Thursday, October 09, 2014

More Black and White Snapshots, June 1960

Today I'm finishing up the last of a small batch of black and white snapshots from the summer of 1960. This time we don't get any Barb or Margie, just our boy Jack. 

Jack's wife must have thought that he looked especially fetching in the tropical area behind the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, because all three photos were taken right there. Some people might guess that Jack was an accountant, or maybe a math teacher, but I think that he was a Systems Analyst. He could run his fingers over a computer's punched-paper card and know what it said!

Notice (to the left of Jack's head) the Mickey Mouse shield from the front of the Fantasyland Theater.


Do you think that his wife (I think it was Barb, aka "Babs") realized that she had black and white film in her camera? This reminds me of the early B&W episodes of "Gilligan's Island".


And here's one last look at Jack, standing next to a sign that says, "LAND AHOY! Come again! and 'til then… keep your own galley well stocked with Chicken of the Sea Tuna". Aye aye, Cap'n!


12 comments:

Chuck said...

Wow - Mickey Mouse shielding. I guess they wanted guests to have some place where you could go the get away from the merchandising.

Oh, wait - this was pre-Pressler, wasn't it?

I always love pictures of the area in back of the Tuna Boat, particularly before they decided to add color. It's not readily apparent from these photos, but was Skull Rock there yet? I know it was built in 1960, but none of these shots seem to be pointed in the right direction to confirm or deny it.

Melissa said...

I guess the fabric for Jack's trousers came cheaper by the acre.

K. Martinez said...

I love vintage black and white snapshots of early Disneyland. If only I could locate our family photos in which I remember several of them.

According to the Disneyland Encyclopedia, the Fantasyland Theater was known as the Mickey Mouse Theater at the date this photo was taken.

Thanks, Major.

Chuck - With the bamboo and lack of rock work on the lagoon shore this photo would be pre-Skull Rock. Construction would begin near the end of summer and the new Skull Rock Cove area opened around the Christmas holiday season in 1960.

Chuck said...

Thanks, Ken!

Anonymous said...

Jack definitely has that FORTRAN swagger...but Babs never really understood the "Real Programmers Don’t Use Pascal" bumper sticker he put on the Chevy.

Love the shades, Jack!

Bill in Denver

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, it is very important to shield against anthropomorphic mice! Yes, Skull Rock wasn't there quite yet, but it would be very soon.

Melissa, he later invented "parachute pants", made popular by MC Hammer.

K. Martinez, you need to find those photos! ;-) As for the MMC Theater/Fantasyland Theater, I actually thought about that, but once again I was in such a hurry to compose a new post that I didn't bother. I was pretty sure somebody would let me know if it was wrong!

Bill in Denver, neither Babs nor I get the "Pascal" joke. All I know about computers is that you have to tell the little man who lives inside what to do.

Connie Moreno said...

These are real beauties. No offense to Jack but I am loving the backgrounds, LOL.

K. Martinez said...

Major - I don't think your caption is wrong. Whether it's the Fantasyland Theater or Mickey Mouse Club Theater, it's still the same movie theater showing Disney cartoon shorts. It's like the difference between the Indian War Canoes and the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes. A canoe is a canoe. It's mostly a name change to fit into the current ideas of that time.

As for those b&w photos, I have to figure out who in the family has those.

David said...

It was only towards the end of the day that Jack got tired of Babs telling him to "stand like a man." By this third picture posted, he was angling out his hip and ready to sass shay towards The Mad Tea Party and do some Spppppiiiinnnniiiinnnggg!

Melissa said...

I'm acting in an all-female production of Julius Caesar, and we had a bunch of movement workshops to teach us how to walk and stand like men. We were joking that next time it would be easier to do an all-drag-queen production of Julius Caesar. Then we found out we have a bunch of tap dancers in the cast, so we spend a lot of breaks doing scenes from the all-tap-dancing Julius Caesar. "Friends, Romans, countrymen,lend me your ears" *jazz hands*

Chuck said...

Melissa - the mental image I have of all three productions you describe is priceless!

Melissa said...

We had our first sword-measuring contest the other night. I won. *swagger*