LET'S GET SOMETHING TO EAT in Yellowstone

Back to the lodges. All three of these are from Yellowstone. I haven't eaten in any of these. Last lodge I ate at was up in Jackson Hole. And before that was the beautiful old lodge at Crater Lake. Really fine food at both locations. Not like the snack shops where it's hurry hurry, fast fast, people in line behind you in shorts and odd hats. Eating sitting down at a lodge is different. Again, it's a step back in time.

Click on images to see them larger.

The first card was published by J. L. Robbins Co. out of Spokane Washington and is of the dining room at the lodge at the west entrance to the park. Nothing written on the back.

The second card, published by Haynes Picture Shops, Inc. has the following on the back: 

Grand Canyon Hotel Lounge from  Office, Yellowstone Park. This hotel, of which Robert C. Reamer was architect, is a quarter of a mile from the brink of the Grand Canyon. Its Lounge Room is used for concerts, dances, and a place to rest.

And the final card, also published by Haynes Picture Shops:

Canyon Lodge Lobby, Yellowstone Park, one of the largest structure in the entire camp system in the park was completed in 1925.  Canyon Camp is on the south side of the Grand Canyon convenient to Uncle Tom's Trail, the Upper Fall of the Yellowstone and Artist Point.

I wish they sold cards like this at the parks, like the lovely ones of the old posters I posted about two days ago. The cards these day are pretty high gloss shots, but they seem to be missing a little bit of soul. Okay, I admit it, I bought prairie dog cards when I was in Wyoming. I loved the prairie dog villages and would sit amongst them getting them all upset. Cute little buggers. Still, I'd have bought more cards if they'd have had a feeling of history. Most of the cards I bought at Rushmore were old photos that had been reissued. Maybe those of us that like ephemera are just the exception to the sales rules.

Lodges in the NATIONAL PARKS

The old lodges in National Parks are usually pretty wonderful places. My favorite is still the one at Glacier. The old wood, the stone hearth at the fireplaces, the textures, and smells. You're always stepping back to a nicer time when you step inside. They're part of the history of the parks. Unfortunately most of the items I turned over in the gift shops had "Made in China" stamped on the bottom. I'd pick up something that looked Native American and there was that blasted little gold sticker with "China" on it. Really bugged me.

Below are a few old postcards showing the lodges at Bryce Canyon in Utah, Old Faithful in Yellowstone, Zion National Park in Utah, and Mount Rainier in Washington. I look at the one of Zion and can remember my father and me having lunch on the balcony porch a few years after my mother's passing. The parks always bring back good memories.

Click on image to see it larger.

And this copy is from the back of the Bryce Canyon card. The same copy is on the back of the Zion card below.

"Lodge Center, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, provides accommodations for guests housed in adjacent guest lodges. The lodge center contains hospitable lobby and lounge, attractive and commodious entertainment hall, spacious dining room, curio store, barber shop, and retiring rooms and shower bath for men and women." 

And from the Yellowstone card:

"Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone Park. Without this wonderful architectural creation how lame and lacking in completeness the Upper Geyser Basin would be. Words are almost useless in word-picturing this Inn--one must surely see and ramble about it and eat and sleep in it to know it. Go and do this and be happy!"

Click on image to see it larger.

And from the back of the Rainier card:

"Steam shovels have just dug channels through ten to twelve feet of snow to allow automobiles to reach Paradise Inn, Rainier National Park. The highway is usually open for traffic by July 1st."

Hopefully some of these will bring back memories to those who remember visiting parks as children on family vacations when the world seemed a little less scary and maybe even a little bigger.

America's NATIONAL PARKS

These cards are not old. I purchased them while on vacation in Wyoming in 2006. What they are are reproductions of 1930s Works Progress Administration (WPA) posters done for the National Parks. To quote the back of the cards:

Between 1935 and 1943 the WPA's Federal Art Project printed over two million posters in 35,000 different designs to stir the public's imagination for education, theater, health, safety, and travel. Due to their fragile nature only two thousand posters have survived.

This is a nice example of ephemera being reissued/repurposed to our current times. To see more from the company that produced these click on the following link:  Ranger Doug's Enterprises.  I have nothing to do with this company, but I do think I'd like to purchase a few more cards and a poster to frame. Looking at the list of National Parks posters I'm happy to see I've been to all but 5 of the parks. I do love the National Parks, and I especially love the old lodges. We're very lucky to have these places. For me nothing can match standing at the base of a Sequoia tree looking towards the heavens. Nothing man-made can ever match it.

(a) circa 1939, artist unknown

(b) artists: Doug Leen and Mike Dupille

(c) circa 1939, artist unknown

To see the other cards in this collection and purchase the set click here.

LIP-SYNCING WITH KENMORE is probably not what they had in mind

Ever have one of those days where you sit down at your desk to get some work done and there's a note from an editor instructing you to find a piece of art for a chapter opening that needs to be a blue background with stars but every lead they give you to find such a piece of art online is a dead-end but you spend hours looking and looking and looking at every stock art agency you can think of but still come up with nothing so you finally decide "oh heck" I'll make it myself but then realize you don't feel like drawing a bunch of stars on a blue background on a really warm Saturday? Yeah, ME TOO!

Saturday. Wash day. Wash the clothes and hang them on the line. Soon the weather will change, unless it doesn't, and I'll have to use the dryer. I don't like using the dryer. On the whole I dislike the dryer, except in the dead of winter when I pull the towels out and they're really really warm. Then I wrap myself in all of the laundry, from head to toe, stand perfectly still so nothing falls to the floor, and just enjoy that burst of warmth. But I'd rather be standing in the backyard hanging the clothes in the sunshine. Even when it's cloudy you'll find me hanging the clothes. I'm an optimist about drying clothes outside. I refuse to accept the fact that sooner or later the dryer is going to take over. Fight the power! 

This Flexi/Cardboard record dates from the mid-60s. Why on earth did I keep this? I know there's someone out there reading this thinking "Oh geez, she never throws anything away!" You're right, but this one was special. It actually belonged to my friend who lived across the street. It was her folks that bought the Kenmore. But see, here's the deal...we used to put on shows. We'd put them on in her backyard and her garage. Her folks were having a party? No problem, we'd work-up a routine and provide the entertainment. We were terrible. I still remember practicing our little Kenmore number in front of the freezer in the garage. We were going to lip-sync to this thing. Now, I have no idea anymore what was on this, but you can get a brief audio clip by going to the the Internet Museum of Flexi/Cardboard/Oddity Records and clicking on this Kenmore link. Didn't know there was one, did you? See, I'm not so strange. There are others like me.

Click on image to see it larger.

Actually I do have a few other flexi/cardboard records, but I'll save them for a later post. I don't want to give you too much of a good thing all at once. I need to keep my mystery. I will just say I have a recording from Eye magazine, late 60s, that has two cuts on it. First cut is Al Kooper, the second cut is Blood, Sweat & Tears. It's a keeper. But for now, chill out with the Kenmore lady. She has a good beat and she's easy to lip-sync to.

Still looking for a tv? Well HOOT MAN, here ye go.

This is for Rosie from Scotland who grew up watching I believe Andy Pandy on tv? 

Were televisions marketed as shown below in Scotland? And why were they marketing televisions in the U.S. with a Highland piper on the screen? I mean, advertising is so calculated that I just wonder what they were trying to express. I can imagine a whole segment of society saying "Oh, noooooo. I don't want any of that piercing piping coming into my house! I'm getting a Zenith!" Or were they trying to appeal to the only market they ever even thought about. The WASP market.  As was nicely shown on Mad Men recently, marketing was all about marketing to white folk. It didn't even dawn on them to market to the overall population. 

Click on image to see it larger. From 1949 Holiday magazine.

Okay, too much thinking and cringing involved here. This is what it is. A big piece of furniture which was apparently pre-tuned to the Highland Channel, HooTMaN. The piece has nice doors on either side you could close, but then that piping would have just  sounded muffled. How many kids stood around opening and closing the doors? Sound...muffled sound. Sound...muffled sound. 

"Jimmy! I told you leave that thing alone! Your dad's going to be home soon and he's not going to like knowing you've been messing with his piper! I don't want to tell you again! Go do your homework!" 

Snicker. Same kid probably invented the iPod. The entirety of what this box held now in the palm of his hand. 

And then there's the company Magnavox. No longer a brand I see. I don't know if it's really still around in any form. I did find the following interesting:

Magnavox (Latin for "great voice") is an American electronics company founded by Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen. They invented a moving-coil loudspeaker in 1915 at their lab in Napa, California and they named their brainchild "Magnavox". The company was formed in 1917 under the same name to market the invention.

So, there was once a sort of Silicon Valley north in the Bay Area? A lab in Napa which is now probably high priced wine acreage. Interesting. To read a bit more about the Magnavox company which is now really nothing more than a shell of what it once was since it's been bought and sold a few times, click on this link.

GIRL RESERVE has been preserved

These lovely little ladies date back to 1940. They were place cards at a Girl Reserve dinner held on March 15, 1940 for a "Mother-Daughter Banquet", which is what it says under the lace of the little fan. 

Click on images to see them larger.

Inside the little fan there are three pages of typed copy. The first page reads:

"A mother is a mother still--

The holiest thing alive."

                   --Coolridge

Next page, the menu:

• Fruit cup
  
• Baked Ham
  
• Horseradish Sauce
  
• Stuffed Baked Potato
  
• Vegetable Salad
  
• Rolls
  
• Butter 
  
• Coffee
  
• Ice Cream 
• Cookies
  

And the final page: 

Toastmistress------------------------- Betty Jo Scheafer

G-rateful Hearts----------------------Mrs. Potadle

I-nspirational Melody---------------Jean, Lucille, Judith

R-estful Moments--------------------Alice Peck

L-oving memories-------------------Rosamond Hancock

S-olo-----------------------------------Miss Johnson

Song - Nebraska Girl Reserve

This was purchased at the same estate sale where I purchased the lovely wedding paperdolls. These were on a table in a little plastic bag. I thought they were fascinating and more than likely few others have survived since this big wing ding took place. 

Now, I'd never heard of the Girl Reserves, but a little googling gave me some information. Click on the link below in the source to see some of the paraphernalia associated with the group, ie. armbands, booklets, photos, rings, etc. 

Officially the Girl Reserves of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) began in 1918. However, like many clubs - it evolved from many informal girl gatherings under the YWCA program and from the Patriotic League of the YWCA. The Girl Reserves sought to help girls 12-18 develop a well-balanced personality, grow physically and take on social responsibility.

By 1921 there was a Girl Reserves handbook  to outlined the program.  It was a uniformed group, although by the 1930 there was a great deal of discussion on the merits of uniforms. (SOURCE: Vintage Kid Stuff)

And here's the Foreword to the aforementioned handbook along with a link in the source to the rest of the book:

FOREWORD 

THE Young Women's Christian Association is a fellow- 

ship of women and girls. The value of the fellowship 

lies in whatever it may contribute to self-expression, dis- 

cipline and growth of the whole life of each of its members and 

in the effectiveness of that group as it functions in the life of 

a community. It offers, therefore, to advisers of g'irls a place 

of leadership which has the greatest value. 

There is a standard toward which the development of all the 

membership both girls and advisers is set. The standard 

is expressed in the name "The Christian" and makes the teach- 

ings of Jesus the informing and directing principles of any of 

the Association's programs. His example of growth in wis- 

dom and stature and in favor with God and man is consciously 

followed. Any girl may enter this fellowship; there is noth- 

ing selective about its membership. The possibility of ful- 

filling this standard of achieving -this growth, is in direct 

proportion to the gift of self of those advisers who have ac- 

cepted places of leadership in the " Association movement. 

The Girl Reserves are a cross section of the whole fellow- 

ship. They are a movement within the movement of the whole. 

All the resources of the organization, general and specialized, 

lie back of the Girl Reserves, and are available for their de- 

velopment. The Girl Reserves are to the Young Women's 

Christian Association, of which they are a part, the fresh 

stream which feeds into the main current of the movement at 

its source or along itsl course the very youth of its youth. 

They have its future in their keeping. 

MABEL CRATTV. 

Office of THE GENERAL SECRETARY, 

National Board, Young Womens Christian Associations, 

United States of America. 

June 1921. (SOURCE: Archive.org)

I basically gather it was like Scouts and Campfire Girls. Now, did they sell candy or cookies? I don't know. Girl Reserve Cookies just doesn't roll off your tongue like "Give me a box of thin mints!"

Travel isn't what it used to be, AND MAYBE THAT'S GOOD

I like to travel light. I no longer check any baggage. If it won't fit under my seat I don't take it. I went down the road decades ago with a huge suitcase, dragging it all over Britain. A big blue Samsonite. Of course at each hotel I'd ask for the cheapest room, which was always in the nosebleed section, so I'd have to pry this huge heavy thing out of my tiny little car trunk and bash the heck out of the walls as I wound my way up the stairs to the tower. Each morning I'd think of just putting the case flat at the top of the stairs and going for a ride through the place. I mean, I'm an American. They were all expecting the worst from me. Alas, I never did it. Thought about it a lot.

By the time I made it back to London I had acquired so much stuff that I couldn't get it in my suitcase. Now mind you what I'd bought were books, books, and more books. Oh, and dolls at Hamley's in London. I had to spend time shopping for a suitcase to fit everything in. So I headed on over to Marks and Sparks on the Kensington High Street and bought a sort of blue zipper duffle bag. I went for the blue because I wanted the people at the airport to think it was a matched set. I'm kidding. I packed all of my clothes in the duffle bag and put the books and dolls in the heavy duty Samsonite. Oh, and I think I paid about 50p for a lock for the duffle. This lock was so small that the key was bigger than the lock. I knew it wasn't going to deter anyone, but I hoped the baggage people would laugh so hard that they'd just leave my stuff alone out of sympathy. It worked.

When the cab driver arrived at my hotel off Church Street in Kensington he leapt out of the car and headed right for the Samsonite. I just stood there watching, not giving him any warning.

"Crickey! What have you got in here? Books?"

"Uhhhh, yeah."

I imagine within a week he was wearing a truss after lifting my stuff.

When I got to Heathrow I carried the Samsonite, shifting from hand-to-hand. I kicked the Marks and Sparks across the terminal in front of me. I was thrilled to hand all of it over to Pan Am. And when I got to San Francisco I was back to hauling and kicking. Very last time I went anywhere without going carry-on only.

Now, I'm trying to imagine myself being dignified traveling. Packing something like what's shown below. Oh my, I could get a lot of stuff in that! Drawers for books!!


Ad from 1949 Holiday magazine.

Okay, actually whenever I see these sort of trunks I think of the I Love Lucy episode where she thinks she can hide in a trunk for a trip to Europe with Ricky because she's having trouble getting a passport. Don't remember the episode? Here's a recap found online. Sorry, no video available online.

Lucy tells Ethel all about the schedule for the European tour. She also mentions that her mother in going to stay with Little Ricky while they are gone. Currently Mrs. Mcgillicuddy is taking an auto trip through New England but is going to be in New York the day before they leave. Fred brings up his old vaudeville truck so that Ricky can pack the band uniforms in it. Ricky comes home with the boat tickets and reminds everyone to get their passports. Lucy gets a phone call from the Jamestown Hall of Records saying that they can't find her birth certificate. Ricky suggests calling her mother but Lucy starts crying because she knows that her mother can't be reached.

To get her passport Lucy needs to find two older friends who knew when she was born. She calls the Jamestown Hall of Records in hopes of finding someone that she knew. She also calls the doctor of delivered her and tries to locate an old babysitter.

When Lucy does meet with Helen Kaiser, her old babysitter she runs into a snag. Helen's husband Sydney, a lawyer insists on looking over the paperwork Helen needs to fill out. It ends up that Helen has been lying to her husband about her age and even goes as far as to say that Lucy was her babysitter when she was little. Lucy leaves in a huff still needing another signature.

Desperate for any way to go to Europe Lucy decides to try and stowaway in Fred's trunk. She fits perfectly with the door open. She then suggests that Ethel close the trunk. But when Lucy starts to panic Ethel can't open the trunk because Lucy has the keys in her pocket and she can't move her arm to get it out. Ethel goes looking for Fred to try and get her out. Ricky comes home unexpectedly with Marco, the piano player. Ricky uses the trunk as a drum not knowing that Lucy is inside. Ethel comes running back after they leave mentioning that she can't find Fred.

Dr. Peterson, the man who delivered Lucy comes over to sign the paper. He thinks that Ethel is Lucy. Lucy does everything that she can think of to prove to Dr. Peterson that she really is Lucille McGillicuddy. Together they sing "Skip to my Lou" because Dr. Peterson taught it to her. Ricky comes home to see Dr. Peterson, a man he doesn't know dancing in his family room and a hears a voice coming out of the trunk. Fred brings a crowbar and with Ricky's help open the trunk. Dr. Peterson mentions that Lucy wasn't born in Jamestown, she was born in West Jamestown. A telelgram arrives from Lucy's mother and enclosed is her birth certificate. (SOURCE: tv.com  ) 

And the copy too small to read in my lousy scan follows:

The Turntable Wardrobe Trunk, exclusive with Hartmann, pivots on its own ball-bearing turntable for double convenience...one side a host of drawers, the other a spacious "closet." 16 hanger size $582. Shown also, the Harmann Skymate Mayfair women's wardrobe case (with hangers ) $150, and the Train Case (for cosmetics) $117. All beautifully matched in rawhide. Other models from $30. Prices include Federal tax.

Yeah, with a set like this I would have looked classy. And actually I wouldn't have needed to ask for the cheapest room. I could have just pulled over to the side of the road each night and slept in the upright trunk with a "Do Not Disturb" sign stuck on the lock. Would have cost me around 20 bucks a night. Yeah, I'm startin' to want to do a little travelin' again.


An aside about Blogger: I hate the changes Blogger has made. It's all reminding me a bit too much of some of the nonsense Microsoft does where they make assumptions that you've made mistakes and choose to do things as they want, not as you want. If I hit paragraph return, that's what I want. Do not think for me Blogger. You're just ticking me off.


And I'm still in internet access limbo, thus the reason there are few posts. It's taking a lot longer to get things taken care of than I'd thought. 

Sure it's big, but DOES YOUR TV LOOK LIKE A PORTHOLE?

With the new fall tv season upon us I'm sure there are people rushing out to buy new televisions just as they do around the Super Bowl. My tv is over 20 years old and works fine and dandy thank you very much so I won't be out hunting for a new one. But if I were to go looking...take a gander at this one from the March 1949 Holiday magazine. 

Oh sure, you've got a huge screen and you can hang it on your wall because it's only an inch and a half thick (I think mine is 6 feet deep), but does yours look like a porthole? I mean, how cool is this? I remember all in ones like this. And I remember my grandfather watching Groucho Marxs on "You Bet Your Life" on a tiny screen in a piece of furniture about this big. 

Loved Groucho. Loved the Secret Word with the duck coming down from the top of the screen. I got to see Groucho near the end of his life on a Merv Griffin show in Hollywood. I had a front row seat even though I came in midway in the line. Yes, they pack those audiences with what you look like and it the time I was young with long blond hair. Charo was also on the show and during a commercial break I felt the woman behind me pulling on my hair, then she turned to her companion and said, "Yes, it's real." Charo's didn't all look real so I guess mine was better than Charo's. My hair, I'm talking about my hair. Other than that Charo beat me hands down.

Click on image to see it larger.

And now, sit back and enjoy "You Bet Your Life" and try to imagine watching a tv smaller than your computer screen. Stick with it because at the 9 minute mark it gets very funny!! Don't skip to the second one. Start with the first one.

I'm going to BUY A PAPER DOLL

These paper people reside inside an old Fannie May candy box bought at an estate sale about two months ago. It was a really intriguing sale with all sorts of goodies. Fortunately for me two guys who got in the door about 10 minutes before me, who are usually buying exactly what I want, were tired, and one had forgotten to bring his glasses. Thus when looking through the box of old photographs the one guy kept muttering that there wasn't anything good, but then he'd add "Of course if I had my glasses...." I sort of hovered, watching what they picked up and put down. I was hoping he'd put the photo box down and I'd zoom in. I nicely said, "Hey, when you're done with the photos I'd like to take a look." He was very accommodating as I continued to hover. Finally I had my shot at the box and I continued to monitor them through the eyes in the back of my head. They continued muttering that there wasn't much to be had, the sellers had not told the truth in their ad, etc. And then I heard it...

"Hey, do you want this box of paper dolls?" said the one guy to the other.

I about broke my neck. I never find paper dolls at estate sales. Never! I see these sales on ebay all the time where someone just happened into an estate sale and bought a ton of mint paper doll books. I don't go to those kind of sales. Never my luck. Anyway...

"No, I've sort of stopped buying paper dolls."

The fellow then saw me standing with the photo box in my hands, salivating, wondering what was in the white candy box he was holding. He said, "Are you interested?" I hope my grab wasn't too rude. I looked inside and was delighted! Lovely old 1930s dolls, clothes, accessories. Lots of goodies, most not completely cut-out. 

Now comes the problem. Who are these people? I know from the style they're from the 1930s, but for the life of me I cannot find them in any of my Mary Young paper doll reference books. I'm sure they're in there, but I'm just not finding them. So if someone out there in the darkness staring at their screen can give me a hint I'd be most grateful. I'd like to mentally name them other than "Fanny May Wedding Party" which I'm sure is a very sweet (sorry) name, but I need to know the facts. 

And yes, there is a groom. Now mind you apparently the company figured he wouldn't get played with much because he's on the same paper as the clothes, unlike all the other dolls which were punched out from the cover. Poor groom. I imagine not many survived. Ain't that always the way when you get this many women in a room with one guy? Okay, the fact that he is slightly effeminate...pretty much the given with paper dolls. The guys almost always look like one of the girls. I guess they were less threatening. I really don't know. 

Click on any image to see it larger.

Oh yeah, amongst the photos they passed up, the "famous" melon eating pig I posted at my vernacular photography site.  I left that sale a very happy girl.

UPDATE: Thanks to Linda at The Paper Collector who has identified the set as Wedding of the Paper Dolls from 1935, published by Merrill Publishing. It was illustrated by Lucille Webster. A reprint of this was available several years ago, but I haven't seen it recently. Now that we know the name of it keep your eyes open for the repro. The illustrations really are lovely!

Now it's time to TAKE A VACATION

Fall is coming. That's what Labor Day always tells me. School starts, and fall is coming. I love fall, but I'm always sad to see summer wither away. Then again, fall is usually when I go on vacation. Kids are back in school so things are a lot quieter on the road. There aren't as many people in the National Parks so you can get a campsite and enjoy hearing the sounds of nature as opposed to the people who show up with the stereos and portable tvs.

A few years ago I vacationed in Wyoming and South Dakota. Hated the food, loved the views. Was stunned how drastically it had all changed since the last time I'd been through back in the mid-60s. Jackson Hole still took my breath away, not the overrun town, but the mountains and Jenny Lake. Both still breathtaking.

I found this postcard at an estate sale a few years ago. I've never been able to find out anything about the photographer. I've searched online and nada, zip, zero. I would love to see other cards by this person and hope someday I'll find some. This is such a lovely photograph. Water lapping up on the shore, birds landing and taking off from the lake surface, slight nip in the air. Yes, Jackson Hole in the fall is lovely.

UPDATE: Thanks to MrCachet I now have a first name for this photographer which has allowed me to find the following information:

Harrison “Hank” Crandall was born November 23, 1887, in Newton, Kansas, and raised on the Midwest plains. Crandall was inspired as a young boy to photograph the Teton Range after seeing a William Henry Jackson photo of the rugged mountains in a grade school geography book. After studying art at the School of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California, and serving in World War I, Crandall moved west at the age of 25 and settled briefly in Idaho. He first visited Jackson Hole in 1921 and returned the following year with his bride, Hildegard “Hilda,” to make a permanent home. With photographic equipment and camping supplies in hand, the Crandalls spent their first summer scouting locations for photographs, while camping with two friends in what is now Grand Teton National Park. As artist and photographer of the Teton landscape, Crandall became both a Jenny Lake homesteader and a fervent early supporter of the establishment of the park. And with the growth of tourism, Crandall also became one of the earliest concessionaires, selling national park souvenirs and art.

In 1924, he and Hilda homesteaded 120 acres northeast of Jenny Lake and opened the String Lake Dance Pavilion. Although immensely popular with valley residents and “dudes” from local dude ranches, the summer-run, open-air dance hall operated for only 2.5 years because Hank wanted to focus on opening an art studio. He designed his rustic log structure to withstand heavy snows, incorporating sky lights for added natural light and an intricate cross-hatch pattern on the ceiling. Wood from the dismantled dance pavilion was used by local artisans to build the log cabin in 1925 and 1926, and the Crandall Studio opened in 1927. Hand-painted photo postcards of ranch life and the Teton landscape became very popular. Later offerings included paintings, photographs, cameras and film, animal skins, and Navajo rugs. In 1929, when the Snake River Land Company bought the Crandall property, Hank received one of the first concession permits in Grand Teton National Park and relocated his studio nearer to Jenny Lake. It was relocated again in about 1960 and finally moved to its present site in 1991, where the historic building received treatment to rehabilitate and restore its logs, flooring and fireplace.

Crandall’s oil paintings often depicted scenic Teton landscapes but he is also known for paintings of 32 species of wildflowers, which provided an invaluable ecological record of the Jackson valley to the US Biological Service during the 1920s to1940s. Through his art, Crandall became an influential promoter of Grand Teton National Park and the National Park Service, inspiring and informing countless people and future generations. He died in 1970 at the age of 83. His daughter Quita Pownall, an artist herself with formal art training, was occasionally tutored by her father; she hand painted many of the Crandall photographs, including his wildflower panels.

Crandall’s painting will be added to the Teton Collection, which serves as a testament to the crucial role that art has played in preserving Grand Teton National Park and other public lands, and reflects the historic significance of artwork throughout the greater Jackson Hole area. Initiated by the Grand Teton Association (formerly Grand Teton Natural History Association) in the late 1950s, this eclectic art collection features work by John Clymer, Olaus Murie, Conrad Schwiering, Jim Wilcox, Joanne Hennes, and Harrison Crandall. These artists, and many others, found creative inspiration from the Teton landscape, and each skillfully captured the spectacular scenery and wild inhabitants of this region. Much of the Teton Collection is now showcased in the art gallery at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose, Wyoming. The Grand Teton Association is currently in the process of creating an informational brochure to hand out at the gallery that will provide an overview of all the artists and their paintings.

The Jenny Lake Visitor Center — historic Crandall Studio — is located eight miles north of Moose Junction on the Teton Park Road and open daily from late May through late September. (SOURCE: Grand Teton Park New Releases)

And then I found this site, Cayuse Western Americana, which shows more of his work. I also see there is a used book at Amazon by Crandall entitled The Tetons in Pictures with an asking price of $133.53, but there are no images or information about the books contents.

Again, thanks MrCachet for helping me fill-in some pieces. Now I'm kicking myself for not stopping in at the Jenny Lake Visitor Center. 

General Motors is proud to present PETER BENCHLEY'S JAWS!

Okay, cue the music. Da da, da da...da da, da da...dooo doo dooooooooooooo.

General Motors 1956 was apparently anticipating Jaws 11 years into the future because they seem to have been thinking about manufacturing a car that looks like a great white shark. A great white shark driving through the Castro District on Halloween. I'm not kidding!

Remember when cars had tail fins? Ummm...NOT LIKE THIS YOU DON'T! This thing has a dorsal fin on the trunk. A HUGE dorsal fin. Imagine trying to open the trunk in your garage? Oops, there goes the roof.

Click on image to see it LARGER 

and for crying out loud SAVE YOURSELF, STAY OUT OF THE WATER!

And I'm starting to think that maybe this great white that's been spotted this weekend in Cape Code...GM junk drifting towards shore. Somewhere along the line they dumped this model car in the ocean and it's been dislodged from a reef during the recent Atlantic storms and is now heading towards Cape Code. I'm just sayin'.

Oh my dear sweet pet, you give me Comfort

What I like most about doing this ephemera blog is the "research" I get to do. I use the term loosely because let's admit it, when doing research on the net you just never know how valid the information is. So anytime you see me post anything, take it with a grain of salt. All I've done is search around through Google trying to find out what pops up when I do word searches. I try to find as much information as I can and then I regurgitate it back through here to you. Now, due to my lack of net access I can't do the research. All I can do is post something I find very humorous and hope you enjoy it.

This is from a magazine called "Comfort" which was basically a rag sent out to rural folks full of bad advertisements, get-rich-quick schemes, a few stories, and a few household hints. The magazine also included columns wherein readers would write in to the "Comfort Sister's Corner conducted by Mrs. Wheeler Wilkinson" or to "Comfort's League of Cousins Conducted by Uncle Lisha". The following is to Uncle Lisha in the September 1931 issue. I read this the other night and then thought "Oh, I so have to post this!" If nothing else I know Eloh is going to laugh and that's a good thing.

Enjoy! This is one you'll want to email friends just so they can shake their heads and laugh.

OLD PAPER will have to wait

I'll be without net access for a few weeks which is killing me because I just found some amazingly stupid things last night. So I'll be back with oddities as soon as possible.