met his wife, Felix, while living in Indiana, and they raised three children. George moved to Tucson in 1917 while working for the railroad as a signalman and electrician. He purchased the land for Valley of the Moon soon after. He took the civil service exam and worked part time as a clerk in the post office.
One of George's best friends, Frank Thibault, lived on the property beginning in 1940 with his wife, Rose. Frank was a writer and a "starving artist" painter, and Rose, also an artist, was an invalid with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Frank helped George build Valley of the Moon and in return George allowed Frank and Rose to live in a small adobe house. Frank painted the Chinese characters found under the Wizard's Tower. Frank was also George's "back-up man" for the show.
Valley of the Moon was first incorporated as a nonprofit, the Valley of the Moon Memorial Association (VOMMA), in 1945. The stated purposes of VOMMA included “to present the mind as one of the major factors in maintaining the health of the human body; to advocate tolerance towards all religions; and to foster the divine principle of tolerance and brotherly love for all mankind, regardless of race, creed, or color. George deeded the 2.25 acre property to VOMMA. Frank, Rose, Randall, and George were the first Board of Directors for VOMMA. Rose lived on the property until her health forced her to move, but Frank lived on the property until his death in the summer of 1966. Valley of the Moon has been operated as a nonprofit since this time and the current organization is known as The George Phar Legler Society, Inc.
George was a vegetarian. He was had a significant stomach ailment and eventually retired from the Post Office with a disability. Over the years his stomach ailment became progressively worse until he felt he could eat nothing but condensed milk and vitamins which his son, Randall, would bring him by the case. The cause of his health problems was sometimes explained as having been struck by an automobile in 1953 when riding his bicycle without lights in the wee hours of the morning on Campbell Avenue. Another account blamed going "over a 80 foot cliff in an automobile".
George met his wife, Felix, while living in Indiana, and they raised three children. George moved to Tucson in 1917 while working for the railroad as a signalman and electrician. He purchased the land for Valley of the Moon soon after. He took the civil service exam and worked part time as a clerk in the post office.
One of George's best friends, Frank Thibault, lived on the property beginning in 1940 with his wife, Rose. Frank was a writer and a "starving artist" painter, and Rose, also an artist, was an invalid with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Frank helped George build Valley of the Moon and in return George allowed Frank and Rose to live in a small adobe house. Frank painted the Chinese characters found under the Wizard's Tower. Frank was also George's "back-up man" for the show.
Valley of the Moon was first incorporated as a nonprofit, the Valley of the Moon Memorial Association (VOMMA), in 1945. The stated purposes of VOMMA included “to present the mind as one of the major factors in maintaining the health of the human body; to advocate tolerance towards all religions; and to foster the divine principle of tolerance and brotherly love for all mankind, regardless of race, creed, or color. George deeded the 2.25 acre property to VOMMA. Frank, Rose, Randall, and George were the first Board of Directors for VOMMA. Rose lived on the property until her health forced her to move, but Frank lived on the property until his death in the summer of 1966. Valley of the Moon has been operated as a nonprofit since this time and the current organization is known as The George Phar Legler Society, Inc.
George was a vegetarian. He was had a significant stomach ailment and eventually retired from the Post Office with a disability. Over the years his stomach ailment became progressively worse until he felt he could eat nothing but condensed milk and vitamins which his son, Randall, would bring him by the case. The cause of his health problems was sometimes explained as having been struck by an automobile in 1953 when riding his bicycle without lights in the wee hours of the morning on Campbell Avenue. Another account blamed going "over a 80 foot cliff in an automobile".
INSPIRATION
George certainly loved to entertain children, but his underlying motivation were his Spiritualist beliefs. Spiritualism was an American and European faith popular in the late 1800's through the early 1900's. Practitioners of this faith believed, among other things, in ghosts, spirits and fairies, the presence of which was explained through the burgeoning sciences of electricity and magnetism. George was a Spiritualist Preacher who helped found the First Spiritualist Church of Tucson, Also held at Valley of the Moon were metaphysical healing lectures for the Pilgrim's Metaphysical Healing Society where topics such as mental telepathy were discussed.
George's beliefs in fairies found their "proof" around 1920. There was a highly publicized story of two girls in Cottingley who claimed to have seen and photographed real fairies (the movie: A Fairy Tale). George had the newspaper clippings taped to the walls in the Cave Room, above his bed. George even corresponded with the women in England.
The story was later proved to be a hoax but not until a year after George's death. His granddaughter later remarked that she was glad he never knew the truth about the story. The beauty of what George created with his beliefs shows that sometimes it is more important to be kind than to be right.
Even into the 1950's there still existed a world-wide organization of folks who believed in the existence of sprites: The Fairy Investigation Society. Its motto was "We welcome all who have the Fairy Faith." Among the 127 individuals included on its List of Members is G.P. Legler and Walt Disney! -- News-Letter, TFIS, Summer, 1957.
The idea for Valley of the Moon came after George went to visit a terminally ill 14-year-old girl, the daughter of the local clergyman, who was dying of tuberculosis. George decided that the girl needed something to spark her imagination so outside her bedroom window he created a miniature cement mountain scene, complete with a lake made from a washtub and a waterfall. The "lake" held fish and water plants and there was a little path leading to a ladder up the side of the "mountain." The waterfall was made by filling a reservoir at the top of the mountain, which would run back down into the lake. George was very proud of his early Fairy Land, and used to say that whenever she wanted she could climb that ladder "in her imagination."
When the girl died two years later her father came to George and asked for his help. The mother of the girl had become inconsolable, and the father felt that George's belief in the human spirit would help. George went to see the mother and explained that her daughter was not gone, merely transported to the "spirit world" where she would live forever. The mother indeed felt better, and George's life changed as well.
George decided there should be a place where everyone could express their imagination and heal the mind and spirit, so Valley of the Moon was born. The sign he made for the side of the road read, "Valley of the Moon, Tucson's Picture in the Third Dimension and Mental Health Center." While the scientific community of George's day puzzled over the division between 'sanity' and 'insanity' George was creating a place dedicated to mental health 30 years before that term became used professionally; a true visionary.
CONSTRUCTION
George Legler was a visionary artist who planned and created Valley of the Moon without benefit for architectural or construction education. George began construction on Valley of the Moon around 1923. George built Valley of the Moon with the help of Frank, Randall, and anyone who would share in his dream, including a number of hobos or otherwise homeless men who worked with George in exchange for food and a place to stay. He would never accept money from any of these men, insisting that they help him only in the spirit of brotherhood.
A mule team was used to dig out many paths, grottos and the amphitheater in front of the Wizard's Tower. A steam shovel was used to finish the amphitheater. Many of his finer, more detailed rock structures were constructed horizontally on the ground, using metal wire, rocks and concrete. When the pieces dried, they were wired together to form fairy houses. George was a visionary in this respect as well; using material such as chicken wire, to reinforce concrete structures was not used widely in construction for another 30 years. Approximately 200 tons of stone and 800 sacks of cement were used in Valley of the Moon's construction, with one mailed shipment from the Sears/Roebuck catalog of over 120 bags of cement. The magic snake was constructed using round oatmeal containers. Each container was filled with wire and concrete, and when they dried, the cardboard container was removed and the cylinders were wired together in a chain and covered over with a layer of concrete.
George always loved water, and the remaking of water scenes was one of the things he craved to do in the desert. He created several waterfalls and ponds, several of which have been repaired and are in use today. He was fond of keeping fish, ducks and geese, along with duckweed and water lilies.
The resulting whimsical Storybook style structures and gardens were largely completed by 1932. A major subsequent installation was Bunnyland theater in the 1940's; George built the impressive structure primarily out of metal aside a rabbit circus pavilion. Sadly, this structure is lost to time.
During construction George lived with his wife and children near the University of Arizona. In 1940 he moved to Valley of the Moon. George first lived in a small wood house which was accidentally burned down in 1944 by one of the men he had staying with him, a recently divorced guard working at "a local war plant". After that he moved into what we now call the Yellow Room, a small six-foot by six-foot room, behind the Enchanted Garden, just big enough for a bed. This was expanded to what would later become his living quarters, the Troglodyte Caverns, a two-room complex. Initially, George's son Randall used the Troglodyte Caverns as his tack room where he kept the saddle and hay for his horse. Eventually George settled into the lower room and aligned his bed to look out into the Enchanted Garden over the pond; reminiscent of the scene he made for the girl with tuberculosis.
George certainly loved to entertain children, but his underlying motivation were his Spiritualist beliefs. Spiritualism was an American and European faith popular in the late 1800's through the early 1900's. Practitioners of this faith believed, among other things, in ghosts, spirits and fairies, the presence of which was explained through the burgeoning sciences of electricity and magnetism. George was a Spiritualist Preacher who helped found the First Spiritualist Church of Tucson, Also held at Valley of the Moon were metaphysical healing lectures for the Pilgrim's Metaphysical Healing Society where topics such as mental telepathy were discussed.
George's beliefs in fairies found their "proof" around 1920. There was a highly publicized story of two girls in Cottingley who claimed to have seen and photographed real fairies (the movie: A Fairy Tale). George had the newspaper clippings taped to the walls in the Cave Room, above his bed. George even corresponded with the women in England.
The story was later proved to be a hoax but not until a year after George's death. His granddaughter later remarked that she was glad he never knew the truth about the story. The beauty of what George created with his beliefs shows that sometimes it is more important to be kind than to be right.
Even into the 1950's there still existed a world-wide organization of folks who believed in the existence of sprites: The Fairy Investigation Society. Its motto was "We welcome all who have the Fairy Faith." Among the 127 individuals included on its List of Members is G.P. Legler and Walt Disney! -- News-Letter, TFIS, Summer, 1957.
The idea for Valley of the Moon came after George went to visit a terminally ill 14-year-old girl, the daughter of the local clergyman, who was dying of tuberculosis. George decided that the girl needed something to spark her imagination so outside her bedroom window he created a miniature cement mountain scene, complete with a lake made from a washtub and a waterfall. The "lake" held fish and water plants and there was a little path leading to a ladder up the side of the "mountain." The waterfall was made by filling a reservoir at the top of the mountain, which would run back down into the lake. George was very proud of his early Fairy Land, and used to say that whenever she wanted she could climb that ladder "in her imagination."
When the girl died two years later her father came to George and asked for his help. The mother of the girl had become inconsolable, and the father felt that George's belief in the human spirit would help. George went to see the mother and explained that her daughter was not gone, merely transported to the "spirit world" where she would live forever. The mother indeed felt better, and George's life changed as well.
George decided there should be a place where everyone could express their imagination and heal the mind and spirit, so Valley of the Moon was born. The sign he made for the side of the road read, "Valley of the Moon, Tucson's Picture in the Third Dimension and Mental Health Center." While the scientific community of George's day puzzled over the division between 'sanity' and 'insanity' George was creating a place dedicated to mental health 30 years before that term became used professionally; a true visionary.
CONSTRUCTION
George Legler was a visionary artist who planned and created Valley of the Moon without benefit for architectural or construction education. George began construction on Valley of the Moon around 1923. George built Valley of the Moon with the help of Frank, Randall, and anyone who would share in his dream, including a number of hobos or otherwise homeless men who worked with George in exchange for food and a place to stay. He would never accept money from any of these men, insisting that they help him only in the spirit of brotherhood.
A mule team was used to dig out many paths, grottos and the amphitheater in front of the Wizard's Tower. A steam shovel was used to finish the amphitheater. Many of his finer, more detailed rock structures were constructed horizontally on the ground, using metal wire, rocks and concrete. When the pieces dried, they were wired together to form fairy houses. George was a visionary in this respect as well; using material such as chicken wire, to reinforce concrete structures was not used widely in construction for another 30 years. Approximately 200 tons of stone and 800 sacks of cement were used in Valley of the Moon's construction, with one mailed shipment from the Sears/Roebuck catalog of over 120 bags of cement. The magic snake was constructed using round oatmeal containers. Each container was filled with wire and concrete, and when they dried, the cardboard container was removed and the cylinders were wired together in a chain and covered over with a layer of concrete.
George always loved water, and the remaking of water scenes was one of the things he craved to do in the desert. He created several waterfalls and ponds, several of which have been repaired and are in use today. He was fond of keeping fish, ducks and geese, along with duckweed and water lilies.
The resulting whimsical Storybook style structures and gardens were largely completed by 1932. A major subsequent installation was Bunnyland theater in the 1940's; George built the impressive structure primarily out of metal aside a rabbit circus pavilion. Sadly, this structure is lost to time.
During construction George lived with his wife and children near the University of Arizona. In 1940 he moved to Valley of the Moon. George first lived in a small wood house which was accidentally burned down in 1944 by one of the men he had staying with him, a recently divorced guard working at "a local war plant". After that he moved into what we now call the Yellow Room, a small six-foot by six-foot room, behind the Enchanted Garden, just big enough for a bed. This was expanded to what would later become his living quarters, the Troglodyte Caverns, a two-room complex. Initially, George's son Randall used the Troglodyte Caverns as his tack room where he kept the saddle and hay for his horse. Eventually George settled into the lower room and aligned his bed to look out into the Enchanted Garden over the pond; reminiscent of the scene he made for the girl with tuberculosis.
THE SHOWS BEGIN
George's original plan for Valley of the Moon was for it to be a unique park where visitors could wander freely and have picnics. Before George ever opened for productions, beginning around 1926, the park was open to all visitors. George's first guided tours of Valley of the Moon began in 1932. Until 1945, free tours were given almost every Friday night; after that it was by appointment only. George never charged admission, but did accept donations and no one was ever refused due to their inability to donate. One of the most forgotten facts about George was that he offered "Metaphysical Tours" to adults, during which he would explore the meaning of life. Although these Metaphysical Tours were never as popular as Fairy Tours or BunnyLand Theater he provided them consistently throughout the years.
George gave tours to anyone, but loved the children best. He called himself the Mountain Gnome and with a high, gravelly voice that was both gentle and engaging he told stories of the Fairy folk who lived at Valley of the Moon. He performed magic illusions and sometimes strummed a few chords on a guitar during his stories. No two of George's tours were exactly alike, he was always adding, changing and refining his show. His shows also depended on what donations he had received lately. A good donation, like dolls, usually made its way into the show, many such turned into fairies with handmade wings. George was recycling before there even was such a word.
Sometimes, George used a hole in front of the Wizard's Tower that he would jump in and out of, making himself "disappear." In the later years, the shows were filled with neighborhood children and his granddaughter, Linda. Randall Legler would make sure his daughter was safely concealed in her hiding place before the tour arrived, leaving 5-year old Linda in complete darkness, then he himself would hide from the tour. The shining entrance of the Fairy Princess was a very magical part of the original shows. Linda recalls that her fairy costume, a white dress, skullcap, and aluminum antennae on her head, were not what she had hoped they would look like. But the children who saw Linda in her strange costume, with magical lighting, truly believed they had seen a Fairy. The neighborhood children would be invited to play fairies or gnomes and it was considered a very special honor to be involved. No one who was in the show was allowed to talk about being involved with Valley of the Moon because George felt it would destroy the magic if people thought what they saw were actors. George advertised that Valley of the Moon was for children in kindergarten through third grade and Brownie Girl Scouts. Occasionally during later years George would not take reservations for boys between the ages of 12 and 21 because he believed they did not have enough imagination.
From 1932 to the early 1940's, George's tours were primarily one-man shows. Frank was usually there as his back-up man, but the entertainment came solely from George. Before the show Frank and George would spend up to two hours lighting the two hundred or so oil lamps that he used before he had full electricity. A wind-up phonograph, hidden in the top of the Wizard's Tower, would play classical music as background to the show. The Mountain Gnome, dressed all in black with a black veil over his hat looked a little like a dark beekeeper. The audience never saw his face. His stomach ailment caused him to walk bent over, making him look even smaller and more elf-like. The Mountain Gnome would walk groups through Valley of the Moon, telling wildly imaginative stories about the creatures who lived in the structures he built, including the Blue Fairy who had never been seen but was known to live at the bottom of the well.
George's original plan for Valley of the Moon was for it to be a unique park where visitors could wander freely and have picnics. Before George ever opened for productions, beginning around 1926, the park was open to all visitors. George's first guided tours of Valley of the Moon began in 1932. Until 1945, free tours were given almost every Friday night; after that it was by appointment only. George never charged admission, but did accept donations and no one was ever refused due to their inability to donate. One of the most forgotten facts about George was that he offered "Metaphysical Tours" to adults, during which he would explore the meaning of life. Although these Metaphysical Tours were never as popular as Fairy Tours or BunnyLand Theater he provided them consistently throughout the years.
George gave tours to anyone, but loved the children best. He called himself the Mountain Gnome and with a high, gravelly voice that was both gentle and engaging he told stories of the Fairy folk who lived at Valley of the Moon. He performed magic illusions and sometimes strummed a few chords on a guitar during his stories. No two of George's tours were exactly alike, he was always adding, changing and refining his show. His shows also depended on what donations he had received lately. A good donation, like dolls, usually made its way into the show, many such turned into fairies with handmade wings. George was recycling before there even was such a word.
Sometimes, George used a hole in front of the Wizard's Tower that he would jump in and out of, making himself "disappear." In the later years, the shows were filled with neighborhood children and his granddaughter, Linda. Randall Legler would make sure his daughter was safely concealed in her hiding place before the tour arrived, leaving 5-year old Linda in complete darkness, then he himself would hide from the tour. The shining entrance of the Fairy Princess was a very magical part of the original shows. Linda recalls that her fairy costume, a white dress, skullcap, and aluminum antennae on her head, were not what she had hoped they would look like. But the children who saw Linda in her strange costume, with magical lighting, truly believed they had seen a Fairy. The neighborhood children would be invited to play fairies or gnomes and it was considered a very special honor to be involved. No one who was in the show was allowed to talk about being involved with Valley of the Moon because George felt it would destroy the magic if people thought what they saw were actors. George advertised that Valley of the Moon was for children in kindergarten through third grade and Brownie Girl Scouts. Occasionally during later years George would not take reservations for boys between the ages of 12 and 21 because he believed they did not have enough imagination.
From 1932 to the early 1940's, George's tours were primarily one-man shows. Frank was usually there as his back-up man, but the entertainment came solely from George. Before the show Frank and George would spend up to two hours lighting the two hundred or so oil lamps that he used before he had full electricity. A wind-up phonograph, hidden in the top of the Wizard's Tower, would play classical music as background to the show. The Mountain Gnome, dressed all in black with a black veil over his hat looked a little like a dark beekeeper. The audience never saw his face. His stomach ailment caused him to walk bent over, making him look even smaller and more elf-like. The Mountain Gnome would walk groups through Valley of the Moon, telling wildly imaginative stories about the creatures who lived in the structures he built, including the Blue Fairy who had never been seen but was known to live at the bottom of the well.
During the 1940's George added BunnyLand Theater. His lead rabbit, Jack, became the star of the show. George created rabbit sized castles, sets, and costumes, and began to tell magical stories starring his trained bunnies. Children would be photographed with Jack in a special costume that allowed him to stand upright. During the shows the bunnies would sometimes be dressed in costumes, climb 8-foot ladders, and perform a variety of other tricks. George discovered that about one in one hundred rabbits could be taught to do at least two separate tricks but Jack could do five. Jack's death was publicized in several newspapers and magazines. He was the first, and as far as we know only, rabbit to have an obituary in the newspaper.
Valley of the Moon grew to be great success and had it's own display in the Tucson Chamber of Commerce for many years, being one of the few attractions that Tucson advertised. People came from all over the country to see it. In 1952, McCall's magazine listed Valley of the Moon as a notable attraction for children to visit. In 1953 Valley of the Moon had over 2,500 visitors in the first 5 months alone, an astounding number of people considering he had been doing tours by appointment only since 1947. During that same year a writer for Tucson Magazine wrote: "Should Disneyland cover the entire state of California, not one corner would speak to childhood as does this imperfect, perfect little theatre." The high point of that year was when Life magazine came to Valley of the Moon and George's granddaughter was photographed as the Fairy Queen, something she later recalled dreading. Valley of the Moon was scheduled to be on the cover but was moved aside for another story.
As the shows became more elaborate George added the neighborhood children as actors and his granddaughter as the Fairy Queen. A typical tour during the 1950's involved meeting the Mountain Gnome at the Front Gate who would say, "We are about to enter a magic fairyland, there will be good spirits and bad," then to protect everyone he would either hand out magic rhinestones with a warning not to lose them, or rub magic oil on the back of visitor's hands for protection from evil. The "oil" was cheap perfume bought in large bottles at the local drug store. He would lead the guests towards the Wizard's Tower and stop the guest near the podium and say "We need to ask permission of the Fairy Queen if it is safe to go on. We wouldn't want to go on if it wasn't." He would do a small trick with some gunpowder, and POOF!, the Fairy Queen would appear at the top of the Magic Stairs, lit from behind for dramatic effect. She would grant her blessings and the tour would proceed to the stone cross at the base of the Wizard's Tower, where they would sit, while the Gnome told them a story. The tour would proceed under the Tower where he would hand out small cards with a hole in the center. The entranced audience would look through the hole at a painting under the Tower where the cross on his painting would appear to float in midair.
After that it was down into the Wishing Well, later known as PennyLand, to make a wish with a penny George gave them. The Wishing Well used to be surrounded by a numerous stone gnomes who looked down upon the tour from above. George would tell the tour that if they were good they might see one of the stone gnomes move. The neighborhood children, disguised as Gnomes hidden amongst the stone ones, provided the action.
The tour would proceed through the Caves of Terror and up into the Cathedral Room, where a skull sat atop a piano and George would play a little song. Then it was back down through the Caves for a story about some Victorian Dolls hidden in a secret cave, after which the tour would exit the the cave, proceed past the Wishing Well, and enter the Enchanted Garden for another story. Inside the Enchanted Garden was a magic tree where George would reach up and pull down a previously unseen magic gift for his guests. The tour ended by walking through the cave rooms where George slept, and out through the Rabbit Hole.
RECYCLING, PATRIOTISM AND BUNNIES
George was never a man to throw anything useful away. Much of Valley of the Moon was built or inspired by things that George would find. In the Enchanted Garden George tried to create tiny, movable fairies in the Fairy Queen's palace using recycled dolls with handmade wings and an old washing machine motor. It never worked very well, but George was always tinkering. Long lengths of cable salvaged from industrial hoists support many parts of Valley of the Moon. When his collections became too much, he used them in even more creative ways: the hills at the front end of the property near the front benches are piles of discarded supplies that George covered over with dirt.
During World War II beef was rationed in the United States and George tried his hand at raising alternative animals, namely frogs and rabbits, for meat. His first experiment was with frogs and several of the structures at Valley of the Moon were built as breeding ponds for them. George ordered two breeder frogs through the mail but the experiment was not a success: the tadpoles never survived. George, not a man to be deterred, tried rabbits next.
George was serious rabbit breeder; nationally known for creating the Beaver Rex Satin rabbit. He created a special hutch that opened at the top to more easily pet and tame the rabbits. He also was a frequent contributor to the Arizona professional magazine, Arizona Rabbit and Pigeon News. The original rabbits he purchased from England could not produce kittens in the Arizona heat so he created "an underground maternity ward located in the Caves of Thor with a capacity for 17 mother bunnies" complete with an elevator and modern indoor plumbing. At this time George still had quite a few rabbits. He knew that his rabbits had different personalities, some were shy, some bold, and he understood their behavior. Thus, Bunny Land Theater was born.
Valley of the Moon also became a refuge for lost and wounded wildlife: skunks, Gila monsters, jack rabbits, and others were all brought to Valley of the Moon. George would pay $1 for a permit to keep the animal, nurse it back to health, and release it. One jackrabbit even found his way into BunnyLand Theater as a boxer in the B.L. Gymnasium. George also raised ducks and geese and envisioned one day having an otter pond, but that dream was never realized.
Valley of the Moon grew to be great success and had it's own display in the Tucson Chamber of Commerce for many years, being one of the few attractions that Tucson advertised. People came from all over the country to see it. In 1952, McCall's magazine listed Valley of the Moon as a notable attraction for children to visit. In 1953 Valley of the Moon had over 2,500 visitors in the first 5 months alone, an astounding number of people considering he had been doing tours by appointment only since 1947. During that same year a writer for Tucson Magazine wrote: "Should Disneyland cover the entire state of California, not one corner would speak to childhood as does this imperfect, perfect little theatre." The high point of that year was when Life magazine came to Valley of the Moon and George's granddaughter was photographed as the Fairy Queen, something she later recalled dreading. Valley of the Moon was scheduled to be on the cover but was moved aside for another story.
As the shows became more elaborate George added the neighborhood children as actors and his granddaughter as the Fairy Queen. A typical tour during the 1950's involved meeting the Mountain Gnome at the Front Gate who would say, "We are about to enter a magic fairyland, there will be good spirits and bad," then to protect everyone he would either hand out magic rhinestones with a warning not to lose them, or rub magic oil on the back of visitor's hands for protection from evil. The "oil" was cheap perfume bought in large bottles at the local drug store. He would lead the guests towards the Wizard's Tower and stop the guest near the podium and say "We need to ask permission of the Fairy Queen if it is safe to go on. We wouldn't want to go on if it wasn't." He would do a small trick with some gunpowder, and POOF!, the Fairy Queen would appear at the top of the Magic Stairs, lit from behind for dramatic effect. She would grant her blessings and the tour would proceed to the stone cross at the base of the Wizard's Tower, where they would sit, while the Gnome told them a story. The tour would proceed under the Tower where he would hand out small cards with a hole in the center. The entranced audience would look through the hole at a painting under the Tower where the cross on his painting would appear to float in midair.
After that it was down into the Wishing Well, later known as PennyLand, to make a wish with a penny George gave them. The Wishing Well used to be surrounded by a numerous stone gnomes who looked down upon the tour from above. George would tell the tour that if they were good they might see one of the stone gnomes move. The neighborhood children, disguised as Gnomes hidden amongst the stone ones, provided the action.
The tour would proceed through the Caves of Terror and up into the Cathedral Room, where a skull sat atop a piano and George would play a little song. Then it was back down through the Caves for a story about some Victorian Dolls hidden in a secret cave, after which the tour would exit the the cave, proceed past the Wishing Well, and enter the Enchanted Garden for another story. Inside the Enchanted Garden was a magic tree where George would reach up and pull down a previously unseen magic gift for his guests. The tour ended by walking through the cave rooms where George slept, and out through the Rabbit Hole.
RECYCLING, PATRIOTISM AND BUNNIES
George was never a man to throw anything useful away. Much of Valley of the Moon was built or inspired by things that George would find. In the Enchanted Garden George tried to create tiny, movable fairies in the Fairy Queen's palace using recycled dolls with handmade wings and an old washing machine motor. It never worked very well, but George was always tinkering. Long lengths of cable salvaged from industrial hoists support many parts of Valley of the Moon. When his collections became too much, he used them in even more creative ways: the hills at the front end of the property near the front benches are piles of discarded supplies that George covered over with dirt.
During World War II beef was rationed in the United States and George tried his hand at raising alternative animals, namely frogs and rabbits, for meat. His first experiment was with frogs and several of the structures at Valley of the Moon were built as breeding ponds for them. George ordered two breeder frogs through the mail but the experiment was not a success: the tadpoles never survived. George, not a man to be deterred, tried rabbits next.
George was serious rabbit breeder; nationally known for creating the Beaver Rex Satin rabbit. He created a special hutch that opened at the top to more easily pet and tame the rabbits. He also was a frequent contributor to the Arizona professional magazine, Arizona Rabbit and Pigeon News. The original rabbits he purchased from England could not produce kittens in the Arizona heat so he created "an underground maternity ward located in the Caves of Thor with a capacity for 17 mother bunnies" complete with an elevator and modern indoor plumbing. At this time George still had quite a few rabbits. He knew that his rabbits had different personalities, some were shy, some bold, and he understood their behavior. Thus, Bunny Land Theater was born.
Valley of the Moon also became a refuge for lost and wounded wildlife: skunks, Gila monsters, jack rabbits, and others were all brought to Valley of the Moon. George would pay $1 for a permit to keep the animal, nurse it back to health, and release it. One jackrabbit even found his way into BunnyLand Theater as a boxer in the B.L. Gymnasium. George also raised ducks and geese and envisioned one day having an otter pond, but that dream was never realized.
THE LEGACY IS PASSED ON
In the late 1960s George's failing eyesight and physical deterioration forced him to reduce activity at Valley of the Moon. Valley of the Moon fell into disrepair. Vandals destroyed many of the rock structures and with his illness progressively getting worse it looked like the light would some day go out on Valley of the Moon forever. In a most magical way, fate lent a hand to save this place.
In 1971 a group of Catalina High School students thought they all shared a dream during childhood about a magical, enchanted land where a little old wizard told stories and did magic tricks. One of them decided it wasn't a dream and set out to find the truth. What he found was the old Mountain Gnome living by himself and eating nothing but condensed milk and vitamins. When George was convinced these children who had jumped his fence weren't vandals, he gave them a two and a half hour tour that day and opened Valley of the Moon to them. Those children and their parents worked under George's guidance to repair and maintain Valley of the Moon and they formed the Valley of the Moon Restoration Association (VOMRA) in 1973. The new Association did significant restoration work and scheduled regular tours. Once again the master storyteller, the Mountain Gnome came to be called Uncle George by his new friends. George had been living in Troglodyte Caverns so the volunteers refinished the inside of the rooms, then started the work of building him a house on the property. They abandoned the idea and instead bought him a small trailer. Today the house foundation they started we use as a stage and call the Witch's Cauldron. When George broke his hips he moved into a nearby apartment, then to Posada Del Sol nursing home.
In 1975 VOMRA saw that Valley the Moon was listed on the Arizona Historic Places Register. George first rented Valley of the Moon to the volunteers for a nominal sum. In 1981, VOMRA became The George Phar Legler Society (GPLS) and obtained legal rights to the property in the form of a gift deed with the stipulation that if the nonprofit failed, Valley of the Moon would go to the Boy Scouts and Girl scouts, Catalina Council. About this time a reporter for the newspaper asked George if he minded all of the changes that the volunteers were making and George replied, "It's theirs now." On George's 97th birthday, then-Mayor Lew Murphy presented him with the Tucson Outstanding Citizen Award for the creation of Valley of the Moon and his devotion to the free entertainment of Tucson's children. George crossed over to the spirit world four months later on February 22, 1982, at the age of 97, leaving behind his legacy and property to the work of volunteers: people who believed that the giving of oneself is the greatest gift. A memorial service was held at Valley of the Moon on March 2, 1982.
In the late 1960s George's failing eyesight and physical deterioration forced him to reduce activity at Valley of the Moon. Valley of the Moon fell into disrepair. Vandals destroyed many of the rock structures and with his illness progressively getting worse it looked like the light would some day go out on Valley of the Moon forever. In a most magical way, fate lent a hand to save this place.
In 1971 a group of Catalina High School students thought they all shared a dream during childhood about a magical, enchanted land where a little old wizard told stories and did magic tricks. One of them decided it wasn't a dream and set out to find the truth. What he found was the old Mountain Gnome living by himself and eating nothing but condensed milk and vitamins. When George was convinced these children who had jumped his fence weren't vandals, he gave them a two and a half hour tour that day and opened Valley of the Moon to them. Those children and their parents worked under George's guidance to repair and maintain Valley of the Moon and they formed the Valley of the Moon Restoration Association (VOMRA) in 1973. The new Association did significant restoration work and scheduled regular tours. Once again the master storyteller, the Mountain Gnome came to be called Uncle George by his new friends. George had been living in Troglodyte Caverns so the volunteers refinished the inside of the rooms, then started the work of building him a house on the property. They abandoned the idea and instead bought him a small trailer. Today the house foundation they started we use as a stage and call the Witch's Cauldron. When George broke his hips he moved into a nearby apartment, then to Posada Del Sol nursing home.
In 1975 VOMRA saw that Valley the Moon was listed on the Arizona Historic Places Register. George first rented Valley of the Moon to the volunteers for a nominal sum. In 1981, VOMRA became The George Phar Legler Society (GPLS) and obtained legal rights to the property in the form of a gift deed with the stipulation that if the nonprofit failed, Valley of the Moon would go to the Boy Scouts and Girl scouts, Catalina Council. About this time a reporter for the newspaper asked George if he minded all of the changes that the volunteers were making and George replied, "It's theirs now." On George's 97th birthday, then-Mayor Lew Murphy presented him with the Tucson Outstanding Citizen Award for the creation of Valley of the Moon and his devotion to the free entertainment of Tucson's children. George crossed over to the spirit world four months later on February 22, 1982, at the age of 97, leaving behind his legacy and property to the work of volunteers: people who believed that the giving of oneself is the greatest gift. A memorial service was held at Valley of the Moon on March 2, 1982.
SINCE THEN
Over the decades since George passed, an ever changing crew of volunteers has managed, maintained, preserved, restored, and operated the park. Some volunteers work for a day and others a decade or more! Volunteers are the heart of Valley of the Moon.
In 2009 The Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation collaborated with the George Phar Legler Society to develop a strategic long term preservation plan. THPF researched and prepared a National Register of Historic Places nomination and Valley of the Moon was officially placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
With the assistance of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation Valley of the Moon was declared a Tucson Historic Landmark by the Mayor and Council in 2015 This designation provides regulatory protection for Valley of the Moon. As a city Historic Landmark Valley of the Moon cannot ever be developed as anything other than an enchanted story book land. This protection is an important part of ensuring that Valley of the Moon is available for our grandchildren's grandchildren.
Over the decades since George passed, an ever changing crew of volunteers has managed, maintained, preserved, restored, and operated the park. Some volunteers work for a day and others a decade or more! Volunteers are the heart of Valley of the Moon.
In 2009 The Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation collaborated with the George Phar Legler Society to develop a strategic long term preservation plan. THPF researched and prepared a National Register of Historic Places nomination and Valley of the Moon was officially placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
With the assistance of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation Valley of the Moon was declared a Tucson Historic Landmark by the Mayor and Council in 2015 This designation provides regulatory protection for Valley of the Moon. As a city Historic Landmark Valley of the Moon cannot ever be developed as anything other than an enchanted story book land. This protection is an important part of ensuring that Valley of the Moon is available for our grandchildren's grandchildren.
"If we can influence children to develop a friendly attitude toward everyone while they are children, they will be happier adults. That friendly attitude will unconsciously react on their subconscious minds and, in turn, will strengthen their characters and give them deeper spiritual outlooks on life, regardless of what church they may ultimately belong to." -- George Phar Legler, 1959
