Saturday Stuff

I feel terrible that I did not produce anything silly for this April 1st post; as I explained yesterday, it was a case of lack of inspiration, and my few attempts not really working out. SO, that means that this will be just another "Anything Goes" Saturday. Looking through a folder of already-scanned stuff, I decided that I should share a variety of random ephemera. I mean really random. No Disneyland stuff! Just items that are in one of several boxes of junk.

I'll start out with this "Honorary Engineer" pass for Freedomland U.S.A.'s Santa Fe Railway - presumably given out by Santa Fe, though I suppose guests could have received these at Freedomland. The front looks like a typical souvenir pass, while the back is a tiny advertisement for dining on the Super Chief (Whoo-whoo! Anyone? Anyone?). I love this type of souvenir... the kind that mostly wound up in the landfill.

This next piece is a pin made of die cut card stock (with a safety pin on the back), from the 1964 New York World's Fair. The pointing blue finger is similar to signs seen around the Chrysler pavilion - "fingerboards", literally - indicating which way to go to see particular features. 

I don't know if these were given out to anyone who wanted one (the cheap nature of their manufacture makes me think that that's the case) or if they truly were given to people deemed to be Very Important.  Like Pinky Lee.

I love this striking bumper sticker from the early 1960's, advertising Weeki Wachee Springs. What a striking design! I really think it's pretty spectacular, and the sticker itself is larger than your typical bumper decor. Of course Weeki Wachee was famous for its underwater performances by "mermaids", as well as thrilling water skiing demonstrations.

There's something about humble felt pennants that I like, though I generally don't collect them; I have a few, but it's almost like they materialized accidentally. Except for the tiny 6-inch pennant below, from the last day of the original New York World's Fair, which ran from April to October in both 1939 and 1940. So sad that it had to end.

And now for something completely different... how about a paper hat for employees of Kentucky Friend Chicken restaurants, circa 1954? Despite being made of paper, it is fairly sturdy, almost cloth-like; it was probably made from a space age material developed for NACA (the predecessor of NASA), and likely could withstand the heat of reentry. This elegant hat is suitable for many occasions; the opera, town hall meetings, standing behind an "on the scene" newscaster and waving, and so on. Everyone loves the Colonel!

And finally, I have a scan of a scarce-ish flyer from Knott's Berry Farm from the odd, short-lived "Bewitched Village". This feature was located roughly where folks now wait in line for the Calico Mine Train. lasted from about 1956 to 1959; the conceit was that some Ghost Town residents  drank from a magic well and turned into animals. But they still acted like people! Oooooh-Kay. They wore clothes, walked on their hind legs, microwaved some pizza rolls... all the things that you and I do.

You've seen them on Jack Parr, Gary Moore, Johnny Carson, etcetera! Maybe you've even read about them in Colliers. That Raccoon shooting hoops was with the Baltimore Bullets for three seasons! 

I miss the days when a place like Knott's could have such a weird little attraction.

Well, that's all for today. Have a happy April 1st, everyone! I hope you've enjoyed all of this random stuff.