Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Knice Knott's!

Today I am sharing the first two pictures from a batch of vintage slides from the mid-1950's. They nicer than usual!

Here's a great view of Goldie's Place. Get yourself a room, maybe take a hot bath (the first one in months!), and enjoy the company of Goldie's gals (you can see a girl looking out each of the upstairs windows). The leg that is sticking out of the side window is one of my all-time favorite details; every now and then it would kick fetchingly, driving men wild! 

OK experts, tell me if I'm wrong, but is that box just to the right of the kicking leg a sort of periscope (used so that Sad Eye Joe in the Town Jail can see who is talking to him)?


Things are a little quiet over at the Gold Mine... there are plenty of lookers, but only one little prospector. The guy with his arms crossed reminds me of Ward Bond, manly-man actor from about a million John Wayne movies. The other guy reminds me of Floyd the barber (those are two references that you will only get if you are over a certain age)! On second thought, maybe the dude on the right reminds me of Ron Swanson.


14 comments:

Nanook said...

I'll buy Ward Bond. And even Howard McNear. My favorite McNear moment had nothing to do with The Andy Griffith Show, but rather Leave It to Beaver. On one episode he played a barber there, too. Talk about type casting-!

I love our young friend to the left of the Town Jail sign - who just may be sporting a "D.A." hair style.

Thanks, Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

You are correct, Major. That is a periscope device that uses mirrors (***SPOILER ALERT***) to allow the guy who provides the voice for Sad Eye Joe, to see who is standing outside of the jail cell.

I totally see Floyd the barber in that second pic!

K. Martinez said...

I didn't check on my last visit to Knott's, but is Goldie's Place still there? Is the leg still sticking out of the window too?

Nice detail about Sad Eye Joe and the periscope device.

Anonymous said...

I vividly remember my conversation with Sad Eye Joe. I was about 6 and was worried sick how this guy in jail knew so much about me.

My Dad laughed and laughed. Later, he showed me the periscope and explained the joke. It looked just as it does in these pics, right down to the socks on Goldie's leg.

Thanks you, Major!

JG

Raimundo said...

I read somewhere that Cordelia Knott didn't approve of the loose women moving into Ghost Town. Wonder if there were repercussions later for Mr. Knott.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, it might be a "D.A." hairstyle, but that kid is more wholesome than the Fonz.

TokyoMagic!, does the guy sit in the upstairs room of Goldie's?

K. Martinez, Goldie's is still there. TokyoMagic! did a great photo update back when it was rebuilt. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/qhczx2l

JG, for some reason the crude figures in the "peek ins" creeped me out when I was a kid! I guess having one of them talk directly to me would have definitely been a "Twilight Zone" moment.

Raimundo, Cordelia might not have liked the loose women, but they are still there, so she must not have made that much of a deal about it!

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, the guy sits on the ground floor....just inside the window below the Town Jail sign. Those people in the photo are probably talking to the guy. There are usually pencils and pieces of paper on the counter so you can write down names, ages, etc. of the people in your party. My dad always made up some excuse why he wasn't going to walk up to the jail with us and then he'd give the guy our info. My brother and I always wondered how he knew our names, ages and where we lived. I don't remember how old I was when I finally figured it out.

Chuck said...

So THAT'S how they did it! I knew that the guy talking to us could see us from an undisclosed location, but I could never figure out how he knew my sister's and my names.

I'd been having a "homesick for Knott's" moment and was hoping for a return to Knott's sometime soon. The other night I even had my wife make the berry pie recipe in the Knott's cookbook (although we had to substitute blackberries since they've stopped carrying frozen Boysenberries in our local grocery store). Thanks for posting!

Chuck said...

TokyoMagic! - I just looked through your Goldie's rebuild posts, and the final product only shows the NE corner of the building. Did the periscope in the SE corner make a return in new structure, or are they using something like CCTV nowadays?

Chuck said...

TokyoMagic! - I just looked through your Goldie's rebuild posts, and the final product only shows the NE corner of the building. Did the periscope in the SE corner make a return in new structure, or are they using something like CCTV nowadays?

TokyoMagic! said...

Yes Chuck, the device was rebuilt and it is still used today! There is a link at the bottom of that post that will take you to more construction pics showing other angles of the building, but I don't think those photos show the finished periscope device.

Major Pepperidge said...

Thanks TokyoMagic! I always assumed that the voice of Joe was hidden away, not out where people could interact with him!

Chuck, if you make it to Knott's, I'd love to hear a trip report! On my last visit, the boysenberry pie wasn't quite as amazing as I remembered it - but it was still good.


Anonymous said...

Any TV or movie westerns filmed there?

Chuck said...

If we make it, I'll be happy to submit a trip report. If we don't get to Knott's, I'll just make something up as usual.