Comments on: A Baroness Named Maria

By: m&m

m&m — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:15:05 +0000

Your timing is perfect…we were just talking about Maria Von Trapp yesterday and I have recommitted to read her book. This was an awesome post. I love hearing more about the Real Story in her own words.

By: Eric Boysen

Eric Boysen — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:03:19 +0000

You can’t move the wreck until the invcestigators are through examining the site. That could take a while.

I read Maria von Trapp’s memoir long ago. I also read part of it in German. Some of the material, particularly about the Baron’s previous fiance appeared to me to have been edited out in the German edition. It was a great read.

Cor unam!

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:43:01 +0000

It’s interesting what one’s memory keeps. As a seventh-grader in Provo in November 1965–who had not seen The Sound of Music, either the play or the movie–I had no idea that Baroness von Trapp was in Provo that month. My dad, who was on the faculty at BYU and went to most of the forum and devotional assemblies, didn’t say anything memorable about it–at least not memorable enough for me to recall nearly 43 years on.

But I do remember a plane crash that month at the Point of the Mountain, when a DC-3 (!) carrying a group of BYU football fans down to Albuquerque went down. It was to have picked up Pres. Wilkinson and some others in Provo and continued on, but when it didn’t arrive on time, he took a different plane from Provo. (I do remember hearing a comment at the dinner table about the kind of person who would go to a damnable football game in those circumstances–although ELW may not have known (or cared enough to find out??) whether a bunch of his friends had just been killed.)

And, when I found an old article about that crash, I read that it was the second plane crash in SLC in two weeks. A commercial jet had crashed and burned at SLC airport, killing about half of the 100 people on board. I remember going to the airport sometime that month and seeing the burnt out fuselage sitting near the end of the runway. (It seems odd that they would have left it there–do you really want people coming to the airport to see the wreck?)

I guess plane wrecks were more interesting to me than Austrian governesses turned Baronesses. Probably still are.

By: Dan Knudsen

Dan Knudsen — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:46:22 +0000

I attended that Forum at BYU in 1965, and don’t remember much about it except that it was quite enjoyable and it was a full house. (I’d been in “The Sound Of Music” at the Valley Music Hall in North Salt Lake the first two weeks in September, so was quite familiar with the story and wanted to hear what the Baroness had to say.) It was quite interesting to read her account of that day.

By: Ray

Ray — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:01:41 +0000

Wonderful post – and wonderful woman – and wonderful juxtaposition of what caused riots at Berkeley and BYU in that day.

By: Edje

Edje — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:57:49 +0000

Wonderful! Thanks.

By: Rick Grunder

Rick Grunder — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:25:44 +0000

A great story, Ardis! Thanks.

By: Researcher

Researcher — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:33:14 +0000

That last comment was written by Clarissa and she forgot to change the name.

By: Researcher

Researcher — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:31:26 +0000

Clarissa:
I didn’t know that Maria was a real person. I think its kind of funny that what you could call her un-dramatized life (although it is very dramatic) life lasted, well, a lifetime, and the dramatic version lasted about an hour and a half. Cool post.

By: Emily M.

Emily M. — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:31:06 +0000

Ardis, I am a huge Maria Von Trapp fan. I read “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers” when I was a little girl. It was my first introduction to Catholic traditions, and I was interested in them and in the “real story.” Thank you for sharing this!