Two From August, 1961
"Major Pepperidge, I'm in the mood for two slides from August, 1961. Can you help? Signed, Flummoxed in Fresno". Glad you asked, Flummoxed. Here's a pair of scans that should de-flummox you in two shakes of a lamb's tail.
Looking from the Mark Twain (or the Columbia), we gaze down upon the southern point of Tom Sawyer Island. The greenery is growing so fast that it actually swallows guests who are never seen again (if they'd read the fine print on their ticket books, they would have known that it was a possibility). A squirming crowd disembarks from the Raft, if they run fast enough, they can make it to Tom's Treehouse without getting absorbed. The Old Mill looks great, as always, and in the distance we can see Pack Mules just leaving the safety of Rainbow Ridge.
Next is a picturesque... um... picture, of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship. The sails are unfurled, which is the best look. Rather than the bright red stripes on the sails this version has a maroon hue, like the color of the dried blood on the document you signed to become a pirate (an "X" is acceptable).
9 comments:
Major-
These images of the Park are not particularly rare, but they feature many great sights, sounds, details and activities that have [almost] all vanished. It's so nice to see them all in their prime-!
Thanks, Major.
"Looking from the Mark Twain (or the Columbia)". I just noticed the Columbia's sails in the upper left corner, so unless some sort of weird time and space event is occurring, we're on the Mark Twain.
I'm wondering what those three reddish things are behind the Pack Mules? OK, I'm gonna mosey along to the next photo now; I don't want to get 'absorbed'.
Maroon sails... hunh. I'm sure we must have seen a couple of other photos with "dried blood" sails, but I don't remember seeing them, or maybe I just thought the color on the 35mm slide was wonky. I'm trying to decide if I like this color or not... I'm leaning 'no' because the colors clash. There is a brother & sister who are dressed alike (almost). And like yesterday's Knott's Monkey Farm pic, one of them is 'neat', with his shirt tucked in; and the other is 'sloppy' with her shirt untucked. But I won't say which is which. Another one that cries out for Melissa to chime in. We also get a glimpse of the Skyway Chateau.
Nice pics from 1961. Thanks, Major.
Just above the Tom Sawyer Island raft, we can see at least one person fishing on the little fishing pier.
The darker red/maroon color on the sails of the Pirate Ship isn't bad, but I prefer the brighter red stripes. Either way, It's always nice to see the sails unfurled.
Thanks, Major!
Oops. I meant the Skyway Chalet... not Chateau. :-\
Has anyone else ever wondered why Tom and Huck were transporting red-painted barrels of explosives to TSI?
Despite the odd coloration of the sails (which I think may have something to do with an imperfection in the slide itself - there’s a slightly “off” tone to some people’s clothing, particularly the woman in the magenta slacks), this is pretty neat photo of the Tuna Scow. You can see JG’s Rocks to the left and the sail-shaded eating area to the right. The hatch is where the youngest of us who remember seeing it in person remember seeing it in person. No band playing “Hail to the Chief” and pointing the cannon at you, though. A woman soaks it all in in 3-D under the striped umbrella at extreme right.
One of the windows to what would be the Captain’s Cabin on a real ship is open. What was back there?
JB, at least you didn’t cap your sentence off with “Skyway chapeau.”
Chuck, I think we discussed the apparent need for quantities of explosives on TSI some years back. I can’t recall the conclusion, but it may have been linked to smuggling.
Major, I’m glad I always read the fine print on my ticket books. Now we just click OK on the app before buying our “Lightening* Lanes” and come what may.
*Purposely misspelled
Yup, them’s my rocks there by the Pirate Ship. They are loading the guns with tuna packed in oil to condition the cast iron so the ammunition doesn’t stick. The drooling skull is just out of frame, and in a supreme stroke of irony, Grace’s head is blocked by the Kodak photo sign.
I wish I had a Skyway Chapeau, or a Pirate Chalet…
Thanks Major!
JG
Nanook, yeah, sometimes just nice (but not rare) photos of Disneyland are more than welcome.
JB, oh yeah! I didn’t notice the sails in the corner. I can’t tell what those things are over by the mules, unfortunately. We have seen the maroon stripes on the sails before, there was one where they looked so dark that I initially thought that the Pirate Ship’s sails had black stripes. I prefer the brighter red in this case.
TokyoMagic!, my mom and dad used to take my siblings and I to a trout farm where we could easily catch a trout. Corn was used for bait! So I guess a kid would find it exciting to catch a fish at Disneyland. I like the normal red stripes on the sails too!
JB, it’s too late, “Chateau” is already on your permanent record.
Chuck, Tom and Huck lived long before cell phones, so blowin’ stuff up was just good old fashioned fun. I know that the colors look a bit “off” in these, but in this case the sails really did have dark red stripes. What’s wrong with the magenta slacks?? Her blouse has matching stripes. Until Junior Gorillas pointed it out, I had no idea that the hatch/entrance had ever been relocated. I still don’t get the “Hail to the Chief” remark! I’m not sure if the Columbia had the “below decks” displays in 1961, but I believe that it did, so the open window would help keep things cooler.
JG, I assume that river pirates wouldn’t mind having some explosive powder for various purposes. Gophers and such. Ha ha, I got in a Lightening Lane and now my hair is blonder than ever. A Skyway Chapeau, I’d buy one of those in an instant!
I suspect the red barrel gunpowder kegs would have been discarded from ships once emptied by their crew . Tom & Huck probably retrieved the empty kegs from the river to use as seats or decorations on their rafts. We see empty gunpowder kegs and other empty shipping crates , riverboat railing (from steamboat wrecks) in the construction of Tom & Huck’s lookout fort too. This kinda civilization debris probably would have been pretty common during the 19th Century. Almost all mining operations in the West had to have a water source - mainly for the stamp milling of ore to be crushed then shipped out to smelters via railroad or wagon. The barrel and explosive crate waste and debris would have been pretty abundant - not to mention the assaying and ore separating chemicals….. released right into the water source or a “expulsion pond” .
The red fire barrels seen along some parts of the Disneyland Railroad’s right of way would have been historically filled with sand - to douce and flare ups . The architectural detail we romantically call a “widows walk” in the 20th and 21st century was usually called a FIRE RAIL in the 1700’s & 1800’s . A detail mostly forgotten from that period were fire barrels of sand set atop roof tops and specially constructed platforms …. This was to make it easier to access the building’s roof if a fire should start - very common were chimney fires back then. When DISNEY’s AMERICA theme park was being designed the 1840’s- 1850’s industrial town of ENTERPRISE featured these fire barrels and extinguishing platforms for historical authenticity.
I suspect the red barrel gunpowder kegs would have been discarded from ships once emptied by their crew . Tom & Huck probably retrieved the empty kegs from the river to use as seats or decorations on their rafts. We see empty gunpowder kegs and other empty shipping crates , riverboat railing (from steamboat wrecks) in the construction of Tom & Huck’s lookout fort too. This kinda civilization debris probably would have been pretty common during the 19th Century. Almost all mining operations in the West had to have a water source - mainly for the stamp milling of ore to be crushed then shipped out to smelters via railroad or wagon. The barrel and explosive crate waste and debris would have been pretty abundant - not to mention the assaying and ore separating chemicals….. released right into the water source or a “expulsion pond” .
The red fire barrels seen along some parts of the Disneyland Railroad’s right of way would have been historically filled with sand - to douce and flare ups . The architectural detail we romantically call a “widows walk” in the 20th and 21st century was usually called a FIRE RAIL in the 1700’s & 1800’s . A detail mostly forgotten from that period were fire barrels of sand set atop roof tops and specially constructed platforms …. This was to make it easier to access the building’s roof if a fire should start - very common were chimney fires back then. When DISNEY’s AMERICA theme park was being designed the 1840’s- 1850’s industrial town of ENTERPRISE featured these fire barrels and extinguishing platforms for historical authenticity.
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