A Bunch of Knott's Pix, July 1974
Welcome to Knott's Berry Farm, homies! July, 1974 - a great time to visit Ghost Town. I had a bunch of Knott's slide scans, and the six you'll see today are perfectly fine... I decided to share all of them in one go. There's nothing too extraordinary, but you still get that laid-back, summer day feeling that evokes memories of my own childhood visits.
A covered wagon? There's something you don't see every day! Unless you work at Knott's, in which case they are as common as Teslas in L.A. It looks like guests could climb inside, which is kind of fun... that couple is trying to decide if they will do it.
The General Store has everything a miner could need. Unless that miner needed a Duncan yo-yo, in which case he might have to whittle one out of a log. But they'll have everything else! Pickaxes, pans, lanterns, hats, gloves, shovels, knives, and maybe even some penny candy.
We're at the end of Main Street, and Goldie's Joint is to the left; it's odd, I thought that Goldie's name was painted (bigly!) on the front of the building, but looking at my old blog posts, it was only on a little sign at the entryway. If you turned left down that alley toward the Town Jail, you could visit Sad Eye Joe. He might even talk to you!
The photographer pivoted to the right toward the Post Office. Knott's was festooned with wagon wheels, grindstones, and even whole wagons for kids to climb on. Is that the Catawampus, partly visible in the foreground?
Guests are milling around the entrance to the Gold Mine, where they could pan for real gold! The thrill of panning your own flakes of color was real. To the left, a grandma and her grandson look at some gentle, patient burros. They would appreciate some nice scritches! The burros, I mean.
And finally, we're in some corner of the Ghost Town that I don't recognize; there's another nice wagon, and a building adorned with skulls and antlers; I'm sure at least one of you knows exactly where this is.
That's it for this KBF installment!
18 comments:
Major-
I'm taken by the two gals in first image [twins, perhaps-?] each placing their feet in the precise same position. I always walk that way with friends.
Thanks, Major.
The last image is between the Livery Stable and the Birdcage Theater ( the theater is behind the photographer) the wood cabin was demolished about 15-20 years ago … maybe longer. To the left of the cabin is School House Road …. In the distance You can see the ruins of the miners exchange bank . the area now is an outdoor BBQ restaurant. This area is between School House Road & the end of Main Street….. I’m not sure off hand what the street is called that leads us here from the Livery Stable …. I’m sure TOKYO knows.
1) That covered wagon looks impressive: robust and meaty. I see that Hayley Mills (circa, "The Parent Trap"), was visiting Knott's that day.
2) is "Mdse." really an abbreviation for "merchandise"? That word looks like "merch and ise", except they spelled "ice" wrong. Maybe it comes from a Scandinavian language. The lady on the left looks rather stern... and scary.
3) On the left, several people are peering into the front of the Sheriff's Office. Is that one of the "peek ins" that show a scene inside? Something I've always wanted to know: Is it only American culture where women always carry a handbag everywhere they go? (And men don't). Seems like a weird thing.
4) Major, it sure looks like the Catawhatsis. "Festooned" is right, it looks positively busy with stuff. I think we've found the legendary wagon wheel graveyard!
5) Yeah, the burros would probably like some scritches, but what they really would like is an apple-and-carrot-flavored ice cream cone! (They sell those at Knott's, right?)
6) Grandma is checking to see if the baby is still in the stroller, or if it wandered off on its own... again. I'm sure that wagon on the left will be enough for someone (Tokyo!) to identify this location.
A nice selection of Knott's pix, Major. Thanks.
In the second pic, we can see the water pump over to the right. The sign reads, "Water For Horses Not For People," but with some backwards letters and misspellings.
Major, I believe that is part of the Catawampus we are seeing. It looks like it might have a chain around it. That's not very nice!
The building in the last photo is Doc Walker's cabin. He was a dentist from the Ozarks, and his dental office was in one of the rooms of his family's home. I'm not sure when Walter Knott's acquired the cabin, but at some point in the late seventies or early eighties, the cabin was relocated from Bird Cage Square, over near the Church of Reflections and the Little Chapel by the Lake. It was torn down in 2004, for the construction of the Silver Bullet roller coaster.
Mike, you are right about School Road being on the other side of Doc Walker's cabin. And the road that led to this side of the cabin and Birdcage Square, was/is Stage Road.
I believe the first photo was taken just a little to the west of Doc Walker's cabin, on Museum Lane. I think the shadow that we are seeing on the left is from Jeffries Barn.
3) On the left, several people are peering into the front of the Sheriff's Office. Is that one of the "peek ins" that show a scene inside?
JB, yes....the Sheriff's Office was one of the peek-ins, with a poker game taking place inside. Here's a link to what the scene looked like. Notice the guy on the left has a card hidden in his boot, and another one tucked into his shirt collar: Ghost Town Sheriff's Office
I think "General Mdse." stands for "General Mademoiselle," which was a chain of clothing stores that catered to teen girls in the Old West. In keeping with Knott's tradition, they misspelled "minor."
TOKYO : yes that shadow to the left of the Conestoga Wagon is JEFFRIES BARN ….the west end of Museum Road. Beyond those bushes is the tracks of the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad. That Conestoga Wagon was one of those that pulled guests from the Stage Coach depot over to where the lake was eventually built. It was set there as a static display on the street after it was retired from service. I understand mainly because Knott’s guests would pass on riding the Conestoga wagon and wish to wait longer for the next stagecoach. You can see on the side of the wagon cover bents they were designed to roll the canvas up clearing the view for passengers. To the right of the covered wagon , not visible, is one of the LEAST photographed GHOST TOWN structures : The Marshall’s Office ( as opposed to the Sheriff’s Office) it stood right next to the Railroad Supply (hobby shop) building ….all gone now.
This is the KBF of my memory, I have a few pics taken the next year, 1965, when Sad-Eye Joe spoke to me and asked about school. I was mildly terrified.
Yes, General Mdse was founded by a retired Civil War veteran of high rank and specialized in rare and hard to find goods like yo-yo strings and pickleballs.
I can’t place any of the photo locations other than it all looks familiar after almost 60 years.
Thanks Major, I think I need a Knotts trip again someday.
JG
Nanook, I’m not sure those gals are twins, but they are definitely mentally linked!
Mike Cozart, thanks; it always makes me a little sad to learn that anything from the old Ghost Town has been torn down, maybe the cabin was full of termites. Termites who love boysenberries. Other than Main Street and School Road, I’m not aware of street names, though I’m sure insiders know.
JB, now I have to wonder if Hayley Mills ever went to Knott’s. She could never let Walt Disney know! I feel like I’ve seen the word “merchandise” abbreviated like that before, but am not sure. Yes, the Sheriff’s Office had a peek-in, I was going to link to a photo (assuming I could find one), but reading ahead, I see that TokyoMagic has already done the work! I just watched a video of a guy eating a slice of watermelon, while his donkey (or was it a burro?) “helped”, I’m sure a burro would enjoy ice cream too. Somehow thinking of a baby wandering off on its own makes me imagine a Warner Bros. cartoon, though I don’t specifically remember one with that plot.
TokyoMagic!, if people drank that water, they’d turn into horses. It’s true! I’ve seen it happen! They had to chain the Catawampus, those things are too dangerous to just let loose. Arg, tearing down Doc Walker’s cabin for a roller coaster, I hate that. I just can’t believe that it couldn’t have been relocated once again? Or maybe so much room was used for coasters that they had truly run out of space.
TokyoMagic!, aha, “Stage Road”, another named street! AND “Museum Lane”! I had no idea.
TokyoMagic!, thank you for the link to the peek-in, I always loved those, and am sad that some were removed for various dumb reasons.
Chuck, THIS is why I am grateful to have such educated readers!
Mike Cozart, wow, you guys really do know your KBF. I used to think I knew that park pretty well, but my family moved away before I got old enough to REALLY know it. In fact by 1974 we were living in Pennsylvania. That being said, when I went with my siblings and friends, we felt like we knew every inch of Knott’s, it was so much fun to just run around and see all of our favorite sights.
JG, let’s see those photos from 1965 (or did you mean 1975?)! I’m glad that Civil War General moved on with his life and opened a respectable business. I feel like I need to go to KBF again too, though I fear it will be a “half day park”.
These photos feel warm and sunny (I always feel like I need a cold drink at Knott's). The Pitchur Gallery Goldie's Joint has its name prominently on the front, maybe you're thinking of that, Major. The mule in picture 5 may be eating the baby in that stroller! Thanks for some fun KBF slides.
Just noticed what may be a Mennonite couple sitting on the bench in the shadows in front of the Sheriff’s Office in the third photo. And at the end of the street there’s the old Knott’s mainstay, the Liver Stab.
Tokyo!, thanks for that link. I see that the sheriff was at the poker table too. The guy with the extra cards stuck everywhere better be extra sneaky to avoid getting caught. Come to think of it, the sheriff probably had a card or two stashed somewhere as well.
Chuck, "General Mademoiselle". Ah, good to know. Across the street, they had a shop called "Boots 'N' Belts", which catered to teen boys.
JG, now I'm wondering, were yo-yos actually a toy in the late 1800s? We associate the yo-yo craze with the 1950s but...
Major, "a baby wandering off on its own makes me imagine a Warner Bros. cartoon". Exactly! I was thinking of that cartoon when I made my comment above! I also can't remember which one.
Chuck again, "the Liver Stab". The Old West version of a crazed slasher movie... Every town had one. Gotta get yer entertainment somehow.
Ancient Greeks played with yo-yos .. and workers building the Great Wall of China played with yo-yos ….. so I suspect they were around in the 1800’s too.
Mike, how do we know that??
Recorded history . Yo-yo : first recorded descriptions 500bc Greece.
Sue , I have a degree in architectural graphics and environmental design -emphasis in architecture… so along the way you are exposed to architectural histudty , art history , construction technology, mathematics, physics , technical illustration , drafting , etc…. And at some point I remember hearing yo-yos dated back to ancient times … and both the Greeks and Chinese played with them ….. I admit I had to Google the year was 500bc…. But I recalled the ancients had them. Now their yo-yours were not plastic with nylon unbreakable string “Duncan Spin Masters “ of the 1960’s …. But they existed for centuries.
The ancient Greeks also played with LIGHT BRITE and ETCH-SKETCH . Ok I made that up .
Thanks, Mike, i wasn’t sure if you were serious, or pulling our legs. Interesting!
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