Date:  Mon, 24 Oct 1994 09:08:41 -0500

From:  Shannon M Walbran <swalbran[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PIPER.HAMLINE.EDU>

Subject: Re: Q: Mllions of Cats



The question was re: Wanda Gag's accent mark on her last name.

As it happens, this weekend was Oktoberfest in the extremely Germanic

small town of New Ulm, Minnesota, known for (at least) two things:

excellent family-owned brewery which produces Schell's beer (my

recommendation would be Schmaltz's Alt, very dark) and the birthplace of

Wanda Gag, author of _Millions of Cats_. I would like to hazard that the

Gag family is Bohemian German, as were many of the settlers of New Ulm.

I would also like to add that her father, Anton, was an artistic type

whose primary patron was August Schell (brewery founder 2d generation --

they are now in their 5th generation). Apparently August supported Anton

through some tough times; when Anton died an untimely and not wealthy

death, his final words were "Now Wanda will finish what I have started."

    Good book, good beer, and a kick of an Oktoberfest. What more

could you want?

Shannon Walbran

Hamline University

St. Paul, Minnesota