Knott's Berry Farm
Let's all sit back, open a can of creamed corn, and dig in while enjoying today's very nice photos of Knott's Berry Farm, 1950s style.
You may recognize this boy and his mom, they've appeared in other GDB scans in the past. They loved to travel! See a few of those photos HERE, HERE, and HERE.
This first one is unusual, a very nice look at the exterior of the legendary Pitchur Gallery, where visitors could pose for pitchurs against a variety of painted backdrops. You've seen many examples on GDB (look HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE, for a taste)!
Next, the two brothers pose next to some sleepy burros, who went to college (the burros, not the boys) so that they were qualified to operate an arastra (used for grinding up ore). They made big money, let me tell you. Any idea what that cabin in the background was? Besides a cabin, I mean (I'm trying to stay one step ahead of Chuck's shenanigans).
And finally, here's a wonderful picture of the mom and her two boys with locomotive #40, the GOLD NUGGET. The entire loco was made of gold. Behind the train is a tall light fixture (also made of gold), which I believe was used to illuminate the horse arena, where feats of equine fahrfegnügen were performed (I admit that I don't know what fahrfegnügen means). It wasn't terribly popular, and was removed with the addition of the Calico Mine Train.
3 comments:
Major-
I remember well this family: the older of the boys once sported a great shirt and now Mom sports a sleeveless dress. It's hard to keep up with these 'fashion plates'. (Now... where are their "Pitchur" Gallery images-?)
Thanks, Major.
The mom looks like she has an East Indian background, or maybe Greek. While her son looks like his ancestors were Sweepers or ice cream vendors. We don't often see the Ghost Town buildings up close like this. Usually it's a long shot showing multiple structures from a distance.
Ha, little brother needs to learn the fine art of pitchur posin', like his big brother. Looks like he needs some practice. I don't know what's in that cabin, but there sure are a lot people gawking into it.
Seeing these full-size trains makes me realize just how puny the Disneyland trains are. And yet, they're just the right size for the Park. "Fahrfegnügen", wasn't that word used in some sort of car commercials back in the (I think) '80s?
Knice selection of Knott's, Major. Thanks.
That cabin was almost never labeled on the Knott's maps, but on a few of them, it was labeled only as "Cabin" or "Log Cabin." It was actually Aunt Hattie's cabin. Aunt Hattie was the Farm's "spinning wheel lady." She would sit out on the porch with her spinning wheel and give spinning demonstrations. I think we can actually see part of her bonnet-covered head, behind one of those porch posts. And to the left of the cabin, we can see a sliver of the Ghost Town Firehouse
In 1985, the cabin was rotated 90 degrees and moved several yards to the east. At that time, it was turned into a shop called, "Aunt Hattie's Parasol Parlor" where guests could purchase customized and personalized parasols. The cabin was torn down (in the 90s, I think), but replaced with a newer cabin which now sells a variety of park souvenirs.
And in that last pic, the building to the left of the train is a part of the "Bewitched Village." Major, you shared a flyer for that attraction with us, back in April of 2017
Thanks for the vintage Knott's pics, Major!
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