Knott's Berry Farm, January 1967
I love old photos of Knott's Berry Farm; but today's examples were juuuuust barely worth sharing. Dark, not super clear, and each slide had a gypsy curse that causes me to turn into a wolf when the moon is full. But then I remembered that I'm doing this blog for free! Might as well post them.
All of today's images are date-stamped "January, 1967", but I'll wager that they were actually shot sometime in '66. The star of all of the photos is the little girl in the blue dress and bright red cowboy hat. She's pretty cute, even when blurry - taking photos from the back of a mule can be tricky. Unfortunately the camera's focus is on the guy with the cigarette. "If I smoke fast enough, I can have two before my wife finds me!".
Golly, Knott's really does have a gang problem. Look at these hoodlums! See the girl with the green shirt? Each flower on her pants represents somebody that she killed in prison. I believe that the rather ugly structure they are passing is the back of the Timber Mountain Log Ride, but I know that somebody (TokyoMagic!) will correct me if I'm wrong.
Meanwhile, if you ever go to an amusement park with a little kid, have him/her wear a red hat - you can see them from a mile away.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a photo of that lumpy wooden Indian before; our little princess needed to rest her feet, that looked like as good a place as any to sit a spell. You can tell by her expression that she is puzzled by that red thing - is it a table for Commies?
EXTRA! EXTRA!
GDB reader/contributor "TokyoMagic!" has shared two photos from his personal archives that are similar to the last two in today's post. As he pointed out in his comment, the second photo actually shows the back of the Calico Mine Train building (not the Log Ride). That's TM's brother (not a young John Gotti) behind the white blob.
And next is a wooden Indian that is similar to the one in the third photo, and yet it is in fact a different carving. It certainly seems to have been done by the same artist, however. Thanks to TokyoMagic! for sharing his photos!
9 comments:
Major-
That gent in the first image attempting to upstage the pretty little miss on the mule is smoking a full-fledged cigar - not even a stogie-! And please tell me that blue dress on the girl resting at the feet of the 'lumpy wooden indian' is homemade. And that 'commie' table is actually made entirely out of pressed boysenberries-!
Thanks, Major.
I'm not sure what the rather ugly structure is that they are passing in the 2nd photo,
but it can't be the back of the log ride- it didn't open until 1969. It could possibly
be part of the Calico mine ride.
That is that back corner of the Calico Mine Ride where the rockwork and themeing ended and you just had the back of a big ugly building.
That Indian figure, ended up next to the "Indian Frybread" window of the Sutter's restaurant in 1984. The frybread product was new that summer and it flopped miserably, so the shop closed and the Indian was taken away. He reappeared later when they put in the "Indian Trails" area. I have a pic from just a year or two ago. I need to find it and compare to see if it really is the exact same Indian. It looks like it to me.
Major, I found my pic of the park's wooden Indian figure from 2014. It's close, but no cigar (no pun intended!). Now I'm not sure if the figure in my pic is the one that was used next to the restaurant in 1984, or if the one in your pic was the one that they used! I'm going to send you my pic from 2014. I'm also going to send you a photo that I found of my brother riding a burro in that exact same spot where the rockwork ends on the Mine Ride building. The photo is dated May 1970.
Li'l cowgirl cutie! The girl in white on the lead horse looks like a miniature Jackie Kennedy.
@Nanook - your comment made me remember the matching dresses Mom used to make for my sister and me. Sometimes she'd put cutesy little appliques on the pocket just like this girl's; we'd each have a different design so we could tell them apart and not argue about whose was whose.
Nanook, Mmmm, there’s nothing like the smell of a cigar. *cough* *hack*. Because you asked nicely, I will tell you that the blue dress was homemade!
Anonymous, OH YEAH! Duh. I hate it when I don’t think.
TokyoMagic!, I know I’ve seen photos of that ugly area before; it’s surprising that they didn’t try to do something to make it a little more appealing, since the public was able to see it.
TokyoMagic! II, thank you for the additional pix… as you can see, they have been added to the post.
Melissa, where’s the pillbox hat? I think it’s funny that your mom used appliques on your clothing. She could have just let you wear completely different outfits! But I know... twins have their own thing going on.
Major-
Just the thought of John Gotti riding a mule at Knott's brings a twinkle to the eye.
Meanwhile, if you ever go to an amusement park with a little kid, have him/her wear a red hat - you can see them from a mile away.
The last time I took a little kid to an amusement park, I ended up running into a wading pool in my socks and shoes trying to find her after she slipped away from me. If I ever take a little kid to an amusement park again, I'm having the little rugrat microchipped so I can keep track of them.
Major, you are welcome. I'm glad that you were able to use the photos!
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