Thursday, May 11, 2017

Wonderful Knott's Berry Farm, 1962 & 1964

I have two extra-nice vintage photos from Knott's Berry Farm for you today! 

Let's start with this great image (circa 1962) of a young girl named Corinne as she attempts to land a wily trout over at the fishing hole. (We've seen Corinne before, at Jungleland, the Indio Date Festival, and at Griffith Park - and possibly one or two other places as well). Just look at all those happy families with their genuine bamboo poles! Tartan plaid was in style that year. Be sure to have a matching thermos. 

I love everything about this picture.


Now we'll jump to 1964, to yet another fantastic, vibrant photo. There's Corinne again, on the back of a trusty mule. There's quite a crowd of kids (and the odd grownup or two) clip-clopping next to the Calico & Ghost Town Railway. Bright colors are definitely more evident, feeling less like the 1950's and more like the 60's to come (for some reason I keep thinking of The Monkees!). 


I like Corinne's pink stripes, not to mention the bouffant hairdo on the girl in the peach top. 


We have not seen the last of Corinne!

9 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

These are some wonderful images. A special shout-out for the fabulous sunglasses featured.

Thanks, Major.

Anonymous said...

Super cool photos, thank you for posting them! A minor observation: Corrine is atop a burro. Disneyland had pack mules while Knott's had burros. Now, of course, neither has either! ;)

TokyoMagic! said...

Fun stuff today, Major! We can see some cars driving along Beach Blvd. in the upper right corner of that first pic. And I like the teeny tiny bow that Miss Bouffant is wearing in her hair in the second pic! How did those people in the distance avoid getting trampled by the hoards of mules? I'm always amazed when I see pics of the mules/burros walking through the middle of Calico Square. I only rode them when they were on a controlled path behind the Mine Train ride and then again after they were relocated across the street to Knott's Lagoon.

Chuck said...

That second photo reminds me how much I hate that paint scheme on No 41, Red Cliff (since renamed Walter K.. Ketchup, brown mustard, and chocolate pudding are not a good color combination. But I love the bright colors in the rest of the photo.

I want a ten-foot bamboo pole.

TommyTsunami said...

I don't know how old the kid in the blue shorts is but he looks like a toddler. No special kid seat required!

Alonzo P Hawk said...

I agree with Nanook, great pictures and those sunglasses are WILD!

The two gals with the white rim jobbies are classic. Looks like the goggles from the "white room TV studio" in Willy Wonka. Or a bit like the skipper, Gilligan and the professor when they had to don the lead paint, glasses and lead covered clothes to fight the cosmic rays from the meteor that fell on the island.

Thanks for sharing photos of kids risking life and limb (and surviving) poorly engineered (by today's standards)safety gear. Life in the fast lane, for burro powered transportation anyway.

DrGoat said...

These are wonderful Major. Take me back to those times please!

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, yep, those glasses would be right in style today. Everything old is new again.

Anon, actually, now that I look closer, I think that they are zonkeys.

TokyoMagic!, yeah, that tiny bow is kind of hilarious for some reason. Think of how much teasing and hair spray was needed for that look. And I’m more amazed at that huge train going right through the middle of Calico Square - it seems amazing that there have been no mishaps over the past 60+ years.

Chuck, I don’t know about color combinations, but one of my favorite taste sensations is the combination of chocolate pudding, mustard, and ketchup. Give it a try!

TommyTsunami, it’s true, that kid can probably barely walk; but he looks like he is on that saddle with no problems. It kind of looks like he is strapped on with a wide leather belt.

Alonzo, Twiggy would look good with those sunglasses! Now that you mention “Gilligan’s Island”, why haven’t we had a big-budget movie, starring The Rock??

DrGoat, OK, I’ll do it. Please send me $30 in spare change and I will finally complete my time machine!

DrGoat said...

Check is in the mail.