I love this great photo of the Medicine Show! The sign tells us that Dr. Mal De Mere is selling a product that will cure all and restore youth. According to one website, "...the 'snake-oil salesman' would pull a bald(ing) guy out of the audience to ply his trade (he'd close a curtain,put a gorilla mask on the guy,then open the curtain back up)". Sounds kind of funny, actually! The audience looks great in their early 50's fashions.
As the sun sets, the Stagecoach rattles past us. Like the train, the stagecoach was held up regularly. The Sheriff in the next photo was too busy having his picture taken with pretty ladies! Disneyland's Stagecoach only lasted a few years, a victim of either low capacity or safety issues. Did the Knott's version last longer? I don't remember seeing it as a kid.
There were no scary, big-headed, costumed characters to pose with at Knott's. Instead you could have your picture taken with a real Indian brave, the Sheriff, or one of several bearded propectors. The Sheriff looks to be around seven feet tall! Meanwhile, the Indian chief waits to pose with a mother and her two daughters...just in case, he carries a spare war bonnet as a gesture of peace and friendship (I know, it's a "war bonnet", but it's cool!). In the background are some adobe ruins, made even more picturesque by blooming bouganvilla vines.
The stagecoach is still running at Knotts. It is a very fun ride although the lines are usueally pretty long.
ReplyDeleteAfter posing with a family, the Indian would say, "I work for tips."
ReplyDeleteOne afternoon, after work, we saw him don a beret, get into his Porsche, and drive home.
You could also take your picture sitting on the Character Benches", featuring either the grizzled prospectors or the dance hall floozies!
ReplyDelete"There were no scary, big-headed, costumed characters to pose with at Knott's."
ReplyDeleteActually - there were! Anyone remember "Whittles"? He was a giant-headed miner walk-around in the mid-1970s. Apparently he scared the hell out of the kids, so they got rid of him.