Main Street, September 1971
Today is our friend JB's birthday, and Sue (as usual) has come up with some fun scans to celebrate the occasion.
First up is this pic of a kid's birthday party (date unknown). I love the art gallery on the wall to the right. Looking at the food selection, there are TWO cakes (such decadence!), and then a lot of things that I can't quite identify. Of course every party needs a bowl of little tomatoes. Are some kids munching on breadsticks? And maybe salami and hamburger bun sandwiches? NO idea what the things are in the bowl closest to us, I'd say they are chicken nuggets, but I'm not very confident about that guess.
And because JB is a fan of AEDs (Animatronic Exploding Ducks), here are three tough customers. Just look at them! They have no fear. In fact I think the one stepping toward us is trying to intimidate us!
And now, on to our regularly scheduled program - I have three fun scans of slides, once again courtesy of Lou Perry and Sue B! So you know they'll be good.
Lou was obviously taken with the general hubbub of Main Street, along with the old-fashioned sign for the Candy Palace. I always like to go into the Candy Palace and ask if they have hotdogs. I get my laughs! Signs for the Sunkist Citrus House and the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor can also be seen.
Some of the same guests can be seen here, I think this one might have actually been taken a few moments before the previous image. There's Miss Pink Pants, and Mr. Striped Shirt the third. Lou dispensed with the Dutch angle on this one!
Now we're into the Plaza, it looks like it was a beautiful, sunny September day. Was school not yet in session? Who knows. But it's pretty busy down past the Streetcar, lots of folks appear to be arriving late in the day, perhaps it was a Saturday, and they were going to stay until 1:00 AM. Fireworks, a parade, twinkle lights... what's not to like?
THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!
19 comments:
Major-
"NO idea what the things are in the bowl closest to us, I'd say they are chicken nuggets, but I'm not very confident about that guess".
Why those are sandwich cookies, Major, that look like little people. I bet someone knows the specific brand.
That fella staring right at Lou who seems to be practicing his Hitler Youth 'at ease' expression, is sporting a very-wide, white belt PLUS an ID bracelet - in 1971, no less. You rebel.
Happy Birthday JB-! I hope you get every duck you wish for-!
Thank you Lou & Sue for these marvelous images.
Sue always seems to find the most interesting and odd (in a fun way!) birthday pics!
Why is Raggedy Ann wearing a hoodie? Why does the woman in the pic have a long stringy "villain's" mustache? Why doesn't anyone look happy? Is that a bowl of sausage links, on the far right?
Yes, I agree with Nanook. Those are "people" cookies. But the question is, are they made with real people? They might be those mini gingerbread men, made by "Mother's."
Mean blonde kid, I think I'll call him "Rolfe," is about to blow his whistle on us. We need to go hide from him in the cemetery, on Tom Sawyer Island. We'll follow Nanook, he knows the way. Rolfe also appears to be wearing a Munsingwear "Penguin" shirt.
Happy, happy birthday, JB! And thank you for the pics, Lou, Sue, and Major, too!
Hooray for me! It's my birthday. I turn the big seven-oh today. At least I'm still here; which beats the alternative.
The two cakes can be explained by the twin, three year old birthday boys who, apparently, have never heard of a comb.
It took me a second to realize that the artwork on the left is just a reflection of the artwork on the right.
There really are some strange food combinations on the table: Bread sticks and salami sandwiches that Major mentioned (they look pretty good, actually), orange jello, pickles, no idea what's in the bowl above the pickles... some sort of pasta? They seem to be hollow, and stuffed with something. Above that are some kind of chips... sweet potato? The weirdest thing is the plate of cinnamon roll breakfast cereal topped with dollops of frosting.
Like Nanook and TM! say, I think the "chicken nuggets" are sandwich cookies shaped like gingerbread men. The dish to the right of the tomatoes(!) looks like it contains little sausages... or maybe dates (TM! says sausages, too); hard to tell. That primary-colored thing next to the sausages seems to be a ratcheted noisemaker... how annoyingly fun.
Funny, I'm seeing four ducks. My vision must be going screwy. And Major is right, these ARE AEDs! They're waddling toward us, getting ready to self-destruct! There are lots of ducks in our area; we live just a block or two from the Willamette River. Some of the ducks even play football! (University of Oregon)
Thank you for the birthday photos, Sue. :o)
Seeing that Candy Palace sign would definitely draw me in; the promise of finding unusual types of candy that you probably wouldn't find anywhere else.
Hmm, hard to count the trashcans in the last photo. I think there's five of the regular green and yellow cans. And there might be two red & white cans on the right next to the umbrellas.
Nanook, that guy does have that "Hitler Youth" look.
Tokyo!, haha, I didn't notice the mustache. I assume it's some sort of lint on the film. "Rolfe", hahaha. "You'll never be one of them!". Why on Earth did Capt. von Trapp say that to Rolfe?! I'd blow my whistle on 'im, too.
Thanks again to Sue. And thanks to Lou and Major.
Happy birthday, JB! I thought of you the last time I was in Disneyland. Every time I saw a duck. Which was frequent, and caused me great anxiety, waiting for them to detonate. And then they laughed at me at City Hall when I tried to warn them of their impending doom. Actually ruined my vacation. Thanks, pal. Thanks a lot.
On my initial look, the first Main Street photo was my favorite of the bunch, but now that you’ve all pointed out Rolfe, the picture looks more and more disturbing. The Dutch angle emphasizes just how unsettling the whole scene is. Sort of reminds me of some scenes in the 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate. Or maybe Rolfe is carrying a photo, asking random people “Have you seen this boy?” He definitely has that T-1000 look about him. Run, Lou - RUN!!!
Thanks again, Lou & Sue!
Happy Birthday JB. JB sounds like one of those characters from a 1930's movie...."JB! This pitcha is gonna be big! You just wait and see! Wit all dem dolls in it?! It's gonna be big JB, BIG!" Now onto the photo forensics. Exploding ducks...ever so sweet. Ducks frequently fly over my house, and I hear them quacking and squawking...on their way to some body of water down the road. Pretty sure ducks were built to be replicated into cartoon characters. The AED's at Disneyland are especially unique as not even Walt Disney knew how they found their way there. OK...I have been putting off commenting on the birthday party...it's a scary scary scene. With no other than "Annabelle" watching the proceedings ....judging silently sitting on the radiator in her hoodie...uh, Annabelle? We can still see you....Pickles, sausages, salami sandwiches, cookies, weird candy dollop things, cake, tomatoes, breadsticks. OK....forensically, we have issues here. BIG issues. I'm waiting for the birthday boy to start chanting "redrum". Let's not forget the orange jello....oh...and the beer....I'm turning away... I've moved on to the Candy Palace for more serene memories...but alas...there's Rolf...waiting to report us to the authorities. Cool outfit though, and he does seem to rock it. Yellow shirt COULD be from ODV...IF...there were red and white stripes around the sleeves. I asked a simple question in the Candy Palace...they were making English Toffee...and I love Disneyland English Toffee when it is made fresh...so I asked..."where can I get the toffee that is made in there...(pointing to the people making the toffee.) The packaged toffee on the counter was labeled "Made and packaged in Lake Buena Vista Florida". I did not want toffee made in the WDW backstage warehouse...I wanted the toffee made right there...right now. It was like I was speaking in some foreign language unknown to humans living on planet earth. They could not understand that I was asking for candy that was just made, even though we were standing just a few feet from the kitchen where people were making it (?)..they told me "all of the candy in bags is made here". So I replied, "the candy that has been labeled "made in Lake Buena Vista" is made here?" "Yes" they said "all made here". I STILL do not understand that particular interaction, and left the counter absolutely bewildered...to later return and get the toffee because now...I HAD to have that Floridian Toffee....moving on....Looking down Main Street I see that Popcorn wagon across from Carefree Corner...if it was there...it was a busy day. It wasn't normally pulled out to be there...and I know in older photos it's there...but in my ODV years, I really do not remember that location well...since it was about 20 yards away from the popcorn wagon at the hub. During the parades, the hub wagon (Popcorn 4) would become boxed in and inaccessible....so this other wagon probably served the needs to those on that side of the street. Don't you worry...the people that wanted popcorn on the hub would get it...they guests would pass their .50 down to about 20 guests in a line, for the popcorn box to be passed back. I'm sure now they have some crowd control to keep access free and clear. Happy birthday JB and thanks Lou and Sue for the morning photos!
Bu, if that was during a recent visit to the park, then they were LYING to you, as Disney does. We had two different candy makers who were regular clients at our office, and they told me that only certain items were made on the premises, in Anaheim. The toffee is one of them. Another one is the chocolate turtles. Oh yeah, and at Xmas time, they make the "special" candy canes available for a very short period of time. Supposedly, they are so "special" that people will kill each other for them, just as they did for Cabbage Patch Dolls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Teddy Ruxpin.
I believe now that they have all of that "loose candy" in those large glass cases, that most of those items are made on the premises, including all of the fudge. They have candy kitchens backstage now, as well as the ones out in view of the guests. But I was told, by actual Disney "candy makers," that the packaged stuff in the clear plastic bags, with Mickey on the front label and the statement, "Made in Lake Buena Vista, Florida," does come from Florida.
Now I am remembering a sweet little old lady who worked at Disneyland in the 1990s. She used to work in a warehouse backstage, putting the prices on all of the merchandise. She came in one day and said that she had been "laid off." Her job had been eliminated and all of the merchandise was now going to be priced in Florida, and shipped to Anaheim with the tags/stickers already on them. I don't know if this is still the case or not. I just know that if you want a bubble wand for each one of your three kids, it will set you back $75. I know that because that is how much it cost to buy one for each of the twins, and myself. Well, I had to have one, too! The twins can't have ALL of the fun, making people's eyes burn and causing them to slip and fall down on the pavers.
Where was I? Oh, yeah....candy. At one point, back in the seventies, most of the DL candy was made at Shoemaker's Candy Co., in Whittier. Does anyone else remember those stickers, stating that info on the back of the packages? But they did still make those certain "special" items there in the candy kitchen on Main St.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JB!! Hopefully you won’t have greasy bangers , salami sandwich’s and odd jello like mold something….
Upon examination I don’t think this KINDER PARTY is the United States …. Maybe the French part of Canada …. But not the United States. The food being served seams Eastern European … and the train on the cake … is of European open cab design … like the French Louvet Tank locomotives… also the children are drinking from beer pints … the cakes are also of none American baking proportions …. I’m assuming the birthday child has a thing for helicopters. By the way, I had to type helicopter so many times because my phone would not let me type it. The bowl of sausages - too small to be British bangers look very similar to the breakfast mini sausages we ate in Germany ( where I was born) and The Netherlands. We called them “sad children’s birthday party sausages “ ….. ok I made that part up.
To JB and the children at the party : KNISPER! KNUSPER! KNASPER!!! ( “snap , crackle , pop” in German )
Happy Bithday JB, Many Happy Returns of the Day!
An odd little party, to be sure. Two of those kids are having beer and cake, my favorites. I went panning for chicken nuggets once, didn’t pan out.
Two trash cans in the street views. If it is a Dutch angle, then Rolfe isn’t Jugend, a Landwatcher instead. Are there no tripods in the Netherlands?
The Plaza view holds no less than 7 green & yellow cans, one definite red & white, and maybe a shoulder of a second. Good pickings today. Noticing that flashy orange dress, like something my Mom would wear.
Thanks Lou, Sue, Major and JB.
JG
@ Bu-
When I think of 'JB', I usually think of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, as that's where the line "But if it could, J.B.-?" comes from. (J.B. as in J.B. Biggley).
Happy birthday, JB!!!!
I would have commented earlier, but the sight of those AEDs made me drop my phone and run far, far away! I just got back. Sorry about that!
I love the Main Street photos so much that I'm going back in time right now to go there! I'll write more when I get
LOL! I'm laughing at all the funny comments - and really enjoying your birthday party, JB! Happy 7-0! As my dad would say, "You're a spring chicken." I hope you're having a day filled with everything you like to do - with lots of good laughs and fun!
You folks are right...something is strange about that party. The mom is headless, and in the drawing - she's faceless. I also think I see tuna fish on some of those salami sandwiches. No wonder most of the kids are eating bread sticks and potato chips.
Stu, wait up, I'll join you....
Hey, Bu, Candy Palace is making English Toffee right now...hurry over and join me and Stu...
Nanook, sandwich cookies that look like little people? No idea. But I’ll take your word for it! “Hitler Youth” at Disneyland, sadly it’s a real possibility these days. Except that Disneyland is probably too “woke”.
TokyoMagic!, yes, thank goodness Sue is willing to do the work that I am far, far too lazy to do. In the 70s, women liked those cool mustaches, I guess you were too young. Oh man, are those Soylent Cookies? You can’t eat just one! They don’t taste good exactly, and yet they are addictive. Rolfe: “Ve vill need to see your papers”.
JB, hooray! I have never heard of a comb either, but it’s part of my charm. Once I’ve rubbed a stick of butter into my hair, and plaster it down, combs are of no use. I wonder if the mom just served things that her own kids liked, even if it made for some weird party fare? I’m always OK with salami sandwiches at parties, because at least there’s something I can enjoy. No weird chicken thing with a sauce that I can’t identify. Yes, yes, I’m wrong about the chicken nuggets, there, are you happy? ARE YOU? And I have no idea why I wrote that there are three ducks. No idea at all. I’ve never set foot inside the Candy Palace! I do look in the window now and then, and enjoy the smells coming out from the “smellerizer” (or whatever they call it). I once went to the park with some people who I didn’t know that well, and one of the women literally ran up Main Street to get to the Candy Palace. I have no idea why, it wasn’t going anywhere. Happy Birthday, JB!
Chuck, I don’t think of anybody in Disneyland except for me, Major Pepperidge. There really were ducks in unexpected places, which made me so nervous. They could explode at any time, like those old sea mines in Gilligan’s Island. Poor Rolfe, he probably collected coins and wrote folk songs, but he had a bad “look”. If only I had been there to give him a Hang Ten shirt and some cool striped pants.
Bu, when talking about “dolls” (1930s style) you also have to mention their gams. It’s just how it’s done. Ducks make me think of the park where I take my mom for walks in the evening. There are two ponds full of ducks, but the coyotes have been picking them off, and women at the park always give me a full report. “The white duck was eaten yesterday, somebody saw a coyote come out of the trees and grab it!”. I used to think that nothing could be easier than figuring out what kids would eat at a party, until I was taking care of my niece and nephew while their parents were in Korea. Suddenly I had to figure it out! You know what they liked? Quesedillas made with Kraft slices. I’m not kidding. It was like an exotic grilled cheese sandwich. I’m thinking Yellow Shirt doesn’t quite have the Disney Look. Even from the back he (she?) looks too messy. Sorry, Yellow Shirt, I don’t mean to cast aspersions. Yes, candy made in Lake Buena Vista ISN’T made in Burbank. I’ve never made candy in a lake, but it seems like it would just make things more difficult.
TokyoMagic!, it’s funny, as my Disney fandom evolved, it was a difficult thing to realize that the company told whoppers when it suited them. Now I’m used to it, and it’s sometimes actually kind of funny, since I’ve stopped caring as much. We learned that the items in Walt’s Apartment were all added after the Disney family cleared the place out, but they still tell us that the grilled cheese press was Walt’s. And the music box. And other stuff. Because it’s what people want to hear. That poor little old lady; I’ve known people who were such loyal Disney employees, only to find themselves kicked to the curb. One guy I knew was so disgusted by it that he sold all of his Disney junk and decided to be a baseball fan instead. I hope he is happy.
Mike Cozart, hey, no more talk about greasy bangers! I’ll lose my “G” rating. Interesting theory that the kid’s party is not in the U.S. It can’t be eastern Europe because there are no beets on the table. Every kid in that part of the world loves beets! Not me though, they taste like dirt. My sister puts goat cheese on them, and then they taste like dirt with goat cheese. We used to love little breakfast sausages when I’d go to my grandma’s house, she would get up early and make french toast, fresh orange juice, and little sausages. Oh man, those were the days!
JG, yum, beer and cake, two great tastes that go great together. “Panning for chicken nuggets”, I’m afraid I’m going to have to charge you three Bitcoin for that one. I feel dumb that I don’t know what a “Landwatcher” is (or was), if only there was a way to look it up. But there isn’t. I watch paint dry, it’s pretty fun. It makes sense that the Plaza would require more trash cans, it is the nexus for all things being disposed of before people entered another land (or after they left a land).
Nanook, did anybody ever call James Bond “J.B.”??
Stu29573, I understand your reaction, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I cried for a few hours, and thought I heard a “quack” behind me, it made me jump.
Lou and Sue, thanks to YOU for always providing fun photos that get everyone talking! I had a few vintage birthday party photos scanned. But something happened to them. You know what I’m talking about. Tuna fish and salami? I mean, maybe it’s good, but man that sounds weird. Why not peanut butter, tuna, and salami on one sandwich?
Lou and Sue, hey I want some toffee too!
Happy birthday to JB 7.0!
"Oh yeah, and at Xmas time, they make the "special" candy canes available for a very short period of time. Supposedly, they are so "special" that people will kill each other for them"
Hey, if you suck on them until the end gets pointy, you can kill each other WITH them!
The twin birthday theory makes sense; some years my mother and aunt had two small cakes instead of one big one.
I never had a birthday party, but we always got to choose a special dinner on our birthdays and my choice was always the big platter of assorted sandwiches cut into quarters.
That does look like a summer crowd in the Disneyland pictures - maybe it was Labor Day weekend?
Major, Rolfe's numismatism may have been small change, but his folk songs were downright unnerving.
And yes, James Bond was called "JB" at least once.
Sue, that's good to know you are watching them make toffee right now, but when are you? Using Stu's time machine complicates grammar by a factor of "n."
Chuck, we aren't watching them make toffee now....
now we're on the JC, while eating the toffee...and Dole Whips.
Chuck, glad I could help!
Bu, I have thought the same thing about my username. It's like C. B. DeMille, "Ready when you are, C.B.!"
Tokyo!, don't forget Tickle Me Elmo! People killed for him as well.
Mike, "sad children’s birthday party sausages". Haha, works for me! I'm sure I would like greasy little sausages.
JG, you have a better eye for trashcans than I do.
Stu, We have YOU to thank for the AEDs! They didn't exist 'til you made 'em up. Thanks! (really)
Sue, I'm reading and commenting on GDB. So yes, I'm having a day filled with everything I like to do! It's uplifting. When I sit on the couch, I have to buckle myself up so I don't float to the ceiling.
Major, ooh, "woke". Gettin' kinda edgy, there! You do that from time to time... as do I, but not often. I try to avoid it, unless I'm feeling devilish.
I was thinking pretty much the same thing about the all the weird foods; all the kids got their favorite things to eat. Maybe the only things they would eat.
Re: beets, "they taste like dirt. My sister puts goat cheese on them, and then they taste like dirt with goat cheese." hahahahahahaha... and ha!
Melissa, I think I only had one birthday party as a kid. It was a disaster that scarred me for life. GDB birthday parties, on the other hand, are FUN!
Chuck, I've always liked the 'tune' of "Tomorrow Belongs To Me". I used to play it on various keyboard instruments. But man, the lyrics and meaning! Scary. (As it was meant to be.)
Thanks to all for the birthday thoughts and wishes (and photos, Sue). GDB is always the best part of the day.
Hey, if you suck on them until the end gets pointy, you can kill each other WITH them!
Melissa, true! They should have included a miniature candy cane in the board game, "Clue"!
JB, I forgot about Tickle Me Elmo! I did feel like I was leaving out one of the toys that caused parents to go cuckoo at Christmastime.
....but they still tell us that the grilled cheese press was Walt’s.
Major, if I was a tour guide, I'd be tempted to put an old dried-up grilled cheese sandwich on that press, and tell guests that Walt had forgotten all about the sandwich, on the very last day that he was ever in the apartment, and that it has been in that exact same spot where he left it, ever since! Then I'd walk over to the window, open it up, and demonstrate how Walt would "flick" chili down onto the unsuspecting guests below.
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