Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Steve Stuart at Tom's Treehouse

It's time for more photos from the collection of Steve Stuart! We've already seen photos of Steve (and company) on Tom Sawyer Island, back on my 10th anniversary post. This time, he's visiting a certain treehouse. Here's Steve:

Here we have a pair of images featuring the always-photogenic Tom’s Tree House on Tom Sawyer Island.  In the first image, that’s me on the left and childhood friend Gary on the right – sporting a captains hat.  And, why not-??  (You might remember Gary from back in May for GDB’s Tencennial – who willingly lied down in an open gravesite on this very island).


This image has another childhood friend – Judy – who happens to be Gary’s sister.  I see I’m wearing my Cub Scout belt holding-up some sort of ‘sensible’ jeans – complete with built-in knee patches.  I’m also wearing a wristwatch of some vintage.  I was an early adopter of timepieces and wear one to this day.


Many thanks to Steve! Stay tuned for more of his photos next week, including one especially nice example!

12 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

Fun pics today, Nanook! I hope you guys weren't up in that treehouse playing with cartons of Davis Worm Powder!

Tom said...

Thanks for sharing, Nanook. Love seeing these awesome vintage shots - great color, new angles, and a story to go with them.

DrGoat said...

Went to GDB's Tencennial...what a great shot of the Viewliner!

K. Martinez said...

Nanook, I sure do remember those open gravesite pics of you and your buddy Gary. It was right out of "Tales From the Crypt". I loved those photos. Today's pics are great too! In the first pic, I like the combination of tree "limbs" and "leaves" against the blue sky. In the second pic, you look like you could be one of the kids in "Stand By Me".

Thanks gain for sharing the family photos, Nanook! Looking forward to more.

Chuck said...

These are great, Nanook! There's those elusive "carved" initials in the tree, and your Cub Scout belt was an appropriate fashion choice for a full day of outdoor activity.

I love the photo of you and Gary in the treehouse. I had a childhood friend named Gary, too, and we would spend hours designing attractions for an amusement park that we were going to build, heavily inspired by locations in Santa Clara and Orange Counties that shall remain nameless for legal reasons. Sadly, technology couldn't keep up with our plans (seriously - why isn't invisible paint a thing yet?) and the financing fell through before we got halfway though the second grade. We never even managed to build a treehouse (stupid, treeless new neighborhood!). But we had dreams, I tell ya - DREAMS!!!

MRaymond said...

One thing that always sticks in my head when I look at old Disneyland photos is how low the handrails are. We were hardier kids in the 60s, no wimpy rail nets for us.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Steve and Major. I have photos of both young me, and years later, old me with my son, in the same spot.

I lost my cub scout belt, but I vividly remember Mom buying jeans made up with "double knees" because that's what gave out first. Also remember "iron-on" patches that she applied on the inside of the pant leg to beef up trousers without factory improvements. I don't think either of these innovations are still available. We wore things out back then, and made them into shorts when they couldn't be patched anymore.

I had a watch too, but was only allowed to wear it to church on Sunday. I wore it to school on "picture day" and someone stole it. I shouldn't have taken it off, but it made my wrist itch.

Thanks for the trip back.

JG

Unknown said...

I see these pics and for some reason all I can think about is the set of three (?) streams that used to flow down from the top of that hill. I wonder how many are still there...

Thanks for the for the words and the shots, Nanook.

Chuck said...

JG, you can still buy iron-on jeans patches. My youngest used to run and slide into a sitting position on his knees and I repaired many a pair of jeans that way. I'd have never known that if my mom hadn't done the same for me.

Only double-kneed trousers I've seen in years are military utility uniforms and Boy Scout pants, and even then it's not universal.

TokyoMagic! said...

You guys just reminded me that my mom used to buy the iron-on jeans patches, but they were usually the plain ones and she would iron them on the inside of the pant leg so they wouldn't be as visible.

K. Martinez said...

Yeah, I remember those iron-on patches. We must've all had them to extend the life of those jeans.

Nanook said...

Again – thanks to all for your comments…

TM-!-
Damn-! You’ve spoiled the practical joke we were to play on the Ladies’ Auxiliary League.

Tom-
You’re welcome. I too, am a big fan of ‘new angles’ and these sure do the trick.

DrGoat-
Any excuse to look back at that GDB posting is worthy of a visit. There was so much goodness to be had.

Ken-
When I first came upon those images of Gary and myself “taking a brief siesta”, I easily recalled the setting on TSI, but never could locate a single other image on the internet following a great deal of searching. (Subsequently, I have located one or two others – and I suspect there are many more, simply hiding). Seems like a natural “picture spot”, even without ‘helpful signage’ from Kodak.

Chuck-
Come to think of it, that Cub Scout belt was a wise choice. I was hoping to spy somewhere in all these family images the ‘very narrow belt’, that seemed to be a trend back in the very late 1950’s-early ‘60’s, which not only utilized a ½”-wide piece of leather, but the buckle had a fixed prong, or tongue, forcing the wearer to “ratchet” the belt through the buckle to tighten it, setting the proper length. And then to top it all off, sliding the buckle around the one’s side (I believe the left side was most-popular). You can spy this ‘fashion trend’ in several early episodes of Leave It to Beaver, on some of Wally’s pants.

As for your failed attempts fulfilling your dreams of completed amusement park attractions, many a dream was shattered when the promise of Invisible Paint failed to materialize, leaving it to occupy the same fate as Board Stretchers, Brass Magnets and the always-popular – Left-Handed Screwdrivers-!

MRaymond-
I think we were all a bit hardier back then, as interaction with the world involved actual interaction – as opposed to “experiencing it” thru one’s smart phone, etc.

JG-
Consider your early experience with watch thievery a blessing in disguise. The last time I had my watch overhauled, it cost over $1K-! (Yes, I know, I’m nuts. And yes, it’s a very nice watch). But – I could ‘a bought several nice watches for that price that ultimately keep better time, and then never give it another thought. One day, the [also very expensive] band will break, the watch will go flying into some crevasse, and that’ll be that. But in the meantime.

Patrick Devlin-
I’m afraid it’s been so long since I’ve been to Disneyland, and even longer since I visited TSI, I wouldn’t be helpful in the least at identifying features of the current geography of the island. But it certainly seems as if the current direction of ‘water features’ at Disney Parks is to “remove them, whenever possible”. I’m beginning to wonder if the only real water left at some future date will be that in Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon at WDW – and the rest will all be fake.

Chuck II-
Yes – bring back knee “patches” for jeans and always buying them ‘with lots of extra length, for those growing boys’, and then fold those cuffs up the wazoo-! That should be a great source of embarrassment for those forced to wear ‘em these times – unless, of course, THAT becomes a trend-!

TM! II & Ken II-
Those patches (whether applied inside or outside) isn’t something easily forgotten-!