Old California Views

I admit that this is an oddball selection today. But that's what can happen on "Anything Goes Saturday"! 

First up is a scan from a slide that I am pretty sure is from the 1940s; a parade of some kind is going on, with a western theme. "Rogers Stables", says that banner. Will Rogers? Well, no... Trav Rogers, actually. Who he? He was a noted civic leader, developer and founder of the Ranch Club. In about 1940, the Trav Rogers Stables were built at 1445 N. Sunrise Way. The original building, a dining room, flanked on either side by box stalls for horses, was to become the Ranch Club. The stalls were later rebuilt into rooms for paying guests. With the genial Trav greeting arrivals with his familiar, “Hello, Hello, Hello,” and Frank Bogert serving as manager, the Trav Rogers Stables soon became the place to go, the center of desert social life.

Many of the members had well known names—Freeman Gosden, Charlie Farrell, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable, Bruce Cabot, and Jackie Cooper, who manned the drums many a night. Palm Springs became used to having Trav’s stagecoach and wagons furnish the backbone for most of the early parades down Palm Canyon Drive, before it had lighted palm trees.

Neat! I should add that I had a second slide featuring this parade, with quite a lot of stuck-on mystery gunk. I looked up "How to clean old slides safely", and one article recommended a special chemical, which I purchased. After applying some to a swab, I was horrified to discover that all of the emulsion wiped off like marker off of a white board. OOPS.

Here an old "linen-style" postcards; the inset in the lower left shows the El Dorado Hotel exterior, seen in the first scan. Imagine seeing Clark Gable and Bing Crosby just lounging around. I'd call them "Clarky" and "Bingy" (just don't call Gable "The Clarkster", he hated that).

I like old photos of hotels and motels, and this one just happened to be on top of a stack that I was about to scan. The  Rancho 101 Motel - all I could really find out about it is that it was in San Diego, along US 101. 

There are several old postcards from what I assume is the same Motel. Here's one, the place looks charming and rustic. 

And here's another one:

Each room has a radio! You won't miss Fibber McGee and Molly.

I hope you have enjoyed these oddball images.

Beautiful Fantasyland, 1973-ish

Here are two pretty views of Fantasyland! We'll begin with this shot as seen from the rail of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, looking down on the Mad Tea Party and the surrounding dark ride façades (Mr. Toad to the left, and Peter Pan to the right of that). It's busy but not too busy, and the late afternoon sunlight makes the colors "pop". I just noticed that we can just see the top of the Anaheim Convention Center in the upper right.

Next is an even prettier view, looking out from behind the waterfalls of the Skull Rock grotto. Gorgeous! I miss the Chicken of the Sea mermaid, but tell myself that she is enjoying her retirement in tropical reef, preferably with a few treasure chests scattered nearby.

Main Street Scenes, April 1973

If this first photo was really taken in April, then it was getting late - the sun set at around 7:00, and I don't know about you, but that is way past my bedtime. Many guests are heading toward the exit, but why walk when you can ride on a Horse Drawn Streetcar? I'm trying to figure out what the fellow with the plaid pants (on the Streetcar) is looking at - I can't quite place it.

Upon further reflection, I considered that the item in the fellow's hands might be one of these mini-postcard books with a comb binding that were very popular souvenirs. There are two different versions (with different covers).

Whatever he's looking at opens in a similar manner, I can't think of anything else that matches (though I could easily be forgetting something).

This was the image that I thought was the most similar to what we can see on his booklet; it's pretty close, but I'm not sure it's spot-on. Other Disneyland postcard "fold-outs" changed many times over the years, with pictures added, updated, or dropped; perhaps these booklets were also updated? I don't have a representative sample.

ANYWAY... next is a view of Town Square, also from late in the day. Why are there three (or possibly four) security guards patrolling the area? There's an FBI guy too, trying to blend in (and failing). Seems excessive. I like this unusual angle, Town Square looks very inviting, there are plenty of benches for people-watching. There's something about this particular photo that makes me wish I could be there on a day just like that.

 

Main Street USA, June 1971

Here's a pair of nice views looking down Main Street in the summer of 1971.

There's clouds in the sky to mitigate the sunshine, but it's not quite June Gloom. The Disneyland Band is marching toward Town Square, and judging by the size of the crowds, there must have been a full parade, with the band bringing up the rear. It could have been "Fantasy On Parade", which ran from 1965 to 1976 (with another run in the 1980s). I notice a young girl in a half-blue, half-yellow dress that reminds (somewhat) me of the cast member costumes from Tomorrowland (though of course those were futuristic jumpsuits). See some of Mike Cozart's photos HERE.

A second photo is a bit more sunny, which is always nice. The sign on the Market House shows that one of the sponsors was Burry's Cookies. The rest of the scene is "the usual stuff", but it's a beautiful scene!

Stuff From the Box

Here are the last few pins FROM THE BOX - but never fear, I've already photographed another 40 items from another box! 

First I have two beautiful employee pins from TWA, one with a green stone (a real Colombian emerald, no doubt) and the other with a pink stone (that is probably a genuine Burmese ruby). I have no further information about these - one fellow told me that they were given out to employees after flying half a million miles, but I can find no verification of that. I actually have two additional TWA pins that have the same shape, you'll see those someday.

Next I have photos of three railroad-related pins, beginning with the one from the Chicago, Minnesota, St. Paul, and Pacific RR - presumably given to somebody after a quarter-century of service. What does "V.E.A." stand for? Very Eager Aardvarks? No idea. But one of YOU will know!

Another fun railroad item is this "Careful Club" pin, given out by the Northern Pacific Railway's "Bureau of Efficiency". Puzzled shrug. If you spend less than two hours a month putting pennies on the tracks, you were automatically inducted into the Careful Club.

I've established a theme in today's post, and there's not going back. Well, OK, this is the last railroad item, I'm sorry I lied. It's another swell enamel pin, from the Rock Island Railway. The Twenty Five Year Club, ah, the days when you'd get a job and happily keep it until your well-earned retirement!

General Electric?! He outranks me - I didn't expect him to show up, and my hair is over my collar. This little pin was given out to some happy person, celebrating their 15th year with company. 

I obviously have some affection for the sunflower motif used by 1936 Republican Presidential hopeful Alf Landon (Governor of Kansas), since you've seen an item or two from his campaign on this blog. This is a nice enameled metal lapel pin. FDR won the election in a landslide, and Alf left public office. He lived until the ripe old age of 100, passing away in 1987, incredibly.

Say! There's always more Stuff From the Box!

Sleeping Beauty Castle - March 15, 1957

I realize that Sleeping Beauty is under an enchantment from the evil Maleficent, but I still wish she'd help with some of the chores. I'm sick of waxing the portcullis while she snoozes! Even her woodland friends are no help, they just smoke clove cigarettes by the wishing well. 

It's time for yet another pair of photos of Sleeping Beauty Castle; but this first one is prettier than many. It's surprising what some grass, flowers, and trees will do for a scene. For some reason not many photos were taken looking at the Castle from the east facing west. Try not to worry about that chemtrail in the sky!

This one is also quite nice, with the Disneyland Band marching over the bridge in their blue uniforms, which I kind of thought had been phased out by 1957. I'm not sure why, since I think they look quite spiffy. A father and son are really cramping the Band's style, but they paid $2.50 to get in (that's $9,000 in today's money), and nobody's going to tell them what to do. A Horseless Carriage sits, wishing that it actually had a horse pal.

 

Hippos

You know what? Hippos are weird looking. We're used to them, but yikes! Those gaping maws, those tusks (I'll be the world's first hippo orthodontist), and everything else. I used to read that hippos had pink sweat because there was blood in their perspiration, but have since found out that this is a lie. Their sweat is pink because they are full of sweet frosting.

The jungle is full of many weird and frightening insects, and hippos are the weirdest and most frightening insects of all!
 

Laudable Locomotives March 21 2026

I have a small batch of scans featuring some old locomotives in vintage photos; people seem to like those, so here we go!

First up is this October, 1963 image of a beautiful steam locomotive. I originally labeled this as a "mystery loco", but then noticed that the red rectangle on the side of the cab had words (hard to read on this jpeg, I admit). "Torch Lake"... well that's specific! The Quincy & Torch Lake Railroad (Q&TL), an affiliate of the Quincy Mining Company, was a 3-foot-gauge shortline railroad located at Hancock in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, not far from Torch Lake. It...  was designed to take copper-bearing rock from the Quincy Mine downhill to a mill, and return coal uphill to power mine operations. The line was reactivated in 1937 as World War II-era demand for copper caused the mine to reopen. The mine and the railway were shut down permanently in 1945. 

Here's a vintage photo of the engine, from the Henry Ford Museum website - the museum acquired the locomotive in 1969, and you can still enjoy a train ride, pulled by this venerable machine. It’s currently the oldest operating steam locomotive in the U.S. and one of only two locomotives built by the Mason Machine Works left in the world. COOL! Read a bit more about it HERE.

Next is this unusual photo of a nice miniature train, with a film crew in action. The slide was labeled, "Colo. RR Museum, Johnny Cash", and is dated "August, 1974" . Johnny Cash?? Sadly, he's not in this picture, but... on November 22, 1974, CBS ran his one-hour TV special entitled "Riding The Rails, a Musical History of Trains".  Most images that I've seen from this TV special show full-sized locomotives, so I really don't know why this very nice miniature was used. Maybe because of weasels.

Facebook had this behind the scenes photo of Johnny taken while filming the program. "How much longer do I have to sit here, fellas?". "No more than two hours, Mr. Cash". Johnny looks heavenward and shakes his head.

I hope you have enjoyed these Laudable Locomotives!

The Skyway, November 1961

It's time to visit the RESTORATION CORNER again. As I explained once before, I have a small lot of slides that turned various shades of red and pink. But I saved them, hoping that I might be able to restore the color, through the magic of Photoshop. Today's examples turned out especially well!

This unrestored view is unpleasant to gaze upon, there's no denying it. All that gross orangey-pink! But you can see that there is still some color information remaining, so it's (hopefully) not a lost cause.

And hey, what do you know! Now it looks pretty great! As always, I see things that I might have done differently, but at some point you just have to pronounce the thing "DONE". It's nice to see some blues, greens, and yellows. I particularly like this composition, with the Skyway gondola in the upper left, a Casey Jr. train below, and the Skyway Chalet to the right - the photo must have been taken from the poop deck (heh heh) of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship.

Speaking of the Skyway, here's another photo that has turned a revolting shade of magenta that makes me want to do crime.

Say! That's much better. I wonder if the people in the green bucket are friends or family, or if they just happen to be looking directly at us. I'm pleased with the color now, but noticed that Screechy's plumage is usually a lovely blue, yet it appears gray here. I blame society.

Fantasyland Views, May 1960

Fantasyland; the most "Disney" of all the lands. Not only would you find Mr. Toad, Peter Pan, and Snow White there, you'd find Monstro D. Whale there too. It made him feel pretty good to be included, but don't expect him to show it. He keeps his emotions close to the vest - except for RAGE. (I'm the same way, as people have met me can attest). Things look pretty sleepy in the park, the wait to ride a Canal Boat can't be more than five minutes. The door to the little lighthouse is open, and a cast member is fiddling with a stack of boxes. What could they hold?? Treats for Monstro?

Next is a standard view as seen from the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship; at first I thought that the Mad Tea Party was closed - but there is a single teacup with a pair of guests. Crazy! I'm not sure I ever noticed that there were small Japanese lanterns above this ride, even back then. Besides the familiar dark rides, we can even see the Red Wagon Inn and City Hall.