Birthday Time!
Well, what do you know, today is Sue B's birthday! I chose a few fun vintage photos to share in honor of the occasion, starting with this undated (1950s?) birthday pic with a happy little boy posing with his chocolate cake. What, no ice cream for "a la mode"?? I love the bold mid-century patterns on the drapes and the wallpaper. And of course the cake-toppers are appropriate for Disney fans!
Looking on eBay, they are not super-rare.
I felt a little guilty that I didn't have a picture of a girl's birthday party, because, as we all know, boys are smelly and gross. So I decided to round out today's blog post with photos of a girl, even if it's not her birthday. You all remember Corinne, who has appeared on this blog many times! Take a look HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE!
Now we're seeing Corinne, circa June 1955 with her "Radio Tot" wagon and a few of her favorite toys.
Next is a photo from June 1956, and I think it's pretty clear where Corinne had been, possibly even earlier that day (folks did not feel the need to stay until closing back then). She's decked out with a pair of mouse ears and an earless Mickey Mouse balloon. The park was just under a year old at that point, maybe she was one of the first people to ride the Skyway or visit Tom Sawyer Island.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUE!
22 comments:
Sue have a Great Big Beautiful Birthday!!!
Major-
'Corinne' is standing in front of a 1954 Ford, possibly a 'Customline' model.
Presume that was the first iteration of MM ears - or was this the "summer" model-?
Happy Birthday - Sue. Big thanks for everything you do to enhance this blog-!
Thanks, Major.
Happy birthday, Sue! What would we do without you?
Five candles. The kid looks younger than five; four maybe. Although he does know how to look cool in front of a camera! Like Major said, the drapes and wallpaper steal the show.
"I think it's pretty clear where Corinne had been". Ratland! Or maybe Koala Town? I'm trying to figure out what Corinne has in her mouth. Looks like a (fake) cylindrical radish and some teeth-on-a-string. That Mickey balloon looks pretty durable. I bet it lasted quite a while without popping.
Treat yourself to something fun and special, Sue. And thanks, Major.
I really like those candle holders! I wonder if you were supposed to write which birthday it was (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) in the circle on the yellow holder with Huey, Dewey, and Louie? Which birthday is it, Ethel?
I think the balloon in that last pic is one of those large sturdy "punching balloons" like Miss Mary Ann had the kids use on Romper Room. And have we seen Mouse Ears like that before in vintage pics? They seem closer to the more modern "hair band" version that they sell today, rather than the traditional "hat" version (which is still sold today). Gee, I get putting "Mouseketeers" on them (left side) and even "Mickey Mouse" (right side), but did "©Walt Disney Prod." need to be printed that big! And is it possible that those ears and the balloon didn't come from DL, and were instead available in the toy aisle of the local grocery store, or maybe even Newberry's?
Thanks, Major. And happy, happy birthday, to our very own Sue!
Seasons greetings, Sue!
And happy birthday too!
May your day be merry!
And not at all scary!
With the bestest of wishes, from Stu!
Hooray! More photos of Corinne! I love that name!
Note that the Radio Tot wagon cost $2.50. That’s the equivalent of D2,169.20 Gambian dalasi today.
I was thinking the same thing as TM! about those ears, so there’s no need for me to tripe out my thoughts. Thanks for being such a pal!
And…happiest of birthdays, Sue! In celebration, I shall mow the lawn, change the oil in my car, and replace the slides on the silverware drawer. I hope you enjoy your special day at least as much as I will!
Make that “type out my thoughts.” Although some people may find my thoughts to be what I originally wrote.
Happy Birthday, Sue! Thank you for what you've brought to this blog!!
So, where is Corinne today and why does Major have her photos? I'm going to watch that DL video mentioned in one of the old comments a little later today.
Thanks, Major,
Zach
Happy Birthday Sue, thanks for your being here, GDB is a better place for your efforts!
Those patterns in the first pic look familiar, we might have had something, a tablecloth, dish towels etc. with a similar treatment. The cake toppers are fun, reusable too, as candles aren’t.
Corinne is a cute kid and I had a red wagon just like hers. Lucky kid to go to Disneyland in 1956, I hope she remembers some of it.
Thanks Major!
JG
I believe what Corrine has in her mouth is what’s called a “party horn.”
Happy Birthday Sue…or as it’s written “Soobie”…my name that way unfortunately is not Blog approved…Boo-…and well, fill in the blanks. I could go for a Huey, Duey and Louey…if there was also a Sue-ey, as in “chop”. This would be a long distant cousin of the duck clan. In honor of Norwegian National Day today: which is our 4th of July, I remember I would collect Disney Comics in Norway…or course, they would be in Norwegian…the duck ones were the best: especially with H, D, L…Goofy also made appearances in these as well…there was one with the three of them pushing Goofy up a mountain “PUFF PUFF FULL FAHRT!!”…well…in English this was absolutely hysterical to us kids…and those were words we couldn’t even SAY! Even today if I’m rushing someone, or pushing them to get over metaphorical mountains I will say: come on! Puff puff full fahrt! Which 50 years later is still hysterical. To me anyway! I think Corine may win the big forehead challenge in that one photo, and I was also a little fascinated by the mouse ears and it’s very modern look. I’m not a huge fan of the ear headband…and prefer the Roy Williams cap version…I’m wondering how many zillions of mouse ears have been made in 70 years…it boggles the mind- and they are still wearing them today. What a stroke of genius, and based on a character created 100 years ago: talk about brand recognition. Happy Birthday Sue and enjoy all of your brand recognition today!!!!!!
@ TM!-
"Which birthday is it, Ethel?"
Well... if you must know. "... besides, it's none of your business if Ethel is 53... "Let's just say it's somewhere between the Speedy Cleaners and Goldblatt's Delicatessen"
Happy Birthday, Sue!
Mike Cozart, I’m sure Sue has BIG PLANS today!
Nanook, I’m wearing Customline pants! I wondered about those mouse ears myself, all we have to do is wait, somebody will write a big coffee table book about the history of mouse ears - $60 on Amazon.
JB, hey, that kid’s mom presumably knows how old her own child is! Ratland wasn’t open yet, they were still gathering millions of rats, which took time. Cylindrical radishes were popular with children in the 1950s, it was a fad even bigger than the Hula Hoop.
TokyoMagic!, yes, I think that mom was supposed to write a number in that circle. Or just put a question mark, or a smiley face. I’m almost positive we’ve seen those kinds of balloons at Disneyland in the early years, though of course it is possible that Corinne got the ears and balloon from someplace else. I gave her the benefit of the doubt, since we’ve seen her at Knott’s, Jungleland, POP (I didn’t link to that pic), the Indio Date Festival, and more. It only makes sense that she would have been to Disneyland, though I am surprised that we don’t have any photos of her in the park.
Stu29573, only you and Shakespeare have used “bestest” in a poem, and that is pretty special!
Chuck, maybe someday you’ll meet somebody named “Corinne”? Gambian dalasi, finally a currency that makes sense. At first I thought that Corinne might have put her mouse ears on backwards (reverse side to the front), but now I don’t think that’s the case. Be sure to vacuum the dead moths out of the silverware drawer. Mine is full of thousands of dead moths!
Chuck, I didn’t even notice the tripo!
zach, I’ve had Corinne’s photos for a long time, and it looks like she had such an idyllic childhood, you’d think that she (or her family) would want to hold on to these slides. BUT… that’s now how it went.
JG, just think how drab our lives would be if Sue hadn’t discovered GDB! I still remember her first email to me, telling me about her dad’s huge collection of slides. I think those patterns on the curtains and wallpaper look very classic, I’m not sure I’ve seen those specifically, but they sure take me back. I remember some fun endpapers on a cookbook my mom had, I really liked the simple drawings of spoons, whisks, etc!
Anonymous, “party horn”, eh? You are *sure* it’s not a cylindrical radish??
Bu, “Soobie” makes me think that Sue grew up in the South. Come and git it, Soobie! Wipe your feet before you come in! Your name is not blog-approved?? You’re the only person I know who has that name! I suppose there must be more, in Norway. Chop Suey, I’m not sure I’ve ever had that. We had frozen Chow Mein when I was a kid (I liked it, and it gave my mom a break). Norwegian Disney comics probably had a lot of casual nudity. Because it’s no big deal! Isn’t “fahrt” German? Maybe it’s the same in both languages, I know I’ve seen it before because it’s hard not to giggle. Don’t make fun of little Corinne, she’s adorable! I like the old original Roy Williams mouse ears too, but it’s true, you see hundreds of the headband-style ears at the park, in every color imaginable, with every sparkly thing ever created.
Nanook, there you go.
Dean Finder, I know Sue's a busy gal today, but she'll check in later!
Happy, happy birthday, Sue! Thank you for all the photo fun you share with Major and us!
Looks like the set of Disney candle holders could have the characters randomly be pink or blue. Why didn’t the boy’s parents put the Donald one on the cake?!? I like Corinne’s rubbery plasticky toys, like the cow(?) in the wagon.
Thanks, Major.
Did my birthday wish earlier not post? Big birthday hugs for all you do for us Sue!
MS
Ah, a party horn. Thanks Anonymous! With that knowledge in mind, it does indeed look like one of those things that you blow into, and it unrolls with a toot.
Major, maybe the kid's mom just wanted to use all five of those Disney cake toppers, even though her kid was only four. Did you think of that? Huh? Did you? ;-D
I'm late to the party... Happy Birthday, Sue!
Thank you, Major and Jr. Gorillas, for all the wonderful birthday wishes - I had a VERY nice day!
BTW, I started using “Sue B” on this blog because there already was a “Sue” who commented a few times [years back]. I didn’t want to confuse readers, in case the original “Sue” commented again. (I’ve worked at jobs with multiple Sue’s—and we each would choose a different version of our name to always use, to make things less confusing—Sue, Susan, Sue B., etc.)
I see that Corinne’s MM ears are farther apart. Today’s (not today’s GDB post) headband ears are a bit higher on the head—closer together. Come to think of it….I’ve never seen a mouse with huge round ears, anyway.
Major, thanks for hosting today’s fun party!
I missed it! Harpy Birthday +1 Sue!! KS
Thank you, KS!
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