Scenes From January, 1977
Let's all wish our friend Dean Finder a very Happy Birthday! As is often the case, Sue B. sent along a vintage birthday scan (not a Lou and Sue photo) for our viewing pleasure. I like the old-fashioned decor; a water heater in the kitchen seems unusual. And those drapes! I need a suit made out of that fabric.
It's not just Dean's birthday either; Sue's father, Lou Perry turns 95 today! Incredible. And she sent along this great picture of Lou, she says that this photo was taken during his honeymoon in Florida - a mere 25 years old at the time. Happy Birthday to Lou!
Two late additions: Sue B. and some relatives from out of town celebrated Lou's birthday a few days early; here he is enjoying his cupcake. Thanks for these fun photos of a great guy, Sue!
I have a small batch of slides dated "January, 1977" - for some reason, views from the late 1970s are not common. I'm thinking that slide film was falling out of favor, based on zero research or evidence. But my Magic 8 Ball™ confirmed my theory! ("You may rely on it").
First up is this nice shot of the ticket booths and Main Street Station on what appears to have been a chilly and breezy day. Every scrap of Christmas decor is gone, pretty impressive. Of course in those days the decorations consisted of a few wreaths, some garlands, and that's about it.
I wonder if the clock is accurate? It sure looks like later in the afternoon than 1:20, but then again, it was January, and the days are short.
A local high school band marches through Town Square and on their way up Main Street. Everyone gets to bundle up except for the baton twirler, who must suffer for her art.
Stay tuned for more from January, 1977!
22 comments:
Bravo, and Happy Birthday all!
Slides were still alive in '87 when I dove in, but a few years after that...nada
Thanks Major
Major-
It's a big birthday day. Many happy returns of the day to both Dean Finder and Lou.
The [flopped] label on the hot water heater says "Perfection" - and who am I to argue with that-? I see Lou is standing next to a 1954 Ford.
There's one way to 'eliminate' the rust stains on the retaining wall: Just paint right over them-! It works every time.
Thanks to Sue and the Major.
Those look like real Gardenias in that glass swan on the table (first pic). Something on top of or above the water heater is plugged into the stove. When I was a kid, our stove had a an electrical outlet in it, just like that. I don't remember us ever using it. I wonder if someone had to scrub the family's laundry in that washtub on the floor? Or maybe that kid got scrubbed in that tub!
Great pics of Lou....both past and present! I love his Disneyland hat, and what we can see of his DL sweatshirt!
In that last pic, is there a name above the "U" on everyone's chest? Everyone in the band, that is. I can't make it out, but it looks like there is something spelled out on that diagonal design.
A very happy birthday to Dean and Lou! And as always, thanks to Sue for the fun birthday image! Thanks to the Major, too!
Happy Birthday, Dean! Gettin' older, I see. Happens to all of us, if we're lucky!
That's not a water heater, it's an "Orgasmatron" as seen in Woody Allen's "Sleeper". This family was ahead of its time; not many '40s (or '50s) households had one.
I also like the lemon-lime curtains; they're lickable! The lemon orbs taste like lemons and the lime orbs taste like snozzberries! Those salt & pepper shakers on the window sill look awfully familiar. I think we had a pair like that; maybe still do. The sagging, leaning, drippy cakes in these birthday photos that Sue regales us with, are always amusing. As Tokyo! noted, Is the water heater plugged into the stove (or whatever that appliance is)? Maybe there's a toaster atop the heater. Actually, now that I look a little closer, the image seems to be reversed; I think that says "FRONT" on the stove. I won't mention the bucket with the dishrags in it, because I don't know what it's for. (Some people call them "dishcloths", but we're not that fancy.) Looks like Buster just turned two; happy birthday, Buster!
And a very special Happy Birthday to Lou Perry! Thank you for taking all the photos that we enjoy here on GDB! Wonderful pictures of your dad, Sue. Thanks!
Oh! Major has some photos, too! ;-) I think you (and your Magic 8 Ball) are correct about slide film being less popular by the late '70s. I know from personal experience that we almost always had prints made by this time, not slides.
1) Heavy jackets. Peoples' hands in pockets. Are you sure this isn't Fairbanks Disneyland?
2) Poor Mickey. He's even more sparsely vegetated here than he was in Sunday's Snoozles. Looks like he has a case of the Green Measles.
3) I bet the baton twirler slathered herself with goose fat to protect her from the biting cold, like English Channel swimmers do. Looks like the band uniforms have "N U" emblazoned on the front. Anybody know what "N U" stands for?
Tokyo!, I think the 'sash' on the band members' chests says Arizona... maybe.
Thanks again to Sue and Major for the photos.
JB, I've seen similar salt and pepper shakers in antique malls and flea markets, on multiple occasions. I think they often had faces painted on them, and those colored tops are supposed to look like they are wearing "chef hats." If these have faces, then they are turned so that we can't see them.
JB (again), thanks for deciphering the first part of "Arizona" on that "sash" design. Maybe the N. and the U. stand for "North Utevak," Arizona? Or North Utting? Or is the "N" actually an "A," and the initials stand for Arizona University? Maybe someone will know and chime in later today.
Happy birth-Dean to you,
And happy birthday to Lou!
Gorillas aren't monkeys,
But they still fling their poo.
So weird to see all those winter coats at Disneyland! They look like they're all waiting for the premiere of Frozen, a few decades early.
Around here N.U. stands for Niagara University. I had a friend who was a majorette in high school, and she said they had heavy body stockings to wear under their skimpy uniforms on cold days. The picture's not HD enough to see if the young lady in the picture has anything like that, so maybe she IS using goose fat. HONK HONK!
YIKES!!! Those curtains bunched up around the water heater !!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dean & Lou!!!! I know Lou had a party for his 95th… I hope Dean did something fun too.
Oh, don't worry about the curtains; I'm sure they contain plenty of asbestos.
Happy Birthday Dean and Lou! Many Happy Returns of the Day!
Major, that citrus suit would definitely be in the Charles Phoenix oeuvre.
I will conjecture that the water heater in the kitchen is a modernization of a house that was (maybe) too old for indoor plumbing and so the appliance had to be shoehorned in wherever there was space. Our old house on the farm had the water heater in the bathroom, but Dad built a little cabinet around it so it wasn’t exposed to view.
Great pic of young Lou and his cool ride.
1977 was the best Disneyland, no doubt. I wonder what happened to the retaining wall under Floral Mickey, I can’t see it clearly since it is now painted Go-Away Green. Please see my recent comments on an earlier post for some info on the former wall.
Mmm goose fat.
Thanks Major, fun stuff today.
JG
walterworld, it’s true, I was given many hundreds of (non-Disneyland) slides from a person who kept using the slide format into the early 2000s. But I’m sure he was the rare exception.
Nanook, I’ve never seen such a perfect hot water heater. It’s a thing of beauty. The “go away green” on the wall in front of Mickey is an odd choice, but I guess it worked better for people taking photos?
TokyoMagic!, real Gardenias! What is this, Buckingham Palace?? My stove has a plug, which I do use (for my electric teakettle - I don’t drink tea, but it’s great for instant ramen). I’ll bet that tub had multiple uses, included baby washing. I think the word above the “U” on the bandmembers says “Alien”. They aren’t even trying to hide it!
JB, didn’t some crazy person (someone tied to William S. Burroughs) actually make something called an “Orgasmatron”? Or maybe it had another name, I forget. Snozzberries? Whoever heard of Snozzberries? I feel bad that I never detect the flopped images, but then again, it gives you guys something to do, and keeps you out of the speakeasies and pool halls. Being January in Anaheim, it could get chilly if a system was coming through. I say that, but today (February 28) is sunny and already bordering on “warm” at 9:15 in the morning. Ugh! It’s going to be a miserable summer. Goose fat works well for English Channel swimmers, but baton twirlers will be too slippery. And that could cause accidents. BAD accidents.
TokyoMagic!, I can’t “throw stones”, being a collector, but I’ve always been a little baffled by collections of salt and pepper shakers. That being said, there is an endless variety, and maybe they look cute if you have them displayed nicely. Just be sure to dust them! “Arizona”? I like my version better.
Melissa, thank you for pointing out that gorillas aren’t monkeys. It always drives me crazy when people call the great apes “monkeys”. Maybe I should switch to decaf? I think you’re right about the heavy stockings (“flesh colored hose”), but it still looks like they would be chilly on a cold day.
Mike Cozart, Dean Finder finally realized his dream of bungee-jumping off of the Sydney Opera House. I hope he sends us pictures! ;-)
Melissa, in cartoons they used to show stage curtains with “ASBESTOS” on them, and I had no idea why. But now I know!
JG, the citrus suit would be a good one to wear when Charles Phoenix’s boysenberry suit is at the cleaners. Good thought about the water heater, I know we lived in some very old houses when I was a small child, I’ll be they had some wacky plumbing adaptations too. I suppose “go away green” is a fine color to paint that wall, but it just looks weird to me. What’s wrong with purple??
Melissa, my what a 'pleasant' little ditty! Fits right in, here at GDB.
Big Happy Bday Lou! Thanks for having the vision, making the investment in film and development, then sharing your window into a wonderful world. Much appreciated.
MS
Birthday wishes are in order today to both Dean and Lou. And look at that young Lou..he was quite a catch for Sue's Mom. He still has that twinkle in his eye at 95. Thanks for sharing such personal photos with all of us Sue. I hope he knows how much he is appreciated by us here at GDB.
Being an early afternoon in January after the Christmas Season, I am a bit perplexed to see so many at the ticket booth. This is slow season and with limited operating hours, there shouldn't be that much demand that late in the day.
In that first shot I noted the galvanized tub behind our little birthday boy thinking that his parents were ready to put him in it if he somehow made a face-plant in the cake. The hot water was close! KS
Major I like your idea from a few days back of painting the wall pink with sparkles.
I'm telling you, this retaining wall consultancy idea has legs, could be a real money-maker. You wear the citrus suit to the meetings and sell them on the concept, I'll follow up with the technical details...
JG
Happy Birthday, Dean! February 28 is a wonderful date for birthdays. (It was also my mom's birthday.)
Nanook, I 'flopped' that slide especially for you!
Melissa, 'Hallmark Cards' just contacted me. You're hired!
Thank you, Major and everyone, for all the smiles and laughs - and especially for all the wonderful birthday wishes for my dad. I'll read everyone of them to my dad. You folks mean a lot to us!
Happy birthday to the Dean of Disneyland Photographers and the Dean of Dean Finders!
The Perfection Stove Company made kerosene-fueled stoves, heaters, and hot-water heaters. Although there was obviously electricity in this house at the time the photo was taken, we tend to forget that rural electrification didn't begin in earnest in the USA until the 1930s and there were still farms that didn't have electricity until the early '50s.
I am positive that that is the Northern Arizona University marching band. Their uniforms are in the school colors. The baton twirler looks to me like she is wearing flesh-colored leggings. Wise woman.
Chuck, thanks for the Northern Arizona University confirmation. Well, not exactly a confirmation, but close enough. (If you're wrong, you get all the blame.)
Happy belated to Lou and Dean! I am forever giving out "belateds"...much to my chagrin. Looks like Mickey is spartan again in the early growth season for flowers: this photo seems to communicate more "completeness" than the previous posts. They tried the go-away green, but you can still see the rust stains. This is all from the sprinklers: sprinkling and sprinkling and sprinkling. That drainage hole in the center is an eyesore as well. It seems that if people are looking at these things, they have bigger problems. I say this to team mates who are overly concerned about ceilings 14 feet above and want them painted..."if people are looking at the ceiling...we have bigger problems..." For decades after opening day it seems that the overall feel of the main entrance is unchanged. It's only now that the gate is a shell of it's former self, completely out of touch with these early days. If you would like to buy a ticket now at the gate from a booth, I hear it's quite the lengthy process: how very ridiculous. Technology is great when it is...but some times it absolutely is not. The major-ette...looks like she's wearing tights. All these people need to toughen up. It's California: how cold could it be? When people at work complain about the cold- especially in CA...I tell them to do a few push ups or do laps around the building: "that will warm you up!". It's gotta be crazy Chicago cold for me to don a "puffy coat". The trees in Town Square are those marvelous Brazilian peppers: they were so wonderfully pruned. Zoom in on them and you can see where they have so meticulously pruned them so the branches take new directions to fill the tree out. Once again: happy Birthday to Lou and Dean: According to Astrological findings: those born on Feb 28 "strive for perfection, and have intuitive nature". Two very good traits! Thanks Major!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAN AND LOU!!!!!!!
Oops, that was Stu29573...
Bu, my first trip to WDW as in February. You could really tell all of us Northern tourists from the locals by who was wearing shorts and t-shirts and who was wearing sweaters and coats.
Thanks for all of the birthday wishes. I spent the day at the Magic Kingdom at WDW and finally got to ride the Tron coaster. I've been wanting to ride a light cycle since I saw the film in 1982.
I didn't have a citrus pattern suit, though it would fit right in my wardrobe.
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