Vintage Snapshots

Here are more scans of some vintage snapshots from various years, but mostly from the mid-1960s (and possibly into the 1970s). I bought this batch for one single interesting photo print, but now you are stuck looking at the rest of them! Sorry. 

It's lunchtime! You have to keep your body fueled up for an entire day's worth of excitement. Those folding chairs sure look comfortable! Everyone ordered a cold iced tea, and mom has the World's Largest Salad. The kid has an ostrich-plumed hat, so he gets extra credit. For the life of me, I could not figure out where they were eating. The folks going up steps in the background (to the left) really baffled me. 

Some of the same people pose by the bridge to Frontierland, but the clothing has changed. Perhaps they were locals who went to the park regularly. Mom's DEVO glasses are super cool.

This one might have been taken during the same visit as the first scan, and this print has the helpful date of  "August, 1965" printed on it. The mighty Columbia looks impressive in the afternoon sunlight, and a Canoe scoots along, barely visible on the River.

National Boy Scout Day

There's something in the air; I know! It's National Boy Scout Day! . I can't remember the last time I actually saw cub scouts out and about, it feels like it's been a while. But I'm sure they are out there, helping old ladies cross streets and learning woodcraft like nobody's business. Steve Stuart, aka "Nanook", sent along a photo from November 15, 1961, with him in his magnificent uniform. Notice the patches, which indicate that he is qualified to fly a jet if the pilot happens to be incapacitated. You can eat your delicious airplane food later, Nanook, somebody's got to land this bird!

I had something to contribute for the occasion; my brother gave one of those "digital picture frames" to my mom last year, and it has been a big hit - I've loaded up scans of hundreds of family photos. One of them is from May, 1969... my family lived in Huntington Beach, and my older brother joined the Cub Scouts. I remember being very jealous of his uniform and especially the cool brass kerchief slide with the face of a ferocious wolf cub! Here's my brother (on the right) and a friend in "Indian" headdresses for some reason. My younger brother and sister are to the right, and on the wall is a clock that my grandpa made, which still bongs in my mom's house!

 

DuPont Sign, New York World's Fair - March 1964

Today I am presenting the second installment of slides that feature the building and installing of the huge sign that was outside the DuPont pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair (part one was posted on January 3rd). 

As you can see, the finished components of the sign have been loaded up on a big flat-bed truck for the  journey to Flushing Meadows in Queens. Thanks to this photo, we know that the sign was built by Belsinger Sign Works, in Baltimore. Looking at Google Maps, that's roughly a four hour drive (though it is rush hour as I write this). 

Here's a photo of Belsinger Sign Works; at first I thought it was still a going concern today (you know how it is, the Internet is full of old articles). But then I found this statement from a former Belsinger employee ("NJ", since it might be impolite to reveal his name here): The sign company I worked 36 years for in Baltimore [Belsinger Signworks] made it to almost 102 years when it closed two years ago (it closed in 2021). A great legacy and a great ride. My first real job out of high school! I continue my almost 40-year sign journey with one other coworker of those 36 years at a great, larger sign company nearby. This trade truly gets in your blood, lol!

I absolutely love photos like this, showing the Fair site as a hive of activity in the weeks leading up to opening day (which was only a month or so after these photos were taken - April 22nd, 1964). Just drive your car onto the property and park in front of your pavilion! The partially-wrapped pole near the center of the image is where the DuPont sign would be mounted. The blue structure behind the gentleman to the right is a cluster of phone booths.

That tall arched structure behind the sign pole indicated the location of the 7-Up Sandwich Garden, where fresh sandwiches (hot and cold) grew on trees.

What a picture! I have another similar example for the next DuPont blog post. The giant "egg" of the IBM pavilion is to the left, the red umbrella roof of the Travelers Pavilion is above the red pickup truck, and the Bell System pavilion is in the distance, almost out of frame to the right.

It's hard to believe that the Fair would be ready for guests in a matter of weeks! There's a man above the "Sofia Movers" vehicle doing a ceremonial dance to ensure good luck. The sign is hooked up to a crane, but they have to wait for the giant hot glue gun to warm up before they can put the sign in place. Yes, I know a lot about this sort of thing. Don't be jealous. 

Stay tuned for PART THREE, whenever I get around to it!

1950s Randos

Abraham Lincoln once said, "Let our Nation reflect on the abundance of Randos, because they are totally rad." Inspired by Abe's words, I have two randos for you today.

This first one, from "sometime in the 1950s" is a swell view from a luxury Skyway gondola looking down upon the Autopia load zone, with hard-hatted NASA guys (they carry slide rules in their pockets because you just never know), and Screechy the Lonesome Iggle flying toward us for a hug. I love those old Mark I (or Mark II or Mark III or Mark IV) vehicles (those all looked essentially the same), and that Richfield billboard with the wheel-shaped space station. But what I mostly love is the views of Anaheim, just farms and farm roads and farm bugs. 

Just for yucks, how about a zoom view?

Next is another undated slide, taken on what appears to be a gloomy day (or is the photo just too dark?). Guests walk from the parking lot toward the ticket booths, with Main Street Station acting as a beacon to lure them in like moths. There's a tram right in front of them, but they presumably didn't need it. 

Two From April, 1972

That popcorn vendor might look lonely, but he's actually doing advanced quadratic equations in his head. Every once in a while, a chuckle will escape his lips - there's nothing more beautiful than math! Luckily, he also loves popcorn, and will tell guests about the history of this snack food; he even wrote an operetta about it - in Italian. Disney really hired the best of the best!

In 1972, some visitors probably thought that the giant chipmunk wasn't really there. "Stop following me, giant chipmunk! First my job interview, and now this! Shoo!". It's both tragic and hilarious. Meanwhile, the lady in dark blue is greeting Chip as if he is her best friend in the world. 

 

The Columbia, August 1970

Ya gotta love the Columbia. YA GOTTA. It just looks so great. Imagine how somebody from 1958 (the year the Columbia debuted) must have felt seeing this in an amusement park. On that beautiful river! It's an impressive feat, one that I think we're so used to now that we don't really appreciate it. Anyway, there it is, in the summer of 1970. It was a mere 12 years old in these photos. I like it when there are sails, even if they aren't fully unfurled, it just adds to the authenticity. Meanwhile, I'm staying away from that group of teenagers.

I wonder if the Mark Twain was closed for maintenance? The sailing ship is about as full as it can get. I'm noticing that the lanterns that are sometimes seen hanging from the ends of the yards (which were always freshly-mown) are missing, which is a shame. I've never known if they were lit at night, but assume so - it must have looked amazing.

Special Guest Post: Knott's Berry Farm Locomotives - Part 3

Hey hey! Today is Part Three in the series of posts contributed by GDB amigo Steve DeGaetano. He scanned a bunch of his Knott's Berry Farm postcards, all featuring the locomotives that we all love. And of course he provided some amazing history and information, for valuable context. Take it away, Steve!

Knott's 13: Here’s the second vertical card, this time showing No. 40, Green River. The pedant in me frets to no end about the very tippy end of the cowcatcher being cut off! Note the chain railings that kept guests from getting too close. Since these images were taken, the engine has been renumbered to 340—the number it wore when it served the Denver & Rio Grande Western—and the orange trim has been relegated to history.

Knott's 14: We’re now on to the last three cards. All of these appear to have been manufactured in the second decade of this century. Here we have a similar shot of Green River as the one above, but thankfully the entire cowcatcher is visible! The engine is under power, with a dramatic plume of steam issuing from the cylinders. Today, after a seven-year rebuild completed in 2016, Green River is painted mostly green (go figure?), with brass boiler bands, black cab with green panel under the windows, and a black tender with Rio Grande “speed lettering.” She has also been renumbered back to 340.

Knott's 15: This is a very cool nighttime shot of No. 41 passing under the cliffs of the Timber Mountain Log Ride, 32-volt headlight piercing the darkness. The crew has spent considerable time trying to make the engine look as much as it did in the late 1940s as they could, from the rectangular number plate to the spark arrestor on top of the smokestack.  This is the first time we’re told that the engine was renamed Walter K in 2012 (Boo. I much prefer the original, evocative name of Red Cliff. Mr. Knott, while a true visionary, already has an entire park named after him!)

Knott's 16: And finally, another shot of Ol’ No. 41 in daylight. The only concession to the “amusement park locomotive aesthetic” are the glossy black paint and the brass handrails. The crew have even replaced the long, pointy cowcatcher with an authentic stubby “pilot” made of used boiler tubes. The Knott’s handcar photobombs in the foreground. A few years ago No. 41 was completely rebuilt by the Durango & Silverton Railroad in Colorado, and did several test runs on its old right-of-way in December 2023. You can search YouTube for some amazing videos of her in her natural element!

Knott's 17: Since the majority of the postcards have featured No. 41, I thought, as a bonus, to throw a bit of photographic love towards No. 340, Green River. Here are a couple of unusual pictures from my personal collection, featuring the cab interior of the engine.

 

This first photo is from the engineer’s side. The Knott’s engines are much different than the Disney engines, in that the boilers extend through the cab all the way to the back cab wall! This is known as a “deckless” engine. I’m no expert on these engines, but I can point out a few things. The largest gauge at top center is the steam pressure gauge, with the brake gauge to its right. The throttle is the horizontal bar under the two red valve handles to the right, and the worn brass release of the vertical reverse lever, or Johnson Bar, is below that. The large overhead pipe is the steam line to the water injectors.

Knott's 18: And finally, this is the fireman’s side of Green River. Again, the pipe along the roof goes to the Fireman’s water injector. I’m guessing the brass valve under the red valve handle to the left is the firing valve. I’m also not sure what the white gauge is at the center—possibly for the atomizer, which sprays the fuel into a fine (and very combustible) mist.

There you go! I have truly loved this multi-part look at the locomotives (and vintage postcards) at Knott's Berry Farm - a park that I has meant so much to me since I was a child. And come on, who doesn't love a big ol' train?? I want to thank Steve DeGaetano for his generosity in offering to create these posts, with the scanning and research and writing. It's a lot of work! But so worth it. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. 

Frontierland

When you think of how many Frontierland scans I've already shared from the Mysterious Benefactor (MANY hundreds), it's shocking to know that there are still hundreds to go. The gift that keeps on giving. I'm grateful to him for entrusting me to share them with you.

Most of today's scans are "Golden Horseshoe" related - except for this first one. Based on the costume that this Cavalry officer is wearing (complete with authentic polarized frontier sunglasses), we can assume that this photo was taken on Tom Sawyer Island. Does he have a gun holster?? I can't tell what he's doing, the guest is getting the third degree.  

Here's an artistic night photo of the sign above the entrance to the Golden Horseshoe. It almost looks like a "day for night" effect. This was probably taken by Helmet Newton (not to be confused with Helmut Newton). 

"Yes, ma'am, there is plenty of rootin' and tootin' in the Golden Horseshoe Revue". "Do you think that my six year-old can watch so much tootin'?". "You have my solemn word as a member of AAA that he will be fine". "Bless you, sir" (tears flowing). This is known as The Disney Difference.

You don't have to say a word, Cliff, I understand completely. His break is in three minutes, and he knows he's going to spend the next 15 talking to this woman.

Well well well, I see that the purty gals aren't just in the show! This young lady is admiring the claws on the hand of another woman out of frame to our left. "How do you get them so thick and yellow?". "I never wash my hands!". "I would have never thought of that!".

And finally, who doesn't love a rare look at a performance of the Golden Horseshoe Revue? The stage is so little that it almost looks like the crowd is watching a puppet show, but those aren't puppets. The dancers are flesh and blood like us.

THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!

Snoozles - March 15, 1957

It's always a bit of a disappointment to scan some early Disneyland slides that appear (to the naked eye) to be very nice, but they turn out to be just a little bit out of focus. Today's examples are from a lot from March, 1957, and while they have their flaws, they are still worth a gander.

It's a beautiful, sunny day, though perhaps cooler than you might think (notice a number of coats and sweaters). Looks perfect to me. The entrance to Frontierland looks a bit sparse, but that's how life on the plains was. Trees were not plentiful, because they were all cut down to build log forts, stockades, cabins, and 6-11s (they change the name to "7-11" in the 1940s). You can still see some of the stumps of trees in the lower left, I don't think those remained there for much longer (tree stumps became a valuable resource during the Cold War). 

This next one was a real heartbreaker, I always love a good view of the pre-Nature's Wonderland Mine Trains in their original dark green paint scheme. Lucky guests ride up in the locomotive while a brave Redshirt keeps an eye out for mountain lions and vampire bats. The train is passing through the Saguaro Forest, and it looks like some California poppies have sprung up on that hillside. Our State flower! Just over that mini-berm is the tallest mast of the Pirate Ship.

La Brea Tar Pits - August 1969

I've had today's scans on my computer for a long time. It's high time I used them! One of Los Angeles's more unusual features is the La Brea Tarpits. For one thing - they are tar pits. For another - they are right on Wilshire Boulevard, along the "Miracle Mile". Next door to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and (now) across the street from the Petersen Automotive Museum.

The tar pits (it's actually asphaltum) are located in a pretty parklike setting - there are larger pits (or pools) or tar that have been there for a long time, but sometimes you'll find a small seep oozing out of the ground. One time I saw a poor (and dead) squirrel trapped in one, just like the Smilodons (aka "sabertooth cats") of 15,000 years ago. In this view, the massive Park LaBrea apartments loom over the scene - one of my good friends used to live there, he had amazing views of the city from his windows.

Guides and smart-alecks love to tell you that "La Brea Tar Pits" translates to The Tar Tar Pits. You should see the looks on their faces when they drop that bomb on people! They are very pleased. Beyond this sign you can see the large "Lake Pit", and past that, the Museum of Art. With so much oily glop everywhere, it surprises me that some plants still seem to thrive.

There's the Lake Pit again, which is over 3,000 feet (1,000 meters) long. Inhale the heady methane fumes as large bubbles bloop to the surface. It's fun! I don't remember that "island" in the middle, but I would like to build a home there. The tall buildings are across Wilshire Blvd. I would assume that measures need to be taken whenever construction takes place in that vicinity in order to deal with asphaltum in the ground.

Some people have claimed that this is the most interesting and exciting photo to ever appear in the Internet. Far be it from me to argue with them.

I don't remember ever seeing this sculpture of a mama smilodon and two cubs before, though it's possible it was there when I was a child. I'm pretty sure this is long-gone now.

Still present today is this sculpture of a Columbian Mammoth (from the Pleistocene era), caught in the sticky goo. It's not going to end well. I've mentioned it before, but this mammoth actually floats on a submerged "raft", and it will drift around in the wind.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to The Tar Tar Pits!