Snapshots, July 1971
Here's a small group of only three vintage snapshots from July, 1971. Nothing great, but they'll do. They all have a common theme: music.
First up is this photo taken at the French Market in New Orleans Square. with guests protected from the summer sun by those swaths of cloth - kind of an ingenious solution, since a single piece of cloth would act as a huge sail on a windy day, and would probably exert a lot of force on whatever it was tethered to. Anyway, in the distance the Straw Hatters (I think) are performing.
At first I thought that the little girl in the foreground seemed surprisingly interested in that Dixieland music, but then I noticed that Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox are just to our left!
Now we're over at the Carnation Plaza Gardens, with Harry James and his orchestra performing for enthusiastic dancers. Take a look at these photos from a previous post to see Harry in the same location circa 1972.
I almost skipped this one because of the blurry quality, but what the hell. It's parade time in Town Square, and Mickey Mouse is leading the Disneyland Band; a few Dwarfs can just be seen behind the Band - perhaps this is "Fantasy on Parade"? If so, this was the final year for that iteration (though it would return a few years later), since the Main Street Electrical Parade would debut to huge success the following year.
12 comments:
That's a pretty big cigarette that the girl in the first pic is holding. Maybe she rolls her own?
@ TM!-
The Straw Hatters have been known to have that effect on its listeners - but no more so than Harry James had on the lady dancer in the second image, and her wonderful beehive hairdo-! (Big - Bigger - Just Right-!)
Thanks, Major.
Nanook, I was noticing that hairdo. It's looking a little Marge Simpson-ish. How many women were wearing their hair in beehives in the seventies?
French Market is still my favorite of the Disneyland restaurants for lunchtime. Great atmosphere and outdoors.
TM!, since the photo is dated 1971 (early seventies) I don't think the hairdo is that unusual. My mother as well as my aunt down in Southern California had their hair styled like this around the time these photos were taken.
Rough, but they still have that quality we like. Br'er Bear in the backround looks like he's contemplating something profound.
Nice scans; nice work, Major.
I think that last shot might be the Plaza, say over on the west side, but I'm never afraid to be wrong with my guessin'. I wonder if I ever saw the Disneyland Band perform? No firm memory remains if I did. Darn it...
I wonder who processed and printed these pictures? It's too bad photofinishing companies never put logos on the front side of prints so you could easily identify their handiwork.
I'm curious about the crouching woman with the microphone on the left side of the second picture. It looks like she's interacting with the little boy standing next to her, but it seems like such an odd place to do that. I had several friends whose moms were still sporting beehives as late as 1976.
That third photo reminds me of how much I miss the original trees along Main Street and around the Hub. Yes, they monkeyed with the perspective and blocked the view, but they did provide a lot of inviting shade. Is that a keelboat cast member wrangling crowds to the left of Mickey?
TM!, while I know that's just the back of the chair in her hand, your comment made me notice all of the ashtrays on the tables. My, how things have changed in 45 years. I wonder how many people lit cigarettes using the table lamps? Plus, I want those wax drink cups (drink optional). And there's a crowd waiting to enter the Haunted Mansion in the right background. Reminds me of my mother telling me about the huge crowds waiting for the Mansion on our first visit, which also just happened to be in July of 1971. Makes me wonder if I we were walking behind the photographer when this was snapped.
TokyoMagic!, I am of the opinion that it is better to smoke one really large cigarette per day rather than 20 smaller ones.
Nanook, hey, Harry James was once married to Betty Grable, so he definitely had an effect on the ladies!
TokyoMagic!, I think that you STILL see beehives in certain parts of the Midwest.
K. Martinez, I am almost positive that some of my high school teachers had beehive hairdos, and that was after 1971 by a bit.
DrGoat, it’s funny how somebody decided that glossy prints were a problem because you could leave fingerprints on them. We have boxes full of glossy prints that look great 50 years later. Meanwhile, those textured prints always look terrible.
Patrick Devlin, well, they look OK - there wasn’t much I could do about that “satin” texture. The last time I was at the park, the Disneyland Band boarded the Mark Twain while I was also on board. It was very cool to have them play for the whole voyage!
Chuck, clearly these were processed by “Running Doggie Photo Prints”. Maybe the crouching lady was a singer with Harry’s band? If you click on the link above that photo, he had a different female singer. Perhaps she had her kid with her? Your mention of the wax cups reminded me of a recent ebay auction (that I missed), three early Disneyland cups and two Santa’s Village cups (all in mint condition) - they went for around $100. I’ve seen individual cups go for that much!
From the logo on the prints, my first reaction is that these were done by Fox Photos. KS
@ Patrick-
Oh, you knew you were right all along-! That's Coke Corner in the background on the far left (red/white umbrellas); the folks in the front on the far left are standing on/near the Hub; Plaza Pavilion in the center (green umbrellas); and if the camera moved right, we'd see Carnation Plaza Gardens and the Sleeping Beauty Castle.
@ KS-
Fox Photo, indeed.
Chuck and Major, I have a few of those wax cups from that time period that were saved from childhood visits. I also have a clear plastic cup that has the same design "etched" into the outside of the plastic. Remember those? I think they used to put the punches (Space Mist) and mint juleps into those clear cups.
Oh dear, these are wonderful. Thank you, Major,once again twisting the time machine dial.
As Ken notes above, the French Market was a favorite. We seemed to have dinner here most trips. Dad loved the jazz combo accompaniment, although he wasn't a noticeable jazz fan the rest of the time. I know they visited NOLA before my birth, maybe it was an association of a good time for him. All those things we never know about our parents.
@Chuck & TM, I do definitely remember those clear etched plastic cups. We would save our mint julep cups and take home for summer iced tea. Somehow, mine would never last the year, but while I had it, everything I drank went into it until it cracked and had to be tossed. Part of me wishes I had one now, but on the whole, it's better I don't.
I was fascinated by the fabric sunshades as a kid. They were most evident here, but were also used in other locations as well. They seem to be a Disney bespoke design since I have never seen anything like them in catalogs in my career work. I always wanted to use them on a project, but couldn't take time to detail my own. Someone is missing a bet not licensing them for sale since they solve so many problems, as Major points out.
JG
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