Walt Disney's father was not supportive of his artistic endeavors. He saw the arts as a waste of time and never encouraged Walt to draw. There were too many chores waiting for Walt on the farm for him to waste time with such a useless activity. So who did encourage Walt? His beloved Aunt Margaret. "Aunt Maggie" would always visit with notepads, crayons and anything a young child would need to express himself artistically. Sometimes she even had to sneak them into the house.
Maybe Walt would have still pursued an artistic career even if he didn't have anyone to encourage it, but we can certainly thank Walt's Aunt Maggie for sparking an interest that would lead to Oswald, Mickey, Snow White, DISNEYLAND and Mary Poppins. We have so much to thank her for.
Sadly, Aunt Margaret didn't live long enough to see the success her nephew would have, but it's fairly certain that she would have been proud of him. It is hard to imagine a world without the happiness created by Walt Disney, and his very special aunt deserves some of the credit for helping him discover his talents and eventually share them with the world. Thank you, Aunt Maggie!
