Thursday, March 22, 2018

Frontierland Scans

You know them, you love them, it's more donated scans from the Phantom of the Scanner. He lives beneath the Paris opera house, which is pretty cool, you have to admit.

First up is this lovely shot from 1962; we're standing in Frontierland - barely - looking out toward the Plaza and the snow-capped Matterhorn.


The next three are random-ish views along the river, from February 1965. If the photographer was trying to capture examples of Frontierland's typical flora, he gets a "B". If he was trying to capture Fort Wilderness, he gets a "D minus" with a frowny-face, and a note to speak to me after class.


Hello, Chief Wavy! It's nice to see you. Sorry about the steam, I know it wreaks havoc on your feathered war bonnet. Say, who are your friends up on the hill? All of you should drop by the fort later. we're having Swanson's "Hungry Man" TV dinners. You can have the Salisbury Steak (with apple cobbler), and I'll have the battered fish filet.


Meese. Why did it have to be meese? I've spent a lot of time on lakes in Minnesota, and never saw a single moose up there. I did see one in Canada, but he spoke French, so it was awkward. 


Stay tuned for more Frontierland scans!

13 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Well, there's definitely a lot of flora and fauna a-foot in these images, but the first one framing the Matterhorn so perfectly within the 'front gate' of the Log Fort entrance to Frontierland gets my vote.

(Salisbury Steak, you say-? Now I'm all powerful hungrified-!)

Thanks, Major.

WaltsMusic said...

That's the second back glance picture you posted recently. I like this trend! As for me I'll have the Chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, with apple pie! Was my favorite. We could not afford Swanson's so we had Banquet. Kind of a "D" ticket meal.

K. Martinez said...

The first pic is pretty awesome and postcard worthy. Nice juxtaposition!

As for those last two pics, it certainly doesn't look like that anymore, does it? Extra-nice pics today. Thanks, Major.

Patrick Devlin said...

That first picture shows a favorite view of mine, if a little more up-close than usual: The way the Matterhorn is visible from over by the Frontierland station of the SF & DRR.

It sounds like you share Mr. Jinx's antipathy towards meeses, and I assume that you too, "Hate them meeses to pieces!", Ed Meese not included.

Ah, Swanson's TV Dinners... What are they called these days? I miss the term TV dinner; it evokes a different era. That reminds me: I used to work at a shelter for battered fish.

zach said...


Photo #1, with the backside of sign, is special. I forget to look sometimes.

My vote goes to Swanson's Mexican Style TV dinner with the salsa, rice and beans. Best when done in the oven, not the microwave. It's been years.

I have no opinion one way or the other about meeses. The mention of battered fish made me sad so I was happy to hear they had somewhere to turn.

dz

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, for some reason that first image with the Matterhorn makes me think of Viewmaster images, although I don’t think there is a Viewmaster photo like it. It’s just how my brain works. I like Salisbury Steak too! Gimme some mashed potatoes and I’m a happy person.

WaltsMusic, I suppose it IS a “backward glance”, in a way. My family was certainly not well to do (my dad was in the Navy), but I think that my mom could get groceries for much less money at the commissary, so… we got Swanson’s. I still remember our family (four kids) drank a lot of milk, and the bottom shelf of our fridge would be JUST milk!

K. Martinez, it sure does not look like that anymore. I realize that an untamed wilderness doesn’t bring people through turn styles, but it made Frontierland something special.

Patrick Devlin, to be honest, I like seeing the Matterhorn from any vantage point! Mr. Jinx is one of my favorite characters, or to be more accurate, one of my favorite character voices. Daws Butler was the man. Ha ha, now I can’t help picturing battered fish filets huddled on cots, clutching blankets. So sad!

Major Pepperidge said...

David Zacher, I don't remember the Mexican Style TV dinner! If it existed when I was a kid, my mom probably assumed that her fussy kids would never eat it. Although we did like Mexican food (especially the local "El Torito" restaurant).

Chuck said...

Daws Butler, Don Messick, and Mike Road - the soundtrack of my childhood.

My mom alternated between Swanson's and Banquet, with Banquet being the more common. It's possible that our Air Force commissary stopped carrying Swanson's or didn't keep large stocks - Navy commissaries (as well as base exchanges) had a better reputation back in the day (heck - the exchanges still do, although all commissaries are now run by the same agency).

I remember we used to drive to the Navy Exchange (think "on-base department store", folks) at Mare Island Naval Shipyard from our house near Travis AFB (about a 40-minute drive back then) because there was a better selection of, well, everything than at our local exchange. Occasionally, we'd make a big expedition and drive the hour-plus down to Naval Air Station Alameda. That's where my parents bought my first two pairs of glasses, as well as the slide projector and movie screen they still use. The cost savings must have been well worth it, because my parents have always closely managed their money.

Jonathan said...

Great old photos, I liked Frontierland alot 'cause I liked the old west. That is until John Glenn orbited the Earth, then my friends and I all wanted to be Astronauts over night. The best TV dinner, in my humble opinion, was Turkey and stuffing from Swanson. MMMMMM good. I live in Montana now and the meeses are everywhere. If you don't invite them in for a snack they will eat your garbage can and poop on your lawn. Great pics, thanks Major

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, wow, Mike Road, that’s a deeper cut - I am impressed! I remember how happy I would be when I knew that mom and dad would be going out, and leaving us with a babysitter. Usually that meant the nice girl across the street would watch us, and my mom always left TV dinners for us. It was great! Kind of like McDonald’s was a wonderful treat for a child. Meanwhile, I just went to the base with my mom for the first time in about 20 years - we went to the commissary - a “new improved” building compared to when I was last there. It’s amazing, though… some products are half the price of what you would pay at one of the bigger grocery stores around here.

Jonathan, like you, I liked westerns and cowboys just fine, but it was space and astronauts that got me excited. You can’t ever go wrong with turkey and stuffing! I was a friend chicken kid, personally, but did like salisbury steak too. Can’t recall if I had the turkey. Meese make great pets!

Melissa said...

All I remember is burning my fingers on the hot foil over the brownie that you were supposed to uncover either earlier or later than the rest of the meal.

Nice mountain.

Anonymous said...

I came to comment on the moose mannequin (moosequin) but stayed for the TV dinner comments.

I'll have the salisbury steak also. I didn't know there was a price difference between Swanson and Banquet, I think we just picked them out based on the entree contents. Just to think, those were always a special treat. Nowadays, we would turn our noses up at "airline food" unless there was some unusual circumstance.

Besides, a penny saved is a penny earned. Just ask J.C.

JG

Dean Finder said...

A Møøse once bit my sister... No realli!