More Photos From The Early 1970's
Today we'll be looking at more stereo slides (in non-stereo) from the early 70's. I hope you are all wearing your bell bottoms.
Here's a nice shot of a canoe as it passes a little shack on Tom Sawyer Island. Did this shack serve any purpose, or was it just there for atmosphere? Out photographer labeled this slide "Indian War Canoes" - this is a clue! The attraction actually was called the Indian War Canoes until the name was changed to "Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes" in May of 1971. Could that help us narrow down the date? Another photo shows a "GAF picture Trail", and GAF had taken over from Kodak in 1970.
Unfortunately, our photographer was not very reliable with his labels. For instance, this one says "The River Queen Ride". Phooey.
And finally how about a too-dark picture of the Swiss Family Treehouse (or as the label says, "Fancy Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse")? I am happy to report that the rest of the photos in this series (about 10 more) are not dark, and we even get some parking lot views - always popular with the readers!
14 comments:
Is it my imagination or are the chunkers in the front of the canoe making it rise up out of the water (just a little) in the rear?
The River Queen ride??? I known Mark Twain was partial to white suits and a fancy tie but that's kind of a nasty comment on the photogs part. Sissy boy maybe but judge not lest ye be judged. Looks like the white hair gang is waiting to board for the next trip round the river.
Thanks for the Pics.
The 1970 date and the bush in the foreground of the first picture give us the obvious explanation for the oddly phrased captions on the second two photos. They were shot by Wolfgang, the German soldier portrayed by Arte Johnson on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
"Zey paddle ze var canoe all ze vay to India to bring ze Beatles back? Verrry interresting. But not so grrroovy. Make love, not var."
"I alvays heard rats desert a schinking schip. Mickey Maus von't jump offen ze Schteamboot, Willi? Verrrry interrresting. But goofy."
"Vy vould ze Schviss Fmily Robonson build ze fancy treehaus up in ze tree? Ze Schviss haus is full of holes, and zey alvays are falling out. Verrry interresting. But schtupid."
Alonzo, it's hard to tell about the weight distribution of the passengers, but look at how sloppy their paddle work is! As for white suits, many cool dudes wore those: David Bowie, Mr. Roarke, Steve Martin, so I think our photographer was a bit mixed up.
Melissa - Arte Johnson! Now that's a blast from the past. I had no idea that his German soldier had a name. Your "Wolfgangisms" are spot-on!
I think the little shack was the least-used restroom in the park.
Mark Twain himself might have chuckled at the "River Queen" moniker. Huck Finn does try to get away with female impersonation, and later in the novel, the Duke and Dauphin are theatrical, fairly campy characters.
"Huck Finn does try to get away with female impersonation..."
That scene made a huge impression on me as a kid. The woman he was trying to fool tested him by dropping something over his lap and seeing what happened. She later said a girl would have automatically closed her knees to catch it, but a boy wouldn't. I made a point of observing it in real life and it's ABSOLUTELY TRUE. I don't know if it's innate or learned, but it blew my little mind.
IIRC, my female Grade 11 English teacher used to come to school dressed as Mark Twain several times a year.
I've seen "River Queen" used in reference to steamboats before. It's also commonly found in steamboat names.
Water Queen
Island Queen
American Queen
Delta Queen
Mississippi Queen
There's even a book titled "Mark Twain and the Queens of the Mississippi which is about the steamboats of that era. Also aren't most ships referred to as "she"?
Here's some cool footage of the real Delta & Mississippi Queens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZJ29w_YzaU
Major, I agree with Raimundo, the little shack was a restroom.
Funny story from this era. On one of our visits to the Park, my Uncle came with us. He had never been to Disneyland.
While on TSI, I ran over to use this restroom, having been there many times before. Uncle urged me not to go in there, fearing it would be dirty and full of spiders. Of course, inside was all bright white tile and modern fixtures, where he was expecting a hole in the floor.
So, no, you cannot judge anything in Disneyland by the exterior.
Nice pics today. Looking forward to the rest of the batch.
JG
Yup to join in the "River Queen" conversation, my parents have taken a few overnight cruises on some Queens. I think the Delta and Mississippi Queens specifically. My sister and I were not invited on those trips so I've just heard stories!
Major:
As a former Canoe CM from the early 70's, I wonder if the costume changed around the time of the name change to Davey Crockett. That could make the slide a bit later than May '71. What is pictured is the costume I wore (some of which I still have BTW). In any event, I looked hard at the shot to see if I could tell if it was me in the front of the canoe re-instructing the guests on how to paddle. Not sure. Those were great days. KS
I suppose the "ktwain" of "Mark Twain" could have sounded like "Queen" to someone who didn't see the name on a sign or guide map.
"Fancy Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse" sounds kind of like a wisecrack from a bitter photographer whose spouse was wondering why their place back home wasn't as shipshape, tidy, and creatively appointed as the Robinsons'.
"I don't know, Irma. Maybe because I don't have a fiberglass and concrete factory in the backyard, and a movie studio full of designers at my beck and call, or bluebirds who make pie crust?"
"Well, at least we could have gotten that electric organ."
"When you play the organ, your fingers are like lightning. They never strike twice in the same place. Better a poke in the eye than a polka from you."
"Likewise, I'm sure. You love Swiss meatballs."
"They're Swedish meatballs. But what's a thousand miles between a couple of meatballs? I do like Swiss Miss cocoa."
"Oh, so mow you're going to want me to wear one of those little Swiss Miss dresses."
"Certainly not! That's ridiculous! You'd need at least two, maybe three of them. Speaking of which, we'll have to get a pretty solid tree. A California redwood, or one of them mighty Sequoias. If we're gonna have one of these Fancy-Schmancy Swiss Miss Cliff Robertson Treehouses, it's gonna have to hold some pretty sturdy hammocks and organ benches."
"Fine, George, fine! I'm going to go take the River Queen ride around Tomahawk Island, and the Pyrex of the kerosene. I'll meet you at Freshman Corner for lunch."
"Sure, sure. I wonder if Dr. Smith and the robot were Swiss, too. Hey, maybe they were Swedish. Couple of meatballs, that's for sure. Wait a minute, kerosene?"
Raimundo, I'm not sure I can think of anybody less feminine than Mark Twain!
Melissa, I vividly remember that scene in the book. Now that women often wear pants, I don't know if it would work as well. Are you sure your 11th grade teacher wasn't REALLY Mark Twain?
K. Martinez, that's a lot of queens! I refer to ships as "Ma'am". Because I'm polite. Thanks for the link to the footage!
JG, I kind of thought that I had read that the shack was a restroom, but it seems hard to believe when looking at it from the outside. Is it still there?
PsySocDisney, I guess it's fair, you didn't invite your parents on your Disney cruise!
KS, wow, very cool that you still have your costume. I'm surprised you didn't have to turn it in. I would zoom in on the guy in front, but I think it would just be a blur.
Melissa, you are on some kinda crazy roll! Your banter makes me think of old radio comedies like Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, or The Great Gildersleeves
Major...oh, I should have turned it in, but I was never formally checked out with it, so I got a "freebie". KS
The smoke stacks look different to me....I must be getting too much sun or something!
Hi Major, the little shack is still there, and still a restroom, although enlarged for accessibility. I think the door may have been re-oriented to another side. Used to be off the dock.
There were only two facilities on the island, this one, and one in the Fort. I can't recall if the Fort location was reconfigured after the old building was taken down. We walked by where it was, last trip, but I don't recall seeing anything. Maybe it's "staff only now". You can see some sunshades and what might be a "break room" patio in the middle of the "fort" via Google Earth.
As for reading about it before, I think I shared this story before on another post. The look on my Uncle's face was classic when he went inside.
JG
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