Monday, April 12, 2021

A Pair From January, 1961

January, 1961; the sun has been having a hard time cutting through the overcast sky, and the temperatures are low. That pink-shirted settler has the right idea... that burning cabin looks mighty cheerful. I'll bet he wishes he had some marshmallows! "I'll just lay down right here and enjoy the comforting heat". Even the plants on Tom Sawyer Island look kind of sad and limp. They need their Wheaties.


This next photo must have been taken just as the sun had set. Any warmth from the sun is gone, and now the evening will continue to cool off, until any people foolish enough to stay outside turn into blocks of frozen meat. Don't worry, they'll be reanimated the following day! 

Hello, Fred Gurley (the locomotive, not the man himself)! I wish I was taking a 1961 trip on you; I always look forward to that Grand Canyon Diorama, personally. They should add another diorama, this time with the Snake River Canyon; guests would see a certain motorcycle stuntman in his Rocket Cycle, soaring through the air. Inspiring!


20 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
The sign above the 'tunnel' reminding guests that - Here you leave today and enter the world of... has yet to make its appearance in 1961. I've seen images from 1962 where it appears, only to disappear yet again, reappearing - well, I don't know exactly when. But it was back by the 1970's. Such a fickle sign, indeed.

Thanks, Major.

Melissa said...

Weedies - the breakfast of champion plants!

Babushka sighting on the lady to the right of the rack of maps. And it looks like a ghost is trying to hitchhike home on her husband’s shoulder.

TokyoMagic! said...

I feel sorry for that settler. His favorite shirt....and quite possibly his only shirt, now ruined. That's the living end.

Andrew said...

I'm sure it's a victim of the shutter speed, but it's weird seeing the Moonliner with a white nose come. Of course, I could go to Photoshop right now and turn it pink, blue, and gold.

I also see that they're displaying a souvenir fun map right in front of one of the attraction posters - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

Anonymous said...

The burning settler's cabin! Of course the name is completely misleading because: 1. The cabin in burning, not the settler and 2. Even then, the cabin ISN'T burning even with all those flames around it (which is the miracle of the whole thing).
Picture two reminds us that even in a place as safe as Disneyland, people constantly get run over by trains (our lawyers would like to point out that the rest of the sentence "going over them on bridges" was omitted).
Great pics today, Major!

zach said...

I thought it might be Madame Leota swirling about that man's head, looking for a permanent home. She'll have to wait a few more years, but what's time to a ghost?

The trains were running a few days ago, FYI.

Great color in the spectral second photo. The posters look great as does the Fred Gurley. On my way out I'm gonna buy several Official Guide Books and sell them in the future, along with the bag they come in.

Thanks, Major

Anonymous said...

"Looks like Old Bill is wearing his new Arrow shirt".

Anyone remember that line from a spiel?

Might have been the Keel Boats, sounds more homey than the Mark Twain or Columbia.

Wonderful view of the entry tunnels. Do they have a specific name?

Imagine the chutzpah required to sit down and build your own locomotives. I just love that.

JG

Nanook said...

@ Andrew-
Perhaps 20,000 Leagues or maybe America the Beautiful.

@ Stu29573-
I always thought that tableau was referred to as 'Settler's cabin a-fire...'

Anonymous said...

The famous 'Arrow' shirt. That would be the Keel Boat spiel. Always was good for a laugh...or a groan. KS

JC Shannon said...

In addition to spies and UFOs, Disneyland is chock full of orbs. We all know what that means...ghosts. Will you look at the size of that one. Where is Zak Bagans when we need him? This proves what I have said all along, everyone has a good time at Disneyland. Orbs don't have to wait in line or pay for anything. Good luck selling them a coupon book. Thanks Major.

Anonymous said...

@KS, thanks for the confirmation.

Did you pilot the Keelboats in your time?

I had to ask my Dad what an Arrow shirt was...

JG

zach said...

@JG-- I think they're just casually called the East and West portals. I bet Mike knows.

zach.

Anonymous said...

JG...No, I was never trained on it. However, I heard it many a time while working the canoes. Of course I know many former Keel Boat pilots of whom I call friends today. KS

Anonymous said...

@Zach, thanks, I'm sure you are right. I've always been a purist, in through the east portal, out through the west, except once or twice recently where the east side was backed up by people clamoring for character photos on the east side of the square.

@KS, thanks! What fun that must have been. I appreciate the info. It's nice that you all stay in contact. I haven't seen an Arrow shirt for years.

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, interesting! I never really thought about that sign above the tunnel, and I guess I just assumed it had always been there, or at least had been there since the early days. Weird that it came and went. Wonder why??

Melissa, the flag on top of City Hall is drooping, so there was no wind, I wonder why that lady thought it was necessary to wear a babushka? Maybe the rush of air from some of the rides would have messed up her ‘do. I hope her husband didn’t have any misfortune shortly after the ghost obscured his face.

TokyoMagic!, that guy probably wore the same shirt every day for months. An extra hole or two allows more aroma to escape! Sort of like gym socks and parmesan cheese.

Andrew, by 1961, TWA had ended its sponsorship of the Rocket to the Moon ride, and I believe that the poster has had the company logo (and maybe a stripe or two) painted out. But that hot pink color probably bled right through a little bit. I’ve seen people paint Moonliner models all kinds of crazy colors, but pink, blue and gold? Maybe not!

Stu29573, the settler might be smoldering a little! Give him credit! And maybe the cabin was made from Duralogs. Those things burn for a long time. What a value. Although I admit that I wouldn’t have expected them to last 50 years. Speaking of trains on bridges. notice the woman in the red cape and cap near the tender. Could she be a tour guide? I’ll bet the Disney lawyers have heard everything, including being “run over by a train”!

zach, yes, a young Madame Leota! I love it. She shopped around for just the right place, and it took her many years. Meanwhile she stayed in a rental. DrGoat gave us a link to a YouTube video that showed the trains running, an Omnibus and Horse Drawn Streetcar moving around Town Square, and other signs of life - kind of exciting, even though I have no immediate plans to go!

JG, I wonder how many people even get the pun about “Arrow shirts” these days? Maybe the brand is still around, I have no idea, but I think of the ads painted by J.C. Leyendecker, going back to the 1920s and ‘30s. Now that you mention it, I’m not sure what spiel would have said the joke about the arrow - it sounds more like the jokey Keelboats, admittedly. But I never rode the Keelboats! I don’t think I’ve ever heard the tunnels referred to by any fancy name, but if they have them, I’d love to know.

Nanook, oops, I missed Andrew’s mention of the map and poster. Just when I convinced myself that the poster was for “20,000 Leagues”, I then convince myself that it is for “America the Beautiful”. Maybe if I look at the original high-res scan it will be more discernible.

KS, yes that makes sense!

Jonathan, if I was a ghost I would want to be a traditional “bedsheet” ghost, and not a darn orb. Orbs are no fun at all! Zak Bagans, who’s that?? If I wasn’t such a stick in the mud and actually believed in ghosts, the idea of them at Disneyland would be a lot of fun.

JG, aha, see? I’ll bet Wally Boag was responsible for that Arrow shirt gag, and some of his puns probably went back to the 1920s easily!

zach, ooooh, “portals”… pretty fancy. You could be right.

KS, I forget, have you told us all the rides you worked on?

Anonymous said...

Using my incredible mental powers (Google) I can say that Arrow Shirts are still around!

Dean Finder said...

I'm out of Wheaties, how about some Kellogg's Pep?

Anonymous said...

Major...I'm a bit late. For me, it was mostly west side...JC, Tiki, Treehouse, Pirates, Canoes, MT, Columbia, Mine Train (original), Gallery, Autopia and hard to believe...Main Street Cinema. I did Small World for a night as a supervisor working for CM family night. Load is similar to Pirates. Of course Hills Bros and ROP program, Parade CC. KS

walterworld said...

Wow...so nobody picked up on the Evel Knievel reference? If only that Sky-Cycle parachute hadn’t malfunctioned…! Thanks Major

walterworld said...

Evel Knievel almost made it over The Snake River...If only that Sky-Cycle parachute hadn’t malfunctioned…! Thanks Major