Knott's Berry Farm

KBF on GDB! Let's go. This is a random selection of slide scans. 

First up is this shot of Seldom Seen Slim, who used to be sort of an unofficial mascot of Knott's. The prospector with his trusty burro, wandering the west looking for gold. Gooooooold! It makes me sad that Slim and his burro (I call him "Biscuit") have been removed, it seems unbelievable that there wasn't room for this statue anymore. Slim was based on a real person named Charles Ferge. I'm unclear as to when the SSS statue (sculpted by Claude Bell) was installed, though it appears to be on souvenir maps going back to the mid-1950s.

Seeing that statue reminded me of an email exchange I had with TokyoMagic! a few years back, when I'd seen this screen grab from the Wim Wenders film "Paris, Texas". Right next to Harry Dean Stanton is another "miner and burro" statue that looks nearly identical to the one at Knott's! Here's what TM said: I'll tell ya... that door in the background has "Wheel Inn" on it.  That was the restaurant next door to the "Cabazon dinosaurs."  Claude Bell created the Cabazon dinosaurs and ran the Wheel Inn for a while, and I had heard... and have seen accompanying pics to back it up, that he had a duplicate of his "Miner and Burro" statues from Knott's, outside of his restaurant.  I wonder if those statues are still there.  I think the restaurant closed some time ago. Interesting! I sure hope that at least one of these statues still survives somewhere.

Next is this September 1970 view of a mine shaft up on a precipitous hillside (or is it a cliff?). I assume that this was taken from down in the "Gold Mine" where guests could pan for REAL GOLD.

Here's an undated photo of the #40, the "Gold Nugget", I believe that the people in the foreground are standing in Boot Hill, enjoying the humorous grave markers. Is that the Haunted Shack to the left or just some other shanty? 

And sticking with the train theme, here's the #41, the "Red Cliff".  It's kind of an impressive photo, back when there was so much open space around Knott's. Not to mention the eucalyptus trees that somehow added so much to the look and feel of the place.

More Fun Photos

I'm continuing a look at some souvenir Fun Photos from the "Photo & Art Gallery" in Tomorrowland. 

As I said in the first installment, these souvenir photos were placed in a frame that was also a handy mailer, in case you had friends or loved ones to entertain. Here's one of them!

This particular Fun Photo seems to be pretty scarce; a family ("Honored Guests") has been presented with the key to Disneyland, probably by Walt Disney himself. Say, the mom is quite the tomater!  

Here's another envelope variation...

And the photo shows a happy family in the nosecone of the Monorail as it curved through a mountain pass (???). This example shows issues common to these old Polaroid souvenirs, with streaks, blotches, and discoloration. I suppose nobody thought about how they would look 60+ years later.

Stay tuned for more FUN PHOTOS!

Nice Frontierland, September 1962

Here are two swell slide scans from September, 1962! Let's begin with this great view of the Bertha Mae Keelboat gliding along the River with a full compliment of passengers. I wonder, if they brought back Keelboats (It'll never happen of course), would they be popular with guests today? The ride looks like a pleasant way to spend 10 minutes (or so).

Over on Tom Sawyer Island, we're up on the upper walkway in Fort Wilderness, the "civilized" outpost of the Frontier. Folks are milling around the Regimental Hdqrs., where Andy Jackson chatted with Davy Crockett and Georgie Russell. A girl in a pale pink dress waves "hello"! 

Blurzles™

Yep, it's Snoozle™ time, with these falling under the sub-category of "Blurzles™". As if often the case.

This first one is from the 1950s, and might have been a pretty photo of a Casey Junior Circus Train chugging through the patchwork quilt of Storybook Land, but our photographer was a little bit jumpy. It's not a total loss though, the late afternoon sun makes it kind of pretty.

Next, from 1967 or 1968 comes this dynamic composition with the yellow Mark II Monorail coming toward us on the elevated beam. Pylons! And posters! Not as many posters as I'd like though. The Disneyland Hotel is in the distance, the Monorail has just come from there and was on its way to Tomorrowland, which is pretty cool.

 

A Hotel and a Motor Lodge

I selected two rather random slide scans, but there is a theme (as you can see by the title of the post). Where can you stay when you go to Palm Springs or Santa Barbara? Stay tuned!

This 1963 scan was a mystery to me. Sure, we can see a funky place called the "Dunes Hotel", with that distinctive whatsit out front. A pergola from outer space? With the name of the hotel,, and the desert-ish environs, I thought that this might be on the outskirts of Las Vegas, but it is in fact Palm Springs. The Dunes is still around, and has been updated; it looks clean and modern. But they seem to have lost the Venusian pergola.

Here's a vintage postcard...

Next is  this undated (but certainly 1950s) photo showing two well-dressed ladies near the ocean (you can see a pier in the background), with an avenue of stately palm trees, which is apt since they are at the Ocean Palms Motor Lodge. It was simple enough to find out that this was in Santa Barbara, CA. I believe that it is now known as the Ocean Palms Resort Hotel, because motor courts are squaresville, daddy-o.

We love vintage postcards! Typically the dead fronds on palm trees are trimmed off, but somebody wanted to be sure to provide a good home for rats.

Another vintage postcard!

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Palm Springs and Santa Barbara.

Nice 50s Slides

Disneyland slides from the 1950s! They're hard to beat. Today's examples are really nice - starting with this great Fantasyland view, filled with the usual riot of colors and patterns. Overhead, Skyway gondolas move to and fro... 

... with Holiday Hill (no Matterhorn yet) and the tallest of the Skyway support towers.
 

I kind of love this view of three coatless men posing just outside the entry gates (and near the ticket booths). This is not exactly the typical group of Disneyland visitors, I'd love to know why they are there together, apparently without spouses. They probably heard all about the Mad Tea Party and couldn't wait to check it out for themselves! A stiff breeze blows the flag over Main Street Station eastward, along with the men's ties. The bowtie is always impeccable.

Beautiful Fantasyland, 1960s

Fantasyland has always been the most "Disney" of all the lands, with its movie-themed dark rides right near the Castle. It had lots more to offer as well, as we can see in this first great photo, taken (I presume) from a Skyway gondola as it backed into the Fantasyland chalet. There's the beautiful Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, the Mad Tea Party, the Carrousel, Casey Jr., and even the Matterhorn is part of Fantasyland. 

At first I thought that this was taken during the early part of the day with some low cloud coverage, but now I'm not so sure. The sky is definitely not as blue as in the previous picture. I guess the ship's sails were at the dry cleaners being Martinized, pirates hate dirty sails. For some reason I find those concrete benches painted in cheerful colors to be charming, they weren't used anywhere else in the park.
 

Hello, Captain Guy! I just found a vintage article online that said that Guy Exon played "Captain Kidd". I was never aware that the peg-legged pirate had a name. Meanwhile, that boy in blue is not showing proper deference and will soon walk the plank.

Stuff From Da Box

Whenever I'm feeling a little low, I'll take a luxurious bubble bath (while listening to Kenny G), and then enjoy some Stuff From Da Box! Join me, won't you? I mean for the Stuff, not the bubble bath (which is only for me and my vinyl walrus).

First up is this little employee pin given to somebody at Michigan Bell. Do the three stars mean three years? Or thirty? I would guess that this is from the 1930s.

Next is another employee badge, from the Cadillac Motor Co. Car division, that is. It has a pleasing hexagonal shape, and a mysterious code that only true insiders will understand. What do you think, is this also from the 1930s? Or maybe it's from as late as the 1950s.

Here's a metal badge from the defunct Sambo's restaurant chain. The name did them in, at least partly, though it is taken from the names of the two men who founded it, Sam Battistone and Newell Bohnett. Still, they adopted the story of Little Black Sambo, sanitizing it to a degree. As a kid I loved the idea of pancakes with "tiger butter", and as I've said once before, I discovered that fries dipped in A1 Steak Sauce was a revelation. The last Sambo's restaurant (in Santa Barbara) changed its name to "Chad's" in 2020. 

When I used to go to collector's shows, I was clearly drawn to pins from the Trailways bus system. I think I imagined a romantic ideal of bus travel, probably far from reality. Still, it made me think of the golden age of road trips, exploring post-War America on a budget. Three of these are safety awards, for two, six, and thirteen years (complete with two possibly-genuine diamonds). I was surprised to learn that Trailways was still a going concern: The Trailways Transportation System is a public transport bus service in the United States. It operates a network of approximately 70 independent bus companies. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. Read more about it HERE if you are interested.

What can I say, I have a lot of little employee pins and badges! Including this tiny TWA pin, which I imagine was worn by flight attendants, possibly on their lapels or on their scarf ties (whatever those are called). However, I have no proof, it could have been worn by any employee.

And finally, here's a beautiful little enameled pin from the Spartan Aircraft Company, which I was not familiar with. The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company, headquartered on Sheridan Avenue near the Tulsa Municipal Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[1] Previously known as Mid-Continent Aircraft Company, the company had been reorganized under the Spartan name in 1928 by oil baron William G. Skelly—and operated until 1961, manufacturing aircraft, aircraft components, and recreational vehicle trailers. The company was known for the luxurious Spartan Executive aircraft produced in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

J. Paul Getty acquired the company from Skelly in 1935. After World War II, Getty ended aircraft production and converted the company to manufacturing trailers under the Spartan Manor brand—subsequently ending all production in 1961.

I need to photograph more Stuff From the Box!

Not Disneyland, October 1968

I have a few Disneyland slides featuring this pretty lady in her colorful 1968 dress. We've seen her on the Matterhorn bobsleds, for instance. So, for a moment, I stared at this first photo trying to figure out just where in Disneyland she was standing. "HEY, wait a minute! She's in Knott's Berry Farm!". She's gazing down into the "Gold Mine", where people were panning for REAL GOLD.  What the heck?

Here she is with her friend, flirting with Handsome Brady and Whiskey Bill. They are both wearing the same outfits that we saw in the Disneyland photos, which can only mean that they did both parks in one day. Which seems insane to me, but maybe they were in town for a single day, and they had to cram as much fun into it as they could. 

 

Main Street, April 1963

In my mind's eye, I always picture Disneyland on sunny days with blue skies - maybe a tad warm, but nothing that we can't handle. AND YET... I have so many photos of the park taken on gray, overcast days. California has "weather", it's not interesting weather. Today's April 1963 pictures feel like rain is on the way. They do say that "April showers bring May flowers", after all.

I wonder why the cheerful Surreys were eliminated from the fleet of various Main Street vehicles? They carry as many people as the Horseless Carriages (maybe more). It's a shame, because they are so unique, especially today. And guests love seeing horses at the park! All of the people near the Surrey are fascinated by it, even the teenager. And they hate everything! The nerd in me is happy to see the signs for the Upjohn pharmacy, the Swift Market House, and the golden crown of the Hallmark shop.

Our photographer hadn't walked very far (if at all) when Vesey Walker and the Disneyland Band passed by. Vesey is looking right at us!