A Trip Back to SANTA'S WORKSHOP

I lived outside Washington D.C. for a few years as a child and for two of those years my family went to Tupper Lake in the Adirondack's for our summer vacations. The best part of those trips was our visit to Santa's Workshop at the North Pole in New York state. I'm telling you I saw Santa. I saw the REAL SANTA and nobody could tell me otherwise.

I have old movie footage of myself waiting in line to meet Santa and then sitting on his lap. I never wanted to leave and my folks had a hard time dragging me away to go look at the rest of the park. I was in awe of the man. For many years when other kids would tell me that Santa was not...well you know...I would say they were wrong because I'd met him at his summer home.

The second year we took our neighbors along on vacation and I have slides of all of the kids touching the North Pole as reindeer wander around us. It was a perfectly joyous place to be and I'm glad to see it still exists and in much the same way as I remember it. It turns out that it is the oldest theme park in the U.S.

One of the years following our visit Santa sent me a postcard of his sleigh. I cherished that card for years, but it got lost along the way. Fortunately I have this set of View-Master reels. Here are a few of the images from one of the reels.







Am I right or am I right? This guy IS SANTA!

Do you have memories of the perfect Santa?





If you're in the North Pole area and have some wee ones with you why not make a stop to see the place. The bairn will remember it for years to come. Here is their website.

CATCHING A RIDE around town in Schenectady

Stuck in Schnectady with another street scene. This time we even have a bicyclist, who I'm hoping was never accused of doping. I'm saddened that that thought even enters my mind.

And again we have a photographer willing to risk life and limb in order to get their shot. Was there at least one kind soul yelling, "Get out of the middle of the street you dang fool! The trolley is coming right at you!"




Click on either image to see it larger.

CATCHING A RIDE around town in Schenectady

If you read the copy on the front of this card you'll see that I've still vaguely got my bridge theme going. I mean, really vague. Was the photographer standing on the R.R. Bridge? Was he or she concerned about an oncoming train as he or she yelled to the people in the street below, "Okay, everyone stop and smile. Well, you don't need to smile, but please stop moving!" Or was this the final shot this photographer every took?




Click on either image to see it larger.

I quite like the treatment of "Post Card" on the back. I also love the signage on the buildings.

BRIDGES: Across the East River to Manhattan

So do you think our intrepid travelers from yesterday would have made it as far as the Brooklyn Bridge? This photo was probably taken sometime between 1918 and 1925 when the American Art Publishing Company existed. Finkelstein & Son created the card.




Click on either image to see them larger.

So which of the two Finkelstein's, father or son, had the propensity to climb things? Which one was not afraid of heights? Being that I cannot find any historical information about either of them, I guess we’ll never know.

Here's another view of the bridge by the Finkelstein's. This night view is also featured on page 85 in the book Postcards of the Night by John A. Jakle.

(SOURCE: The Strawfoot)

Another bridge tomorrow. 

Are the STARS OUT TONIGHT?

Another vintage postcard with a nighttime scene; this one an original drawing. Unlike many of the other cards which are hand tinted photographs, this is purely an artist's rendition. I'm sure they worked from a photo, but would it have looked half as clean and fresh if the underlying image were a photo?

Click on either image to see it larger.

It's a shame that the person who created this will most likely never be known.

Go here to see the first nighttime postcard image that started this series for me.

Who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!

Even I can tell how fake this nighttime scene is of Times Square. I have to wonder what the artist wast thinking when they put the moon on top of the Paramount Building. My first thought was of Ghostbusters. Somethin' strange is surely going on because back down on the street we're about to have some serious car crashes and some people needing to run for their lives. Oh yes, that is a haunted sky surrounding the jello colored scene. The Paramount building has most assuredly been slimed.

Click on either image to see it larger.

To see more hand tinted postcard images of nighttime scenes click here, here, here, and here.

Here is my favorite image from the book Postcards of the Night: Views of American Cities which started my search for nighttime postcards. I can only wish to find a card like this. It's stunning and goes way beyond a normal postcard. Sad to think that artists that did work such as this are now nameless. The postcard above...no problem not knowing the "artist," but the one below is in another realm.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TREE in the world

When I was 5 or 6 my family went up to New York City at Christmas time. I believe my father was there on business. It was the 1950s and everything was magical. The store windows had elaborate decorations that enthralled me. But the best part of all of it was the tree at Rockefeller Center. It was huge and beautiful. The lights glittered amongst the falling snowflakes. A year or two later we moved to Hawaii so snow was just a memory, as was the enormous tree. But my folks bought me this book which I poured over, page by page, remembering my visit to New York. Somewhere along the line I lost my book, but a few years ago my best friend found me a copy and gifted it to me for my birthday. Seeing all the pictures again brought back happy memories of childhood Christmas.

The Most Beautiful Tree in the World by Leonard Weisgard. The story is about a family who live in a rural area whose tree is chosen to be the one at Rockefeller Center. Originally published in Family Circle Magazine in 1954 it was published in book form by Wonder Books in 1956. Unfortunately the illustrator is not listed. If anyone knows who the artist was please let me know.

UPDATE: "The illustrator is also Leonard Weisgard. Quite renown in children's literature." Thanks to "anonymous" for this update.