Knott's Viewmaster
It's taken me long enough, but I'm finally posting scans of the third vintage Knott's Berry Farm Viewmaster reel. See reel one here, and reel two here.
"Old West 'Mellerdramer' in Bird Cage Theater". Thrills and chills galore! Not to mention the pretty girl in the red dress.
A helpful reader identified some of the folks in the photo. On the conveyor belt, Melody Westmorland. Red dress, Kathy Battistone. Top hat, Ronnie Morgan; Hillibilly, Jon Stuart.
"Butter 'n Egg man soon loses his money." At least he still has plenty of butter and eggs. Those scheming hussies know that he'll do anything if you tickle him with a feather.
"Crazy things happen in the Haunted Shack by RR track." So crazy that these clean-cut kids turned into hippies the very next day.
"Visitors tour Independence Hall replica at Knott's". When Walter Knott was trying to eke out a living by farming (in the desert!) I'm sure he would have never imagined that he could build something like this one day.
"Knott's Liberty Bell", in case you couldn't tell what it was. It sure looks like the real McCoy!
"The Declaration Chamber". I remember buying an authentic-looking copy of the Declaration of Independence at Knott's, but am not sure if there was a gift shop here or if I bought it elsewhere.
"Thanks for visiting Knott's. Please come again."
9 comments:
""Butter 'n Egg man soon loses his money." At least he still has plenty of butter and eggs."
LOL
There's a guy who is enjoying his job.
What an amazing thing, the Independence Hall replica. Every time I see it I'm amazed and inspired too. It speaks for itself by its presence.
Yet the cynic in me wonders whether some of the subsequent folks haven't viewed it as a burden.
Excellent post - amazing clarity for such tiny images! NICE WORK!
It appears the set budget was rather low for the Bird Cage Theater!
Major: No memory malfunction here. Somewhere hereabouts was a souvenir kiosk. I bought a large sized Liberty Bell from Knott's in faux bronze and no doubt they had the usual Declaration of Independence too.
The Knott's bell, along with the Marineland wax dolphin and the Disney Haunted Mansion Mystery Box all met a similar fate when I "outgrew" them in the 9th grade. Perhaps they are keeping each other company in a landfill a la Toy Story.
Tim, it looks like the simple sets were part of the charm of the show.
Katella Gate, I'm sure we all have stories of treasures from childhood that we carelessly got rid of!
In the Bird Cage photo, from left to right, Unknown, Ronnie Morgan, Kathy Battistone, Jon Stuart.
And on the conveyor belt, Melody Westmorland. Red dress, Kathy Battistone.
Thanks Jimmy!
another great post! they just keep on coming ;)
we always enjoyed doing the Haunted Shack-type stuff anywhere we went...we were cool!
In the conveyor belt picture, the "unknown" hero saving the day by throwing the switch to "off"' is Champ Gabler.
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