Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Snapshots, August 1968

Today's selection of vintage photo prints is so-so in quality, but you get five of them!

There's the famous It's a Small World topiaries. They come to life each night, and the next day the gardening crew finds the animals in different poses. TRUE STORY.


Some folks are enjoying the Snow White Grotto, with it's waterfalls and squirting fish, while others throw good money into the wishing well. "I say, Father, throw a hundred-dollar bill into the well, there's a good fellow". "Why you little! I'll throw you into the well!".


On a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being best, this photo of the Matterhorn rates about a "3".


Sleepy may suffer from acute narcolepsy, but that doesn't stop him from living his life to the fullest. For all we know, he's asleep in this very photo.


And finally, this photo is not very exciting, but at least it is bright and sunshiny, with a raft, a canoe, a keelboat, and the Columbia all in one image.


16 comments:

Melissa said...

That’s what I like to see, lots of traffic on the river. And the kids with Snory, er, Sleepy are too cute for words.

TokyoMagic! said...

There must have been a character cavalcade going on in that first pic. We can see Alice, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, Chip 'n' Dale, Thumper and F-L-O-W-E-R, mixing in with the crowd.

TokyoMagic! said...

In the last pic, we have yet again, another time traveler (far right side of pic). She's giving herself away, as most of them do, by pulling out her Smartphone and checking it.

"Lou and Sue" said...

Major, that bobsled sighting in pic #3 pushes the rating score up to at least 30, don’t cha think??

"Lou and Sue" said...

Those canoes always look like they’re about to sink . . .

Chuck said...

Dark socks and shorts. Glad to see my mother wasn't alone in dressing her son that way for a day at Disneyland.

The last photo features a special guest appearance by the sleepy little mining town of Rainbow Ridge.

So-so in quality, but still, so, so good! Thanks, Major!

stu29573 said...

I vote the last picture for class president! It's clearer and brighter than the others, plus it told me it would get us pizza every day in the cafeteria!
In fact, if that's a raft to the far left, it is just one Mark Twain away from featuring every boat on the river! What's not to love???

zach said...

A bobsled AND two skyway buckets push it to a 50 since we are grading on a curve.

Zach

Andrew said...

Those shade canopies in the Small World shot are similar to the ones that used to be in Tomorrowland outside the Yacht Bar. These pictures aren't the best quality, but the subjects make up for it. Thanks, Major.

JG said...

This is a fine partial tour of Disneyland, Major.

The photos are no worse than any of mine would be from the same era. These are well-composed and interesting.

My personal favorite is the Snow White Grotto, if only for the family connection. A sweet little corner of Disneyland that I hope endures forever.

Thank you.

JG

Kathy! said...

I thought that was an awfully long line for Small World until you pointed out all the characters, TokyoMagic! I like the lady in pink shorts to the right of Sleepy 'n kids, I wonder what was whispered to make her laugh like that.

Omnispace said...

Everyone in the Matterhorn photo seems to be looking up at something - perhaps thinking: "Oh no - that Skyway bucket is going to hit the mountain!" Funny to think it was still the hollow version of the Matterhorn.

I love the last photo. It shows everything that was right about the Rivers of America, before they started to mess with it.

-DL

Major Pepperidge said...

Melissa, yes, the river always looks best when it is bustling! That version of Sleepy is the old kind, before all the Dwarfs were upated.

TokyoMagic!, good eye! I really only noticed Flower, and forgot to point him out in the text, but you’re right, there’s a whole bunch of characters. I wonder if there were even more outside the frame of the image?

TokyhoMagic!, it’s funny how photos like that work; I was just looking at one from 1978, and even though we are behind the person, it looks like the glow of a smartphone screen is illuminating the man’s face.

Lou and Sue, I guess you’re right, a bobsled sighting always improves matters!

Lou and Sue, it is always a little surprising to see those canoes, clearing the water by maybe 9 inches. I’d be worried!

Chuck, as long as you’re not wearing socks with sandals like my older brother does! I never understand that. Just wear shoes, at that point. And yes, that li’l mining town manages to peek through those trees (look at the size of them!).

stu29573, you had me at “pizza every day”! Thin crust, deep dish, Hawaiian style, margherita, even a nice veggie pizza (sometimes)… I love it all. If the Mark Twain was in the photo, it would be too much to handle and we’d all lose our minds.

zach, you would be the kind of teacher I liked, generous with your grades!!

Andrew, yes, it’s funny, I typically think of those checkerboard canopies as being unique to Tomorrowland, but I guess IASW is sort of in its own zone.

JG, sadly my typical photos from that era were probably no better than these. It probably didn’t help that I had a cheapie camera, but I don’t think I had “the eye” for taking interesting pix. If I ever go back to the park (?), I feel like I’ll need to spend some time over at the Snow White Grotto just to enjoy it. Hopefully it won’t be too crowded!

Kathy!, I was thinking maybe the lady in the pink shorts was trying to stop suddenly so that she didn’t wander into the man’s photo, but you could be right, she might just be laughing at something her husband said.

Omnispace (your nickname always makes me think of an Ominbus in outer space), now that you pointed out the people looking at the Matterhorn, I can just make out some blurry red shapes that must be the mountain climbers!

"Lou and Sue" said...

Adding the mountain climbers now gives that picture an even higher score, don't you agree?? Sort of like "extra credit." (Right, Zach?)

Melissa said...

There used to be a medieval statue in our local art museum, of s monk holding a small book near his face. But I never met anyone who didn’t think it looked like he was eating a Hershey bar. It’s amazing how our modern minds perceive things from the past.

Major Pepperidge said...

Lou and Sue, hmm, I don’t know, the climbers just look like blobs. I can’t tell if it is Hans, Fritz, Otto, or Üter. IT MATTERS!

Melissa, was the monk supposed to represent a real historical figure? And I wonder if the Hershey bar is now seen as an iPhone by the public?