Lovely Frontierland, May 1958
I have a small group of slides from 1958, taken by someone who was clearly enamored by the beauty of Frontierland (out of 11 photos, 9 are from that location). It didn't hurt that they were treated to a blue sky with puffy white clouds, adding to an already lovely landscape.
Where, oh where are all the people? I see a one cast member (red shirt, cowboy hat) aboard the raft at the landing on Tom Sawyer Island, and another person near the distant fort, on the path near the river. Perhaps, for some reason, the island was closed to guests. A second raft is in the lower left, apparently unused.
Your pal Major Pepperidge (that's me!) loves to point out how amazing it is that this scene is right in the middle of Orange County, California, and not Missouri.
The next photo was taken from the upper level of the Mark Twain, facing Rainbow Ridge and the corral (home of the Conestoga Wagons, Stagecoaches, and Pack Mules). With the exception of a Stagecoach driver and a couple of "Redshirts" on the Mine Train, there are no other people. It's downright spooky!
12 comments:
Major-
Where are the people - indeed-! Well, me loves the thought of placing my arms akimbo and just march all around the Park and not bump into anyone. These are some nice images.
Thanks, Major.
These might have been taken during that cholera epidemic Khrushchev referenced during his LA visit.
In that second picture, on the left, is the trestle that was commented on which appeared in another photo posted not too long ago.
Now that I've been gone from So. Cal for a dozen years I'll have to say I do miss a pre/post cloudy/rainy sky. It does have special look there compared to the desert. These are both excellent shots, thanks for posting.
The lack of people reminds me of the first Twlight Zone episode. I expect Earl Holliman to be running around screaming "where are all the people" and the red shirts and stage drivers to be mannequins.
I was going to suggest maybe the park was closed but if it were then those cast members wouldn't have been in their red shirts, would they?
Baffling.
Well, there are a couple of old coots goofing around in the river...
They look like shots from a cast member pre-opening. I'd say that because the Pack Mules have been tacked and saddled. On a day off they'd be horsing around back at the Pony Farm.
These are wonderful. A nice hard-to-find overall view of the old Pack Mule/Mine Train load area.
Daveland has some pics of the reverse angle, these make a good pendant for a set.
Thank you, Major. I'm going to go find a little keg that I can paint red and put a "dynamite" label on. These were always highly sought-after seats on the rafts.
JG
Nanook, I can’t believe you are going to squander the opportunity to swing a dead cat.
Chuck, did Khrushcev actually say something about a cholera epidemic? I thought he just liked to bang his shoe on things.
Steve DeGaetano, you’re right - presumably that trestle was supposed to be for ore carts, so that miners could dump their tailings. I guess.
Alonzo, we haven’t had many rainy skies here lately, that’s for sure. Hey, I just mentioned that very Twilight Zone episode in the comments yesterday!
Scott Lane, there are a few photos in this batch (perhaps from a bit later in the day?) that show a few guests wandering around, or riding the Mark Twain.
Patrick Devlin, can mules horse around? I’ve seen attendance numbers in “Jason’s Disneyland Almanac”, with days in the 1950’s having only 2000 guests or thereabouts.
JG, a fake keg of dynamite is the perfect accent to any decor. The Kennedys added several to the White House when Jackie had it redone.
Great minds think alike. I regret to admit I didn't see all the commentary for wednesday.
Being on sheriff joe arpaio's chain gang only affords me a few days a week to really enjoy all the details of my fav websites. Such is the life of slave labor.
Major, he really did. It was one of his over-the-top "theories" that he posited - along with a secret rocket base and a gangster takeover - as reasons he was denied a visit to Disneyland. Of course, that was a year later, in 1959. But these photos prove just how accurate the KGB's intelligence-gathering apparatus was. I'm sure they had agents planted in Disneyland as early as 1956.
JG, I have a WWII-era bomb casing that I used to use to spice up my office. At Christmas, I would wrap it in lights. I've always had a soft spot for a good-old-fashioned tannenbomb.
@Chuck, sounds like bang-up decorating.
JG
JG, I had a blast with it.
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