This installment starts with a flavor of Pittsburgh in it. If it's not instantly recognizable to you, this photo was taken at Story Book Forest May 3rd 1970. Story Book Forest opened in 1956 as part of Idlewild Park which is the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania opening in 1878. We recently took Still A Stroke there with grandpap and she had a blast. We took photos of her which sync up to ones we have from this trip in 1970. We always meant to buy a special frame to show these photos 40 years apart but still haven't. Do you recognize the guy in the photo? That's not Still A Dad, it's Pittsburgh's own Paul Shannon who was there that day signing autographs for kids. He hosted Saturday morning programming from what I remember but he was a local radio legend before that. I see the Good Ship Lollipop in the background. On our most recent visit there, there was a little hottie handing out lollipops. I don't remember that from 1970.
This was taken on November 8th, 1970 so I'm guessing it was either a birthday party for me or a combined one for both Still A Sis and I as our birthdays are relatively close in November. What's weird is thats Gumby in my hands. For the life of me I don't remember knowing Gumby until Eddie Murphy started doing him on SNL. I can't ever recall watching a TV show or anything related to Gumby and I have a scary memory for pop culture and can recall plotlines from cartoons of that era with uncanny accuracy. I'm going to go ahead and guess that a relative bought it for me thinking I knew who it was since I just read the character first appeared in 1953. My mom indicates that Still A Colt is standing behind me there in the nice burnt orange pants. I can barely make fun of that as you check out my wardrobe. And bonus.....check out that 1970's carpet!
This is from the same party. Mom indicates that Uncle "Chew" is behind me there who was detailed here when he died a few years ago. Gumby is now riding a tractor and I bet Uncle Chew purchased that for me as he was crazy for all things John Deere. You'll notice the obligatory Tonka dump truck by my side as well. You couldn't break one of those things if you tried. No plastic parts there kiddies. I see the wiener dog pull toy that's in Toy Story but I can't make out what the girl is playing with in the background. I think it's Still A Sis but it could also be my neighbor crush or cousin Patty, both who would have been a year or so older than me. I don;t like to use real names here so if anybody has an opinion - leave it in the comments. I think it's my sister as the hair color might give it away. Stilladog may have been at this party, but I'm guessing he was out with his friends since he was around 16 at this time I'm guessing.
And finally, Christmas 1970. Mom dutifully noted on the back of the picture that I was 2 years, 1 and 1/2 months. She couldn't just say 2 years old or assume I could figure it out using this thing called "Math". I chose this picture for obvious reasons and it's a theme throughout my life - the drums. This may be the first drum I ever owned. A good 5% of the pictures in my album contain a drum of some sort. I'm also playing it upside down! Good thing there were no snares on there. If you look over my shoulder I just had a horrible flashback about that goddamn barn toy. That white fence would NOT stand up on carpet. I remember today the frustrations caused by it. I don't remember it as a 2 year old (I don't think) but I kept that toy for a while and I clearly remember trying to set up barnyard scenes and that frigging fence falling over. If you breathed on it, walked past it or even LOOKED at it....boom. Hope you enjoyed.
8 comments:
I still enjoy a nice pair of earth (desert) tone pants!
i wonder if that was Still A Colt commenting?
It was.
So wonderful to see those pictures! I love Idlewild....got lots of pictures of my kids sitting on the fake mushrooms there...they are too big for it now but I still make them get a picture by one.
Oh, gee..all those toys you have and in the background are all the same ones that filled our family room for years. And the pictures at StoryBook are similiar to the ones that fill shoe boxes of our kids early years.
You are a bit off the mark on Paul Shannon's claim to fame.
First of all Paul was a GREAT guy. He nearly single-handedly resurrected the Three Stooges careers after the demise of vaudeville and the 20-minute movie short.
He is most famous for an afternoon TV show on WTAE called Paul Shannon's Adventure Time. I appeared on this show in 1963. But I believe it ran from about 1959 into the early 70s.
I probably should do a whole post on Paul Shannon because I just thought he was the greatest. He was great for kids. And I even thought his fake bullshit, such as the "Magic Sword" and Nosmo King, was funny.
Very likely I was at that birthday party in 1970. I always enjoyed the company of Uncle "Chew" who undoubtedly called you "Jake" when those photos were taken. I also liked watching football at your birthday parties with Uncle John. And in 1970 I don't think he had purchased his Steeler season tickets yet. I would have been only 14 on that date so I hadn't yet begun to venture out with my friends on Sunday evenings too much.
There used to be some kind of a knight in a dungeon over at Storybook Forest. You couldn't see him but you could hear his screams for help. Someone, probably one of my aunts, told me if I wasn't good they'd stick me in the dungeon. And I was scared shitless of that place. The 3 men in the tub (the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker) and old Mother Hubbard could never distract me from that bastard down in the dungeon. I hated Storybook Forest.
Idlewild Park is nice but I much preferred Kennywood. I do remember seeing Ernest Tubb & The Texas Troubadors at Idlewild in 1969.
I think that is me on the edge of the photo. The toy was this bubble-like thing that had a button on top, when you pushed the button, the marbles inside the bubble would spin around the edge. I think they still make something like it, although it is probably cheap lead-filled plastic from China now.
Those are some stylin' striped pants you have! I had forgotten all about the pink baby carriage in the background of that photo. And gee, I don't remember us having a gumby to play with either.
I think that is Lisa in the background, too. Can't remember my mom ever putting me in red tights. I was always jealous of your Still a Sis's wardrobe.
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