Kellogg's PEP Military Insignia Buttons, 1943

Here's something different! Among my many collections you'll find a lot of pinback buttons of all kinds. And you know I love a complete set! Today's examples come from 1943, smack-dab in the middle of WWII - a set of 36 pins featuring military insignia, given out in boxes of Kellogg's Pep cereal (one pin per box).

I find the history of these pins to be fascinating, and of course there are the great graphics that seem to concentrate on air & bomber squadrons. Here are the first four (in my order, anyway). My favorite is the one on the left, with the grinning pilot, looking forward to dropping that bomb. You'll notice a number of pins with American Indian-inspired designs, probably because they looked cool. The 25th Bombardment Squadron pin is odd, is the axe-wielding man wearing swim fins?  And how about a turkey for the 27th Fighter Squadron?

For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, the inks used on these wartime pins were particularly susceptible to chipping and wear, so it is pretty difficult to find these in decent condition. One person said the inks were meant to be child-safe, though that doesn't make much sense to me, considering that they all have a sharp brass pin on the back. Plus, did they make things "child safe" in 1943?

The rabbit riding a bomb is fun, is he wearing boxing gloves? The 34th Bomber Squadron "thunderbird" (?) graphic is particularly striking. And the creepy bat of the 44th Fighter Squadron gives me the willies.

I'm guessing that there was some ingredient that would normally have been used (bald eagle oil?), but was unavailable to Kellogg's during the war years. I thought my set was in pretty nice shape, but seeing them blown up reveals many flaws!

Here are four bombardment squadron pins, with animals dropping bombs, a gloved hand punching downward, and one large bomb heading straight toward its target.

We have two insignia with classic American iconography - Uncle Sam's hat, and a leaping bison. There's also a mischievous red devil for the 96th Bombardment Squadron, and a flying Pegasus for the 103rd Observation Squadron.

Some wartime insignia included some humor... the 306th Bombardment Squadron has a man with a swim cap holding his nose while dive-bombing. To the right are more American Indian influenced graphics.

Walt Disney's artists (particularly a man named Hank Porter) designed many striking military insignia, though none of those was used on these pins (perhaps there were rights issues?). The bear to the right resembles the slightly-angular characters you might see in an old Felix the Cat short. Sort of.

A two-tailed imp rides a bomb (or is it a torpedo?), while throwing a bomb. I think I need to upgrade that one. I particularly like the tough tiger on the Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-224 insignia. And to the right, another Indian eagle graphic that looks like it would be right at home on an old piece of native earthenware.

Flying animals were a natural choice for Bombing (and Scouting) Squadrons. And I like the details in the Navy Patrol Squadron-23, with the ship's compass and what might be the Big Dipper. 

A red dragon delivers a bomb for the Navy Torpedo Squadron-3. The classic cartoon bomb (black circle with a fuse) makes for an appealing insignia for the Navy Torpedo Squadron-32. And the rabbit for VO-3 looks a lot like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, though that's probably a coincidence.

Here's a colorful ad for the insignia buttons, presumably a store display of some kind (scrounged from the internet, not in my collection). I guess I lied about having a complete collection, because there were an additional 8 (I think) different larger pins featuring various fighter planes and bombers. And some of those 8 pins have variations, so you need to look for a total of 12 pins. PLUS there is one rarity that was possibly never actually released to the public. They are expensive and I just never got around to looking for those.

As you can see, kids could get a nice felt beanie cap that would be the perfect place to display their insignia pins and show their support for our boys.

Here they are, all together!

Whew! That was a lot of work. I hope you have enjoyed these military insignia pins. Just a few years later, kids would be able to collect a famous set of 86 comic character pinback buttons from boxes of Pep cereal (stay tuned for those!).

Frontierland, November 1961

Here are two pretty nice photos, taken (I assume) from the top deck of the Mark Twain as it churned along the Rivers of America. Well, OK, maybe this first one is merely average, but I still like it. Being November, the trees are not as lush and full as usual, but there are some Fall colors. It seems as if the saplings along the shore grew so quickly that you had to have a speedy shutter finger - but the important thing is that you can see the dead guy, he always brightens my day.

Now this one is nice! A lovely view of the li'l yellow Mine Train as it trundled past Cascade Peak, where guests might feel the refreshing spray from some of the waterfalls. Once again, it appears as if we would hardly see a thing if this had been June, those skinny trees would have blocked most of the view. Still, my appreciation for the Beautiful MTTNW grows year after year.

Snoozles™

Here we go - two more Snoozles™ for you to glance at before you go to church, or IHOP, or wherever.

I'm generally very happy to find a photo of the Flying Saucers attraction (this one is from November of 1961), but not when they are blurry and too-blue. Admittedly, it was early evening (notice the lights on in the background), and everything took on  the cooler colors of the night. As in most photos of the Saucers, there is hardly any line for this ride.

When I previewed this early 1960s photo of Skull Rock on my light table, I thought it looked particularly pretty, with the last rosy rays of sun giving this natural formation a warm glow against a slightly violet sky, but wouldn't you know it - it's blurry. Bummer.

Universal Studios Orphans

My cache of vintage Universal Studios slides is getting smaller and smaller by the month (it's the humidity), but I just scanned a bunch. Among those were five orphans. Ordinarily I would have immediately sent those orphans to go work in the nearby woolen mills and coal mines, but first I thought I'd share them with you in one magnificent post.

First up is this August 1977 view of the entrance marquee (aka "sign"). Check out that font! "More curlicues!", an MCA executive shouted. "But boss!", whined the flunky. "The people want curlicues, and that's what we're gonna give them!", the boss said, waving his stinky cigar around flamboyantly. In the background, "Victoria Station", which was brand-new in '77. It was a restaurant, and one site claimed that it was "the social hub of the park, where visitors could bump into stunt performers from Miami Vice after their last show".  Sonny Crockett might've bummed a fry from you.

Next is this scan from January 1976, featuring Bruce, the (dead) shark from Stephen Spielberg's mega-smash hit from the previous summer, "CHOMP". The guests look a little tentative, as if Bruce might still have some life left in him ("I think he blinked!"). I used to like to stand near this tableau dressed as Captain Quint, and I would burp the alphabet. Everybody just assumed that I was part of the show.

OK, I admit that this scan from February 1988 is not that great, but at least that flash flood is not heading directly toward us. As I learned a few years ago, depending on where you are seated in the studio tour tram, you might barely be able to see what's going on (if you can sit near the middle, do it). As I've mentioned before, there is a dead tree that slowly falls over due to the fury of the flood waters, and it's always fun to look back to watch it reset.

Alright, alright, this one isn't so good either, but what do you expect from an orphan? It is from August, 1969, and as you can see, the tram is about to enter a terrifying ice tunnel, aka The Glacier Avalanche. The tunnel would rotate around you, which was truly a dizzying effect that made me cry. It appeared in a Bigfoot episode of "The Six Million Dollar Man", famously. Later it was retooled into "Dante's Peak Volcano", and then "The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb", before being torn down in 2013 for the incredibly lame "Fast and Furious Supercharged" abomination. 

And finally, from October 1977, we see two guests meeting the Phantom of the Opera (whose real name was "Kyle"). In spite of his hideous appearance, Kyle found himself loved and admired at Universal Studios. He eventually married, had three kids, (Phineas, Phoebe, and Phil) and then retired to a spacious home in Simi Valley. A happy ending indeed! 

I hope you have enjoyed these photos from Universal Studios.

Vintage Halloween

Happy Halloween! It's one of the most popular holidays (?) on Urf, its influence continues to grow like the mutagenic mushrooms in the 1963 Japanese horror movie, "Matango" (that one used to freak me out when I was a kid!). With Halloween being on a Friday, I have the feeling that it's going to be extra crazy for some folks. I have a few vintage Halloween-related slide scans to share with you.

First is a fun and very vintage photo scan contributed by Sue B. We don't know much about this image, besides the fact that it has a group of children wearing costumes - it might not be a Halloween photo at all. But I like it, so I'm including it! Is that gray line in the background the ocean? Now that I see that, I can't "unsee" it. The girl to the left has a paper hat that seems to read "Fireman (?)", and she definitely dresses the same as the Los Angeles Fire Department. Another girl wears a holster and brandishes her six-shooter. I'd hoped that I could read the sign held by that girl near the middle, but Photoshop couldn't help. Thanks for the fun photo, Sue!

Sue wanted to include this next photo because, on the surface, it is just a nice picture of the Castle Moat. BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE KILLER SWANS? Not the usual white swans either, but black swans. Those are extra-explosive!

Next, from my scans is this one from 1962; we see this sister and brother posed on their weird sofa. "We made the back small and passed the saving on to YOU!". I'm assuming that this was taken before trick-or-treats, since that plastic bag looks empty - although there is what appears to be a big fat paper bag right next to it. Mysterious. The older boy is dressed as Yogi Bear,  who would rather have a pic-a-nic basket. His little sister is dressed as a pink rabbit, which is also my costume this year.

The next two are undated, but from a party from the 1970s (I believe). There's quite a gathering of kids. As is often the case, girls use the occasion to get extra dolled-up. Sweaters and jackets hint that this is somewhere chilly - I remember trick-or-treating in the snow when I lived in Pennsylvania. Boys always love to look scary or silly, but I particularly like that astronaut costume. If you happened to be wearing one a few years ago, you probably could have boarded the Space Shuttle with no problem.

Same party, different kids! You've got your classics like Raggedy Ann and a Devil, a young boy who has his minimal "Lone Ranger" mask, and then a few others I can't identify. Is the girl in the lower left supposed to be a Sea Monkey?? The two "twins" with the long blonde hair are weird. The girl touching her face - no idea.

 I hope you have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Haunted Mansion Snoozles??

When going through a batch of slides, there are the inevitable few photos that will be crummy, for one reason or another. We know them as "Snoozles". And, as you know, I'll share a lot of those on Sundays, just in case they provide some tiny amount of entertainment value. BUT, when scanning a batch from December, 1976, I found two photos from inside the Haunted Mansion that were barely-acceptable. I almost threw my computer into the Grand Canyon. But then I decided that they weren't such bad little slides after all!

Yep, that's a chandelier alright. I wonder if this prop had been used in Hollywood movies? Those big prop houses have everything.  Of course this is from the big ballroom scene, one of the most spectacular sights in almost any ride at the time (and maybe even still). There are some ghosties having fun up among the crystals, but you can barely see them here.

Here's a contemporary photo of the scene, scrounged from the Internet. Look at those crazy ghosts! There's one of Cleopatra's handmaidens, and she's flirting with a fellow who might be a serf from medieval days? Please correct me, I know I'm wrong. A Dickensian fellow has had five too many, but it's not like he's going to get hurt.

Next is this mysterious and abstract image, with blurry blobs of color. TERRIFYING blobs of color! It wasn't very difficult to place this scene, but it was still fun to do the research.

Here we go! This is another photo picked from the Internet, I'm sorry I did not keep track of where it is from. But you can see that we're in the graveyard scene, where spirits from many eras seem to be enjoying a spot o' tea, while others ride bicycles in endless circles. 

I hope you've enjoyed these Haunted Mansion Snoozles™!

Frontierland Publicity Pix

Here's another batch of vintage publicity photos, shared with us by the Mysterious Benefactor! He's not as spooky as he sounds.

A band of scurvy pirates disguised as suburban nerds (what a great name for a band) looks hungrily at the Mark Twain, dreaming of seizing it for their own evil purposes. "We'll take it out on the high seas! Aaaar!", said the girl in the red velvet dress. Mom obviously thinks that it's a great idea, she has already knit eye patches for everyone.

If you build a fake rock, kids will climb it. "Gorilla's Law". That girl is at the top, because she is the most ruthless and bloodthirsty of all the children. Do you think she won't use nunchucks to repel the boys? Think again.

Well, it's pretty clear who's in charge now. Look at that girl, laughing scornfully! The boys (and one younger girl) are trying to put on brave faces. 

We all remember the time when a pack of Newsies invaded Tom Sawyer Island. All of the regular guests who happened to be on the island were forced to read giant old-fashioned newspapers from front to back -  even the comic strip "Momma" (by Mel). But it's OK because the Newsies then sang and danced their way into their hearts.  

And finally - well, I already educated you about "Gorilla's Law". Those kids can't stay away! In this case they are climbing Castle Rock, I don't ever remember seeing it surrounded by trees as it is here, but then again, most photos that I have are 20 or 30 years older. I hope there are no Newsies at the top of Castle Rock.

THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!

 

Two Randos

Randos. You know the drill by now! Let's start with this view of some topiaries, as seen in a backstage area visible from the Disneyland Railroad. This one is from October 1965, which is from about seven months before It's a Small World would debut on March 30, 1966 in Fantasyland. If you remember, we had another view of topiaries in the same area, only from about two year earlier - it amazed me that they were already working on them for Disneyland before IASW had opened at the New York World's Fair.

On a side note, GDB friend MS sent me a link to an episode of the old "Disneyland" TV show - all about "Disneyland '61". The whole thing is a fun blast to the past, hosted by Walt himself. If you skip to 1:45 into the episode, you'll see Walt present a fairly amazing concept for topiaries that never came to pass. Many thanks to MS for sharing this with me (and by extension, with you)!

Speaking of 1961, here's a scan from a slide dated "October, 1961", it almost feels like an "oops" photo. "Dangit! I didn't mean to press the button!". And yet it is still kind of fun, with the yellow Monorail's tail cone in the extreme foreground - that boy has a great seat, and you can tell he's pretty happy about it. In the distance is the classic "Old Tomorrowland".

A Pair From July 1962

It's a mixed bag today - one nice scan, and one "meh" scan. But we must carry on. 

First up is this look at some boys (it's ALL boys) waiting for their turn to ride the Tomorrowland Autopia. Based on the date, those should be the Mark V vehicles (in case you are keeping a tally). Just visible in the distance (and through the trees) are the yellow passenger cars of the Disneyland Railroad. It's too bad one of the Monorails wasn't passing overhead, that would have made this an extra-great pic! 

Next is this somewhat mundane look at the Matterhorn and Skyway. Both of these slides had shifted to blue, and as usual, I seem to have a tough time restoring those to anything that resembles normal colors. I'm sorry that we didn't get a bobsled sighting.

Snoozles, August 1970

Here's a pair of Snoozles™, with "issues" that are typical with these less-than-wonderful photos. Both are from August, 1970.

I enjoy a nice Keelboat photo, especially when the boat is passing the waterfalls of Cascade Peak. Both the Keelboats and Cascade Peak are long gone, sadly. This isn't even a terrible photo, some of the focus is off, though small portions are relatively clear, which is due to Dark Energy. If you look carefully, you can see some guests on their Pack Mules in the upper right.

In general, don't point your camera at somebody when the sun is practically in the frame with them! I learned this from Alfie Adams (Ansel's evil twin brother). A woman is posing near the top of Castle Rock, but we can barely see her. Sure, she has her cloaking device turned to 50%, but even so.