Dusk on the Mark Twain, June 1972
I just scanned a small batch of slides from June, 1972; there are some nice and unusual dusk photos in the bunch, which is cool! The two I'm sharing today aren't the most amazing things you'll see, but I still like the general vibe of being on the Mark Twain as the sun dips below the horizon. The colors turn soft and cool, and the lights come on; it's pretty great!
These guests feel shame for not being cool enough to hang out at the bow like the cool kids (that's where you'll find ME). But they are still enjoying the view - I can't tell if we are fore or aft, port or starboard. I think that's Tom Sawyer Island to the right... the man in the groovy striped slacks is wishing he was frolicking along the trails and through the caves. But as we all know, the island is CLOSED AT DUSK. The "waste" can in the lower left corner is... interesting.
The Twain is returning to civilization after three months in the wilderness. The man in front of us looks like he is in a daze - he resorted to eating one of his fellow passengers. There was plenty of regular food, but mistakes happen. Hey, let's go over to the Golden Horseshoe and enjoy the Revue! I've heard that it's a hoot and a half.
11 comments:
Major-
The shock of seeing those 'groovy striped slacks' on that gent was too much for me - I had to lie down immediately-! (Thankfully, I have a fainting couch for just such occasions).
Thanks, Major... I feel much better now.
Disneyland, when the lights start to come on, is my favorite time in the Park. "Magical"! (I bet I'm the first one to say that!)
I know it's the '70s, but guys over a certain age just shouldn't wear striped slacks. It looks like he is trying too hard to be 'hip'. "Waste"... They don't even tell us what we're supposed to waste. Other cans tell us to "waste paper", but this can? Maybe it's for when the bathroom plumbing backs up. Hey, if they aren't gonna tell us what to waste, then I'm gonna get snarky and gross... my mind just goes there.
1972 was the year that the South American rugby team's plane crashed in the Andes. The dazed guy atop the Mark Twain probably heard about it in the news and went a little crazy. Like you said, "mistakes happen". Besides, there are plenty of other passengers aboard. "Betcha can't eat just one". Shouldn't these people be making their way down to the main deck to depart? Isn't the MT about to dock?
Nanook, hahaha!
Thanks for the twilight photos, Major.
In the first photo, we can see that whistle pipe thingy, so we must be facing the stern.
Nanook, my grandmother used to have an antique fainting couch!
Thanks, Major!
Now that I'm thinking about it, that pipe might not have anything to do with a whistle, and might be just an exhaust or steam thingy. I know someone has probably explained it in the past, and hopefully they will explain it again.
I also had groovy "slacks" like Greg Brady and this guy. I'm not sure if this guy is as old as we think he is....they all looked older back then (as we say). If the kids are about 6 or 7....he could be about 27? He looks like business on the top and party on the bottom, with the button up shirt and T shirt underneath. Grandma and some others are fascinated by something on the left. If I were to gander a guess: both of these photos were taken on the port side. Way in the back in the first photo you can see Michael Jackson wearing his sunglasses. Proof that time travel is real. Waste is for paper and "mounted cone on wall" is for spent ciggies. One does not dribble into the other: but it sure looked like that at first glance. Coming into the dock and the twinkle lights have started to come on.... I will agree that this was the best and most magical time of day. The mousekehat girls in the boarding area on the left did not see the "do not climb" sign. Dad looks "oh so worried". Would this fence be 6 feet high today? Someone is wearing a rather dramatic white cape going into the Golden Horseshoe. Capes are awesome, and there should be more worn: even in Summer! What are white pant model type girls talking about with old man? It looks serious! Hope it's before Labor Day. Beard guy looks like every single Norwegian relative in my family: and he's probably related to me in some way. If you get confused about port and starboard: think about the Mark Twain coming into port....and the port side is port....the island side is starboard. When I worked on the Queen Mary...this is how I learned...so I pass it on the world! Note that not all ships come into port on their left side..but it's a good way to remember anyway. Thanks Major.
Yep, TokyoMagic!, the steam exhaust pipe is visible in the first photo. Also, the stairs all angle towards the bow.
Steve, thanks for confirming that! :-)
Yes, the steam vent is toward the stern, so we are about 2/3 of the way toward the bow, on the port side, so the trees are on the mainland. None of this affects Mr. Stripe’s very sensible urge to run wild on the Island. That steam exhaust is one of my favorite Disneyland sounds. That slow “chuff chuff” is unlike any other sound in my experience, hearing it means Disneyland to me.
Those steamboat waste cans must be long gone, I recall them from this photo but last trip, there were the same big chunky ones used on shore.
It’s possible that the white cape is a gym towel and the wearer just came from a hard session of one-on-one basketball in the Matterhorn court. Possible, but not probable. She should be wearing a turban like Madeline Kahn in Young Frankenstein.
Squinting behind the tree to the left is bit of the Power Lines, which is great to combine with the chuff chuff.
Excellent memories of 1972, Major, thank you!
JG
Nanook, striped slacks are coming back! And I’m going to lead the charge! Who’s with me??
JB, I think many people especially like it when the sun is setting and all the lights come on, it adds a special aura to Disneyland that is unlike anything else. I’m going to avoid the “m-word”! I agree, those striped slacks do not look great on that guy, but then again, we’re looking with over 50 years of hindsight. I’ve seen some vintage plaid suits that will make you go blind! But at the time, they were just the thing. So what is the deal with that “funnel” near the “waste” bucket? Is that for tobacco spit? It takes years to be able to hit a brass spittoon to make that “bing!” noise, and Disneyland is making it easy for tobacco-chewing kids. Every time I watch the movie “Alive”, I get so hungry! I should watch “Yellowjackets”, but i don’t have Showtime (or whatever service it is on).
TokyoMagic!, so that’s what it is called! The “whistle pipe thingy”, it is poetic! ;-)
TokyoMagic!, yeah, I think that’s just the exhaust pipe thingy, but it’s easy to confuse the two. As a steamboat expert, just ask me any questions!
Bu, I have plenty of photos of me when I was about 7 or 8 with striped pants, and I think they look good for the time, but I sure couldn’t wear those now, they’d look ridiculous. Ha ha, boy, that guy is a ragged 27. Folks are probably looking at some “wildlife”; I know I’ve told this story before, but when my niece was 8, we took her to the park. While on the Mark Twain, she would say, “Fake”, when she saw something she knew was phony, and “real” when she knew it was the genuine article. Almost every animal she saw was dubbed “real”! Ah, that cone is for cigarettes?? I don’t really get why a cone is needed, but I dropped out of Harvard. I think there are still plenty of climbable low fences for children to fall off of, and I’m glad. They need to learn their lesson, and it might have to be “the hard way”. I sure remember the girls with white jeans in high school, enough said. Not that they ever gave me a second look! Thank you for the tip on remembering which is “port” and which is “starboard”.
Steve DeGaetano, I was thinking that the direction of the stairs was probably a pretty good clue! Now I know.
TokyoMagic!, Steve knows his stuff.
JG, I prefer to wear a nice big houndstooth pattern, for every article of clothing. It makes me both particularly visible, and also acts as “dazzle” camouflage. I also love the sound of the “chuffing” on the Mark Twain, it’s one of those formative memories! I honestly don’t remember trashcans on the steamboat at all, but if they didn’t have them, guests would probably just drop their garbage into the water. The jerks! That white cape is kind of striking, I think a woman could definitely get away with that. A man, though… I doubt it.
Major, I think the funnel thing in the foreground is a stack of those cone paper cups in a holder. Maybe there's a watercooler just out of frame.
Dean Finder, interesting, your theory makes sense; I do believe they served drinks (at least) on the Twain for a brief time.
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