I'll admit it. I will. Just watch me! You think I won't but I'll surprise everyone! Uh, what were we talking about? Oh right. I have two "mid" Knott's Berry Farm scans for you. They're OK, but not that special. But I've zigged at the end for a little extra something. The cherry on top. The "Inferno" hot sauce from Taco Bell.
Here's a nice lady (I can just tell) having fun posing with Whiskey Bill. Hey Bill, here eyes are up HERE! The lady is nice, but it's fun to pretend to be a little bit naughty. I never really noticed that Whiskey Bill has a bag, is it full of gold dust? If so, gimme gimme.
Next is a pleasant look at some burro riders, they are not too far from the Calico Mine Ride. I sort of love how the burros went right through Ghost Town. Burros are famously immune to ghost antics, they don't give a durn. Speaking of ghosts, notice the sign in the upper left. "HACK". Rude! Just kidding, it's the sign for the much-loved and much-missed Haunted Shack, which no burro would ever visit because they have no time for such nonsense!
Back in 2017, Heritage Auctions had a bunch of amazing KBF artifacts available, including the 16-foot long wooden sign, presumably the same one seen in the previous photo. As you can see, it went for nearly $9,000 (including the buyer's premium). If I'd had the cash (and the room) this is possibly the item I would have wanted more than any other, in spite of its rough condition. But I spend all my money on the world's largest Beanie Baby collection. More on that in a future blog post!
The description of the lot reads: "Haunted Shack" Ghost Town Sign (1954). The "Haunted Shack," a house of strange phenomena, opened in June 1954. Daily tours revealed gravity-defying mysteries inside that were narrated by the voice of wisecracking "Slanty Sam". This attraction was based on a similar one featured at the Calico Ghost Town (which Walter Knott purchased in the 1950s); the Knott's Berry Farm version closed in 2000. This is the original "Haunted Shack" wooden sign that perched on the roof near the front entrance, measuring a whopping 16' x 21". Years of outdoor use and storage have left the sign in a state of disrepair; it has boards behind it to keep the decaying wood together, but will need restoration. It's without a doubt an amazing piece of Ghost Town history that any devoted "Shacker" will cherish! In Fair condition.
Major-
ReplyDeleteWhat's the 'official line' for situations seen in the 1st image: I'm up HERE-!
"But I spend all my money on the world's largest Beanie Baby collection".
And I was under the impression your preference was towards the Thomas Kinkade Garden Cottages of England Collector's Plates, from The Bradford Exchange...
Thanks, Major.
I always assumed that the contents of Whiskey Bill's bag was gold dust or gold nuggets. I suppose it could be his dirty laundry (from last year!). I like the print on the nice lady's dress, very summery.
ReplyDeleteHmm, looks like there's a plentiful supply of Burro Biscuits™️ that need to collected before they get trampled on and ruined. Once they get trampled on, they can't be used for Mrs. Knott's world famous biscuits and gravy that accompany her world famous fried chicken dinner. No one ever knew the secret recipe for those biscuits. My brothers and I went through the Haunted Shack experience in 1975. One of the few things we did on that trip to KBF after our last day at Disneyland. That, and ride the Corkscrew coaster (long queue).
Well, even though you missed out on getting the Haunted Shack sign, at least you have your WORLD'S LARGEST BEANIE BABY COLLECTION!!! Surely that's better than an old sign that's falling apart?
Nanook, I'm sure Major has ALL those Kinkade plates!
Knott's pics are always a pleasant surprise, Major. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm, it looks like all the comments are going to be in italics. I tried something above, to see if it works to break that, but it's not as if I am tech saavy and know what I'm doing. But maybe it will work.
Major, I think that might be Handsome Brady on the bench. I believe Whiskey Bill is the other guy, who holds a "jug" on his lap.
As a kid, I loved the Burros. I remember riding them when they were located at the end of the Calico Mine Ride, and then also after they moved them across the street to the Lagoon area. But I'm glad that we don't have "rides" like that anymore, that involve animals. Well, at least Disneyland's Horse-Drawn Streetcar horses get swapped out frequently. And their PR dept. likes to tell us that the horses LOVE working. Whatever. But I just bet those burros had to work all day, until the sun went down.
Thanks for the vintage Knott's pics, Major!
Oh, gee! I forgot about the Knott's Stagecoach! I would hate to see them get rid of that attraction! I hope those horses "love" it just as much as the Disneyland horses. :-/
ReplyDeleteI guess my attempt to get rid of the italics didn't work. Nanook, what did you do??? ;-)
I met a collector of Knott’s Butterfield Stagecoach items he also collects Disneyland related Stagecoach items . He worked as a stagecoach driver in the 1970’s and 1980’s - he’s also driven stagecoaches and other horse drawn vehicles for films , tv shows etc as well. He mentioned that the Knott’s stagecoach horses have it very easy for “beast of burden “ and the coaches are switched out often for fresh rested teams. Also the Knott’s stagecoach’s actually move much easier than a real stagecoach and even have specially designed “disc brakes” the wheels like a modern auto wheel also have bearings making them very easy to pull. A empty Knott’s coach can actually be moved by a single person. Now as to why a coach at Knott’s flipped over a few years ago is still not very clear ….
ReplyDeleteThe collector had been a ( Knott’s) Stagecoach driver in the 70’s &80’s.
ReplyDeleteA empty Knott’s coach can actually be moved by a single person.
ReplyDeleteMike, they should have people dressed in "horse costumes" pulling the stagecoaches!
Now as to why a coach at Knott’s flipped over a few years ago is still not very clear ….
When I was working at Knott's, a child fell off of the loading platform and down onto the ground. It "spooked" the horses and they moved forward a bit (or backed up), causing one of the stagecoach wheels to run over the kid. I remember that he was in the hospital for the longest time. The family sued Knott's for not having proper guard rails (the safety gates weren't in place back then. If I remember correctly, there was just one single chain across the top of each loading section.) Knott's counter sued the parents, saying that they were negligent!
Mike, I looked up the incident that you mentioned. If it's the same one, it happened in 2013 when a wheel came off one of the stagecoaches, causing it to topple over on it's side. Two people were sent to the hospital. I wonder if Knott's sued the guests in that case, too? "Those guests should have held on tighter, so that when the stagecoach toppled over, they wouldn't have been thrown from it! It's their own darn fault that they were injured!"
Stagecoach accidents are an authentic and historically correct event. Those guests should have been charged extra for the experience!! Yes I think 2013 was the accident. I was affraid after that Knott’s was gonna end the Stagecoach attraction - but luckily they didn’t . Even today the line for the stagecoaches are always busy.
ReplyDeleteI’m not familiar with the fine points of the KBF figures, but I think it’s marginally more likely for the lady to seek attention from Handsome Brady than Whiskey Bill. He just sounds more attractive and established with his sack of cornmeal grits. I wonder if the figure’s pose was calculated to look “just there” in anticipation of female guests? Mr. Knott was a sly old dog.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I’m glad you know where the burro picture was taken because I would never be able to guess. Burros can see ghosts, so they are never startled or afraid of them, and they don’t understand why we get so upset by them.
I wish you could have gotten that sign, but $9,000.00 does buy a lot of Beanie Babies, and they don’t require restoration, all in an all a win for you. I’m sure your investment will pay off in the end. I sold all my Beanies and bought Enron stock. I live in hope. Thank you!
JG
Nanook, I do love anything by Thomas Kinkade, but Neil Degrasse Tyson already has the best collection in the world, and how can I compete with that?
ReplyDeleteJB, yuck, dirty laundry. Especially in those days. Blarf. Now I know why the biscuits and gravy at Knott’s had that special nutty flavor. I asked the waitress for the secret, but she just gave me a knowing look. I have flashes of memories from the Haunted Shack, it was delightful. I was pretty upset to learn that it had been razed. I do love my Beanie Baby collection, and sometimes I put them on my floor and roll around on them (while singing “Happy Birthday To Me”).
TokyoMagic! hardly any of the comments are in italics! I think you are suffering from Italicsmania. Very sad, but treatable. “Major, I think that might be Handsome Brady on the bench. I believe Whiskey Bill is the other guy, who holds a "jug" on his lap.” D’OH! I know what you mean about rides involving animals. Even the horses at Disneyland who are apparently pampered and loved make me feel a little guilty. I hope the Knott’s burros were well treated too.
TokyoMagic!, I wanted to ride the Stagecoach at Knott’s during my last visit (long ago now), but the line was super long! And I’m sorry about your Italicsmania.
Mike Cozart, wow, now that is some specic, focused collecting. I wonder what that guy has in his collection? Can there be that many Knott’s items relating to the Stagecoaches? I know that “real” stagecoaches would overturn back in ye olden days, I guess you can’t add ballast to make them less top-heavy because it would be too much of a burden for the horses.
Mike Cozart, he should have collected Beanie Babies like I do.
TokyoMagic!, wow, if I could dress like a horse at Knott’s, I would make a fortune, and fulfill my “furry dreams”. I’m sorry that child fell off the stagecoach loading platform and got badly hurt. Sounds like he might have been too young for that ride? Nobody probably even thought that the loading area would be of concern. It does sound like the “safety chain” was not very sufficient. But I don’t like people suing each other. Why don’t they sit down, eat some pizza, and try to understand one another?
Mike Cozart, I would pay extra to ride in a stagecoach that overturned. Of course I’d wear my football helmet to the park and wear it all day just in case.
JG, “it’s marginally more likely for the lady to seek attention from Handsome Brady than Whiskey Bill”. Everybody is against me! It’s a conspiracy! Having seen old film of Walter Knott later in his life, he does not seem like a laugh riot, and yet he found things like Goldies and Handsome Brady to be amusing. People contain multitudes, I guess. I don’t know what I would have done with that Haunted Shack sign, but I just wished I could have it! Enron stock? It will go up ANY DAY NOW!
@ TM!-
ReplyDelete"Knott's counter sued the parents, saying that they were negligent!"
Not that this makes any sense, but... What the hell are you worried about-? This is 1874 - You can to sue her-! .
Gotta love the chutzpah on Knott's part - especially so in 2013. Today Knott's would settle and throw-in a lifetime supply of Boysenberry Jam-!
Major: there are probably more Stagecoach related souvenirs and items for Knott’s Berry Farm than anything else . In fact it appears that a stagecoach has been the MOST associated image /logo with the park starting in the late 1940’s. Even if you remove postcards from the list … it’s still a great deal. There’s all the variations of Butterfield Stage Line souvenir tickets … about 5 different print shop posters … including the very popular “Knott’s Butterfield Stage Passenger Rules” poster .. there’s dozens of ceramics of all sizes … the wooden models … there’s pewter (??) there’s the banks … ashtrays … about 25 different mugs … and there’s the stuff from the 70’s and 80’s … decals … stickers … penants … the attraction poster … there’s the wooden postcards with bob bates drawings “burned “ into the wood , I’ll ask Greg if he’s got pictures of his collection. Because there’s a lot. I’d surmise next to a covered wagon , a stagecoach is the subject of the majority of Knott’s souvenirs over the years. By the way in the last few years there was a current line of Knott’s Butterflied Stage merchandise that included real tin plates , coffee cups and an actual coffee pot - that you could really use camping.
ReplyDeleteThis isn’t Knott’s related but interesting : one of the first families to run one of the several San Diego County Butterfield Overland Stage stations was a window and her children ( the restaurant /lodging accommodations- not the horses and corral) At some point her baby was laying in front of the fireplace hearth and a log rolled out and hit the baby in the head . The baby was ok but the boy suffered from massive re-occurring headaches … thought to have been caused by the log accident. The widow eventually re-married and her surviving children ( the head injury boy died very young ) moved away and her new husband was part of the founding families of the ANAHEIM COLONY. ( Anaheim , California… maybe you’ve heard of it??)
ReplyDeleteHmm, I wonder what the children of a "window" are called?......... panes? :-D
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the Knott's/stagecoach info, Mike. (I'm guessing "Anonymous" was also you?)
"Anaheim", you say? Isn't that where they grow those peppers?
Yeah .. blogger has been doing that to me a lot lately …
ReplyDeleteHere's a little more info about the boy who was run over by a stagecoach at Knotts. It happened on Thanksgiving weekend. The family was from Mesa, AZ. The boy was 4 years old, and he suffered a broken leg, a broken jaw and a collapsed lung.
ReplyDelete"Today Knott's would settle and throw-in a lifetime supply of Boysenberry Jam-!"
Nanook, I'm not so sure. The ride, "Windseeker" stranded riders for more than four hours when it was still fairly new (it has since been removed and sent to another amusement park). That was a ride where riders sit in a seat with their legs dangling while they fly around in a circle.....basically a glorified "Swings" ride, but this version rises 300 ft into the air. That's 100 feet higher than the Parachute/Sky Cabin tower at Knott's. When they finally got the people down, 4+ hours later, all they were given was a free T-shirt. Nobody died, but still, couldn't management have given them a free season pass, or at the VERY least, a return ticket to come back another day. The media spoke with some of the riders and they said all they were given was that T-shirt. I would have asked for a clean pair of underwear! ;-)
Did the shirt read "I got stuck on Windseeker for 4 hours and all I got was this lousy T-shirt"?
ReplyDeleteDean Finder, ha, ha! It should have!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that wasn't the first time that "new" attraction got stuck. I just can't remember how long the guests were stuck up there during the prior incident. It never reopened after the second time. California regulations (would that be CAL OSHA?) told management that they have to have a quicker way of getting guests down in situations like that. So, management sent it to another Cedar Fair park, who's state doesn't give a hoot how long riders are stranded 300 feet up in the air! And NO free T-shirt for you, either!
@ TM!-
ReplyDeleteI remember that horrible incident-!