Monday, January 04, 2010

Hail to the Chiefs! Knotts & Disneyland, August 1963

From a small group of August 1963 slides come these images of a group of adorable kids posing with Indian Chiefs at Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland.

The Chief at Knott's doesn't look too happy, but inside his heart is as warm as a fresh blueberry muffin. I think I have the same shirt that he is wearing. Those kids are probably enjoying cups of ice cold boysenberry juice - man, do I remember how good that stuff tasted, especially on a hot day! In the lower left you can see a rack that held extra war bonnets in case guests wanted to get into the spirit of things. In the background some folks are peeking into a building... any idea what the scene was inside?


Same kids, different day, different park, different Chief. He is smiling in spite of the fact that one little girl appears to be standing on his toe. In the background, one of the dancers visits with other children, while a shy boy in his Donald Duck squeaky hat waits his turn to meet the the head honcho.


This photo was really dark, and I lightened it up as much as possible without it getting too grainy. The littlest girl has that pasted-on smile familiar to so many photographers. The Indians performers seem to be enjoying their celebrity status, and the lady to the left thought that the tent was el baño.

4 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

I'm pretty sure that's Chief White Eagle in the top pic. To the right would be the Knife Shop (torn down years ago) In the distance is Barrel House, which SHOULD still be there....at least it was last time I checked. Beyond that would be Boot Hill. The Barrel House peek-in had a guy sitting in a chair in a small room with a bed and a table.

Chiana_Chat said...

Well they didn't have to tear too hard, TokyoMagic! It looks ready to tear itself down. I wouldn't be surprised if some impudent young hoodlum kicked that post out one day and that whole side of the self-deprecating cutlery just sliced right open.

Beautiful, the kids and the Indians, actually.

And Maj, you got me with the with the kid standing on poor Chief's moccasin and finished me off with the woman from the new el baño. My sides ache...

Nancy said...

these are so nice. the oldest girl very much reminds me of myself at that age (i looked about the same in 1963) and in my family we have 3 sisters and a brother as well

photos like these are priceless! :) thanks for sharing them

Dave Meek said...

Great photos of the Indian Village - always a favorite place for me as a kid. It always felt so remote and removed from the rest of the park, like you were really way out in the boondocks somewhere. I can still remember the smell of old leather inside those tepees!