OK-zles™
Let's start today off by wishing GDB friend Melissa a very Happy Birthday! She was gone for a long time, but now she's back, and it's great. Sue B. (another GDB friend) kindly supplied some vintage birthday photos for the occasion.
It must have been a nice warm day, maybe June (hey, just a guess), and kids are enjoying cake and ice cream. I hope that's milk in those cups, and not fruit punch, which should never be eaten with cake. The Birthday Boy has to share a chair with his baby brother, how humiliating. Party favors are strewn all over the table, including paper hats, noisemakers, crayons, a roll of tape (my favorite!), and a few books, including"Fairy Tales to Color", with Snow White and the Practical Pig on the cover.
I found a jpeg of it! 1977 is the date on this item.
This one's a bit fuzzy, but we get a wider view of the shenanigans. Mom appears to be scoopiing ice cream, I think. Check out the Wonder Woman tablecloth! Kind of an odd choice for a boy's birthday, but hey, Wonder Woman is cool. I remember when I was a kid, my mom would invite all of the neighborhood children, and somehow they all showed up! I guess it was just the thing to do back then. Maybe the liked free cake, or hoped to get the gold in Olympic "pin the tail on the donkey" competition. Happy Birthday, Melissa, and thank you, Sue!
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Today's Snoozles™ cannot be easily categorized, so I will place them in the blurry "OK-zles" slot for now. This first picture (from May, 1960) would be nice if it wasn't for that little tree, which was obviously a relative of Charlie Brown's tree. The family resemblance is clear. I sure wish we'd been treated to an unobstructed view of the three-car red Monorail ("Li'l Stubby"), but that tree came out of nowhere and frightened me. Meanwhile, the park is nearly deserted... we can just see a few guests in the distance, but it's like a ghost town, otherwise.
And from August, 1962 comes this dark-ish, kind of boring photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle. If you stand on your head you can see the dent, though it is subtle. I dunno, I can't think of much to say about this one!
21 comments:
Happy Birthday, Melissa! It’s wonderful having you back, and especially fun to celebrate your birthday!!
Major, I think the birthday kid is a girl…all the guests are girls, plus the cake is the bottom half of a doll’s dress (a plastic doll body is inserted into the top). And there’s Wonder Woman, as you mentioned. IF the kid isn’t a girl, he sure is popular with the ladies.
I do see The Dent, just barely.
Thanks, Major.
Melissa-
I'm SO GLAD you're here so we can celebrate your birthday - in style. (Wonder Woman, naturally). I'm uncertain why The Major thinks the birthday celebrant is a boy, as it appears to me to be a girl-!
Major-
I think these two images definitely fall into the OK-zies category. In the 1st one we can even spy a gardener watering the flora around the Matterhorn and a bit closer, the Kodak Picture Spot.
Thanks, Major.
Happy Birthday, Melissa!!!!
I think that's Fifer Pig, based on his hat. It looks like he's trying to tell Snow White about a similar wolf that once terrorized him and his buddies. Snow White's thinking, "Yeah, yeah.....keep pestering me, pig, and you'll end up as tonight's dinner for the Dwarfs!
I thought that might be a birthday girl, too. I was also basing it on the cake which is the bottom part of a "dress," as Sue pointed out.
There are a couple of those "doll cakes" on the cover of this magazine/catalog. And on the pages inside, there are some of the unclothed top halves of the dolls that you could purchase. I suppose in a pinch, you could always just shove a Barbie doll feet-first into a cake.
Cake and Food Decorating Year Book by Wilton
That might be Lillian Disney who's watering the plants at the base of the Matterhorn. I read about how Walt put her in charge of watering ALL of the park's plants, but would not let her hire any outside help.
Thank you, Sue and Major! And once again, a very happy birthday to Melissa! :-)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MELISSA!!! (I used all caps so it would be easier to read :-p) ♫♪ "It's so nice to have you back where you belong!" ♪♫
Ha! Something about Little Brother makes me laugh. Maybe it's because his ears sit so low on his head. He looks like a Kewpie doll. The girl on the right reminds me of a young Liv Tyler. I wonder what the roll of tape (Major's favorite) was for? Maybe they taped the tablecloth down so it wouldn't blow away.
As Sue stated, I don't think the "birthday boy" is a boy! Like you said, the tablecloth is Wonder Woman themed. And the cake (on the left) looks like one of those 'princess' cakes, where the princess's billowing dress is the cake, while the upper part of the princess is a Barbie-like doll that sticks into the top of the cake (not seen here). (I already had all this written before I read Sue's comment... stuff happens sometimes.) ;-)
In the second birthday pic, Dad(?), on the right is carrying something. I think it's a time machine.
Many thanks to Sue, as always, for the birthday pics.
BlursnoozKzle #1: It's a nice photo with lots going on in it. But the things going on are incomplete. Like "Li'l Stubby" blocked by the tree, that you mentioned. Also, part of the worker watering the Alpine flowers, part of the trashcan, part of the Lagoon rocks, and part of the Matterhorn, which looks rather dark and foreboding. I bet Chernobog is sitting on top spreading his great leathery wings! Nice view of Screechy though.
BlursnoozKzle #2: To paraphrase Linus, "I don't think it's such a bad little pic. It's not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love." It has a clarity and saturation to it that I like. Plus, we can see Tinker Bell's zipline and the upper part of one(1) Skyway bucket.
This may be a Sunday Snoozle post, but I bet we get LOTS of comments! Thanks, Major.
Dang. I should've refreshed the screen again before posting my comment! Tokyo! also talks about the cake, etc.. Looks like we're ALL talking about the same things this morning!
Happy Birthday to our own Wonder Woman and fashion expert: Melissa. Hope your day is full of exploring vintage fabric stores and couture fashion houses!: There's an awesone fabric store by me that's been open since the 60's...and they still have fabrics in there from that era. It's kind of amazing and creepy all at the same time...and I can't spend much time in there: because I'll spend money that I don't have on fabric I don't need. That being the said: a great photo of the :side side" of the Matterhorn. With rather young trees....it's a nice view actually: and the Monorail is giving off just a touch of "Oscar Meier Weinermobile" vibes. TM: It wouldn't surprise me if Walt had Lillian water the plants: he wasn't cheap...but he was humbly thrifty for sure....except with his toys. Those giant boulder size boulders are all over where I live: and I have a couple in my yard. Where they are: they stay. Giant rocks are fun and amazing to me. And even artificial ones I enjoy too. The castle looks postcard perfect. That they would mess with the color on this landmark is beyond me: that they would coat it in plastic snow is beyond me....but all the twinkle lights at Holiday time are kind of pretty at night....but tragic during the day. There has to be a compromise...and usually my inventions for compromise are expensive. I see retractable twinkle lights that are not seen during the day...but at night at "Magic Time"....there is a ceremony to light the castle AND the giant star on the Matterhorn....where the lights seem to grow like magic....and I won't fault them for the projection things....when they are well done they are kind of cool...but there's something nice about the tactile elements mixed with more "modern" artistic endevours. I'm off to go boxing at Jeffries Barn in Burbank: that was a rabbit hole yesterday I never got out of...and got to the point as I was looking up surveying maps prior to the Disney Studio being built ....and then Lockheed...then Debbie Reynolds house....all all the other charms of Burbank CA...which I've always liked....before I said to myself..."where am I" and forgot to post (happy belated Grant) Burbank is so close to the action...but you still feel suburban....well: you did anyway. When I try to describe Burbank to those over here: "Courtyard apartment. carpet. ceiling fan." Very charming to me now. Kind of like Anaheim motels circa '65....plenty of free parking! Or "park in the rear"....which kind of sounds GDB after dark, and I will leave it there. Thanks Major and enjoy your day Melissa!
Happy Birthday, Melissa! Glad you're back in the comments.
I don't think I've ever seen that angle from the first picture before. I'm guessing the boulders at the right mark the sub lagoon.
Thanks, everyone, for the kind birthday wishes! This is the warmest and fuzziest I've felt in a long time. Sue, you couldn't have picked a better picture - Wonder Woman was one of my favorites as a kid. (We never missed an episode of the Lynda Carter series.) I even had a doll cake one year! And we had a plastic pitcher just like that one; I can practically taste the Fla·Vor·Aid!
That Disneyland gardener is a man outstanding in his field. And I almost didn't recognize Old Screechy from this angle.
Meant to add: I love the version of Lillian that lives in these comments. I want to buy her a beer.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MELISSA!!!! Hope your day is full of wonderfulness. (Sorry for shouting in your ear.)
That’s quite the birthday party setup. Outdoor parties when the weather is just right are wonderful. This gets the “Good Chuckkeeping Stomp of Approval.” I put on my best hiking boots to award it.
My grandmother had kitchen chairs identical to the ones in that photo.
I think the birthday boy’s baby brother is actually the birthday girl’s baby sister. From what we can see, it appears the littlest one may be wearing what appears to be a sundress like the other girls.
TM!, Lillian did a fantastic job until they finally hired Bill Evan’s and his team. Well, except for that one tree over in Frontierland. That thing dried out so thoroughly it’s hard as rock now. Odd, since it was her favorite tree, too.
*Evans. Autocorrect continues to hat me.
I forgot to mention that thing on top of the coloring book is a Colorforms booklet. Those came inside the Colorforms playsets and showed examples of how you could arrange the individual pieces. I wonder which set our birthday girl received?
TM!, Lillian did a fantastic job until they finally hired Bill Evan’s and his team.
Chuck, maybe....but I've heard that a lot of plants died under Lillian's watch, because she had a thyme management problem.
Happy birthday Melissa, we surely did miss ya!
Thanks Major! I'm glad Sue remembered the cake.
Zach
OMG, Colorforms! I haven't thought about those in a donkey's age! I had a set of Raggedy Ann Colorforms that I remembered as being a tea party scene. But when I searched for "Raggedy Ann Colorforms Tea Party" I found this set, and I know mine didn't have that minstrel-show-looking character, who Google tells me was called "Beloved Belindy." A little more searching showed me that my set was the Raggedy Ann Play Kitchen, which looked like a tea party to my five-year-old eyes. At that age, you got dolls, you got a table, you got a tea party. I think there's even a teapot in there somewhere.
Happy Birthday Melissa! Many happy returns of the day! Great to have you back commenting.
There’s not much left to say about the birthday party except that Mrs. G once made a similar Barbie cake for our daughter and it was great fun.
I guess that tree just jumped into the picture at the last second, envious of the attention lavished on the monorail and the trash can (which is a fantasyland design leaking around the corner into Tomorrowland). I was worried about that glowing gold mineral in the rocks, but I see on second glance it is flowers in the planter at the base of the tree.
I’ll take that photo of the Castle too, in that flat Orange County light.
Good stuff, Major. Thank you!
JG
Melissa, thank you for jogging my memory! I also had a Raggedy Ann Colorforms set, but mine was archaic. No scenery, no tea party, no friends included. Just clothes and hair bows. But I loved her, anyway. Surprisingly, I also found my set on eBay...see HERE.
Happy Birthday Melissa!!!
My vote is for Birthday Kid being a girl.
Fav pic of mine today is Lil' Stubby Monorail Red, even with the tree.
Thanks Major and Sue!
Major-
Poor Lillian - she's fast-becoming the brunt of many-a-joke here on GDB, quite clever though they may be. (I hate to think what they're saying about her over on GDB After Dark...)
Lou and Sue, well I feel bad. I thought, “Is that a girl?”. “Yes, that’s a girl”. “Um, maybe it’s a boy?”. I will bow to your expertise!
Nanook, yes, how nice it is to have Melissa back with us! I dunno, I thought the kid looked sort of gender neutral, but it does make more sense that it’s a girl. I’m always surprised to see people working on the landscaping, back when the park was closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
TokyoMagic!, ah, right the Practical Pig is always frowning and wears a different hat. I didn’t think of a “doll cake”, in fact I’ve never heard of such a thing. But you and Sue know all about them! I hope nobody from the Disney family reads GDB (but they are, of course), they won’t like hearing such things about grandma!
JB, your tape theory is a good one, even a little breeze can wreak havoc at an outdoor party. Masking tape is the perfect solution. No idea what the person to the right is holding in that second photo. Next time I need to use the restroom I’m going to announce that I will be watering the Alpine flowers. CLASSY. I get too jaded about things like photos of the castle, even if they are OK. I just have too darn many of them!!
JB, I can’t believe that you didn’t refresh your screen, how embarrassing.
Bu, I hope there are still vintage fabric stores out there, I’d imagine that if you can sew, it would be awesome to use fabrics and patterns from 50 or 60 years ago. I only bought fabric at Joanne Fabrics when I needed a backdrop for photos. Black or gray velvet. Expensive. You’re right the Monorail does resemble the Weinermobile, and that’s not a bad thing. When I was in LA a year or two ago, a friend told me that at Weinermobile was in a nearby parking lot, but I couldn’t go over there at that moment. A lost opportunity. Are those giant boulders real? Or hollow fiberglass, artfully painted? I generally like things that light up or glow at night, but I do sometimes feel like the castle is a bit over-the-top today. But people love it, so I’ll shut up. I was reading a biography of a movie star, and reading about how they bought a 12-acre ranch in the San Fernando Valley. MAN. That would be the dream. I’d employ murder robots to patrol it nowadays, of course. Nobody better steal my navel oranges. I sort of love Burbank, but worked with people AT DISNEY who hated it. Fine, who needs yoU!
Dean Finder, yes, they need those boulders in the Sub Lagoon to prevent erosion from the huge waves.
Melissa, aw, I’m glad you saw all the love today! I liked Lynda Carter, not so much for the show, but… well, never mind.
Melissa, I agree, I think people imagine Lillian as being meek and quiet, but I like the idea of her being a hellraiser.
Chuck, my mom always had birthday parties outdoors. With four kids, I think she worried about cake and ice cream being dropped on carpets. OK, OK, I concede on the gender of the kids! Sheesh!
Chuck, sometimes my fingers put in a possessive apostrophe even when I know it shouldn’t be there.
TokyoMagic!, so weird, I was just reading a totally unrelated thing about Colorforms, what are the odds?
zach, if it wasn’t for Sue, nobody would be getting a birthday greeting!!
Melissa, I might still have my basic version of Colorforms, just geometric shapes in different hues. I haven’t seen it in a while though, so maybe I got rid of it and just forgot. Somebody on eBay once sold dozens of different Colorforms sets, Sesame Street, Disney, and many I’d never seen before. Not my thing, but fun to see.
JG, I once crashed into a tree, and the cop didn’t believe that it came out of nowhere. It was my word vs. the tree, and the tree won. Wow, Walt should have put glowing gold minerals in the rocks of the Sub Lagoon!
Lou and Sue, I think my brother had a Hot Wheels Colorforms set, we were really into Hot Wheels at the time. I remember a coloring book that I had, too.
Grant, I’m sorry, but voting is closed! ;-)
Nanook, Lillian had a sense of humor, she’s sitting on a cloud having a laugh.
Happy Birthday Melissa! Eat all the cake and ice cream you desire...because...well...you deserve it! KS
I wonder when they removed those trees from around the Sub lagoon? They must have ended up dropping leaves into the water. Not to mention the damage that the roots would do as the trees grew bigger. I bet they were Lillian's idea.
Melissa, I have posted some of my childhood Colorforms sets in the past (Dr. Doolittle, Aristocats, 101 Dalmatians, Mickey's Birthday Party, and Robin Hood). I still need to post my Popeye set and my brother's Planet of the Apes set.
It's funny, my aunt has her original Raggedy Ann doll and one Raggedy Ann book from her childhood. She just recently started showing a renewed interest in the stories and characters, so for her birthday which was a few months ago, I gave her more of the vintage books from the series. And my brother found a "mint" vintage Raggedy Ann Colorforms set, and gave that to her, even though Colorforms were "after her time." My aunt has been scanning the graphics from the set and the vintage books to make her own greeting cards.
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