Welcome to ESU Happy Hour! The ESU has planned a series of programs to connect and reach out to our members through programs that are engaging, fun, and informative on a wide variety of topics. Happy Hour programs bring to you guest speakers live and free of charge.  Speakers may also suggest a unique cocktail for you to create and enjoy at home. These programs are designed so ESU members and guests can learn and interact with our outstanding speakers. Many speakers will provide exciting participation opportunities with fun give away books and products at the end of each program.

We invite members to suggest topics for future ESU Happy Hour Programs at this link. Cheers!

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) is one of the best loved monarchs. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than those of any of her predecessors, constituted the Victorian era. The British Empire reached its peak during her rule. Almost within touching distance of our own time, her story is so familiar to us it seems unlikely that there is much new to discover. This ESU Happy Hour will uncover amazing and little-known aspects of Victoria’s family.

Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, had already been married and widowed before her wedding to a son of George III. From her first husband, she had a daughter, Feodora, who came to live in London when her mother remarried. At Kensington Palace she married the Prince of Hohenloe Langenberg.

Their son, and Queen Victoria’s nephew, was Prince Victor Gleichen. After distinguished service in the British Navy, Prince Victor took up a career as a sculptor, working from his apartments in St James’ Palace. Quickly becoming the Victorian sculptor of choice, his work is found in collections throughout Britain, and especially in the Royal Collection. Two of his children followed in their father’s footsteps. One daughter, Feodora, became an even more successful sculptor, exhibiting at the Royal Academy on more than a dozen occasions. Helena, an early suffragist who served on the Western Front during WWI, was an accomplished artist.

Our guest speaker, John Vigar, takes a close look at Prince Victor and tells the remarkable story of the Gleichen family of sculptors. This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Charleston Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required.

Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966) was born in Chicago, IL. The Disney family moved to Kansas City in 1911 where nine-year old Walt delivered newspapers with his brother, Roy. Six years later, Walt attended classes at the Kansas City Art Institute. Founded in 1885, the Kansas City Art Institute is one of the oldest and most respected art and design colleges in the U.S. In 1918, during World War I, Walt served in France with the Red Cross.

In May, 1922, Disney founded his first professional film studio in Kansas City, Missouri. He named it Laugh-O-gram Films. He rented an office suite on the second floor of the then-new building on 1127 E. 31st Street in Kansas City, a building designed by noted Kansas City architect Nelle Peters. Walt and his young crew made inventive cartoons, including several loosely based on classic fairy tales such as Cinderella and his first Alice comedy, Alice’s Wonderland.

Despite the short life of Laugh-O-gram Films, it was the foundation of Walt Disney’s remarkable career and of The Walt Disney Company of today. Laugh-O-Gram was “the cradle of Hollywood animation.”  Although animation has been produced for nearly 20 years on the east coast, Walt Disney and the Kansas City animators who followed him to Hollywood were the first to produce animation there.

The Laugh-O-gram Films office is where Disney first met and befriended a real-life mouse scampering on the office floor. Before Walt moved to Los Angeles, he made a point of taking his mouse companion into the countryside so he would not fall victim to the cats which lived in the restaurant on the first floor of the Laugh-O-gram building. It is said by some that this provided Disney with the inspiration for his most well-known creation: Mickey Mouse.

Decades have passed since Disney moved to Los Angeles in 1923. The old building on 31^st Street in Kansas City fell into decay. Then, when the building was facing demolition, local real estate developer, Butch Rigby, joined with Columbia, Missouri, attorney Dan Viets and others to form a non-profit corporation,  Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. Through years of perseverance and fundraising efforts, the old “Laugh-O-gram”  building on 31^st Street is now undergoing a massive, multi-million-dollar renovation dedicated to the legacy of Walt Disney.

Our guest speaker for this ESU Happy Hour is Dan Viets, President of Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. With photos and other images, Dan will share his vast knowledge of Walt Disney, the history of the Laugh-O-gram building and describe the services and activities planned for the building. The ESU Kansas City Branch sponsors this ESU Happy Hour. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required.