Wearing only pants and accessorized with a personalized belt buckle and ranger hat, this is the largest statue anywhere of the legendary best friend and protector of America’s forests. The 26-foot statue was dedicated in 1954 and stands there to this very day.

In the world of spokes-characters none are as noble, and few are as famous as Smokey. This year the poster bear celebrates his 60th year. He was the brainchild of The National Forest Service back in 1944. He was born to be the official symbol and spokesman for fire prevention; to keep careless campers from carelessly destroying the nations lumber supply. His first (and only) words were “only you can prevent forest fires.”

In 1950 Smokey came to life. A lucky little black bear cub, badly burned in a New Mexico forest fire, was rescued and rehabilitated then made into a star. He was named Smokey the bear and became the main attraction at the National Zoo in Washington DC. He received so much fan mail he had his own zip code.

In 1962 he was married to a young beautiful bear named Goldie in hopes that they would have a family of little Smokeys. But it wasn’t to be. They never had any cubs.

Smokey died in 1976. Ironically, his body was cremated.

God Bless Smokey the Bear

And now for this week’s Slide of the Week: HONEYMOON IN A BAR, SOUTHWESTERN, PENNSYLVANIA, 1957

This slide is marked “first dance.” I have no idea who this just-married couple is but I do know that the bar has a mesmerizing interior. Knotty pine paneling, cozy brick fireplace, a dead deer head and double spot lit sailfish, which by the way, is protected by a rope trimmed barrier. That’s a good thing because stuffed sailfish damage very easily

Speaking of sailfish, the one that hung in my grandfather’s den is one of my earliest childhood memories. He must’ve caught it himself – he went on a lot of fishing trips. When my grandparents moved they lent it to a friend that displayed it in the backroom of his bar until someone walked out the back door with it.

When I first got my own place I couldn’t wait to have a sailfish hanging on the wall. It was 1982; I was nineteen. Nothing could possibly be a better compliment to my living room full of Chinese modern and Western Ranch furnishings fresh from the thrift stores of the Pomona Valley. As fate would have it I found a huge sailfish for sale in the Recycler. A friend drove me out to Simi Valley to pick it up in his 1965 Plymouth Satellite Convertible that he had just gotten the day before. We got out there, struck a deal then carefully loaded it on the car. It was a warn summer night so the top was down. We pointed the sword out over the trunk, tied some rope around the fin and we were on our way. I held the skinny part of the body between the bucket seats. The tail was right in front of us.

Speeding home along the Ventura Freeway we had a turbulent surprise– a blow out! Before the car had hobbled to the slide of the road my friend said “oh no, I don’t have a spare�I don’t even have a key to the trunk! As I sat there — sailfish in hand, he walked to a call box and called a tow truck. When the tow man arrived he kindly asked me to get out of the car. I kindly explained that I couldn’t because the sailfish was very fragile and we had no way to tie it down anymore without damaging it. He said that it was against the law to tow a vehicle with someone in it. What was I to do? I had just spent $350.00 on this thing and wasn’t about to let it be ruined. I tried begging then bribing the driver. Nothing worked. He just kept saying no. Finally after a half hour of going aback and forth I forced a tear to roll down my cheek and in my best whimper said “my grandfather caught this for me when I was three years old, (pregnant pause) and he died yesterday!” My ploy worked and the sailfish made it home unscathed.

Here’s to the driver, that tear and to you!!

Last week I had a pop-culture experience of the highest order. I was headed south on the 405 just past Long beach on my way to a Southern Californialand book signing at Book Soup at South Coast Plaza. It was rush hour and traffic was stop-and-go, of course. Then suddenly my spirit was soaring in a way that it never had before. I spotted the Oscar Meyer Weenie Mobile a few cars in front of me. Soon we were side-by-side and stayed that way a few miles. Getting stuck in traffic with the Oscar Meyer Weenie Mobile is WONDERFUL!!

Speaking of Southern Californialand look for it on this Sundays Los Angels Times Best Seller list, it’s #9. Yeeee-haaaawww Thank you

Ok, now to the slide of the week: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FAMILY PORTRAIT, 1957. This is one of the best family couch portraits I’ve ever run across. Hello! They’re talking on the phone and reading the deluxe souvenir guide to Knott’s Berry Farm. On the hassock: two packs of cigarettes, L&M and Pall Mall, an ashtray full of butts and deluxe souvenir guide to Disneyland, no less. As if that already isn’t enough, their clothes match the d�cor. If by chance you’re looking for a smart new color scheme for that living room of yours, well look no further, here it is. The battleship grey wall goes so well with those lipstick red curtains and yellow-piped turquoise slip cover. Just don’t forget to dress your family to match it

To family portraits and to you,

Collecting and going through other peoples old slides is always a time-travel adventure. A couple of weeks ago a friend invited me over to see his family slides. In between wonderful shots of his grandparents living the life on Lido Isle in Newport Beach in the 50s and 60s, I ran across this one and just about fell out of my chair backwards! -NEWPORT BALBOA SAVINGS, NEWPORT BEACH, 1963, with a big, beautiful 1958 Cadillac Coupe de Ville front and center – (just like my grandma had; only hers was pink!) I don’t see too many slides of buildings like this probably because there weren’t any others like it! If it hadn’t been remodeled beyond recognition, just think, we could all open accounts there.

The ever-so-harmonious combination of the glass box, folded “paper” penthouse roofline and Land-of-the Giants scale abstract artwork are intoxicating. Together they send me soarin’ to the moon right where this building belongs! If there were a bank in Tomorrowland this could be it. Who knew sunscreen panels could be so colorful and artistic? Well the architect, W. A. Sarmiento, did. Originally from Lima, Peru he had previously worked with master modernist, Oscar Niemeyer, designing the ultimate mid-century modern utopia, Brasilia. According to the legend Sarmiento received this commission after getting into a car accident with a bank executive who just happened to be looking for an architect to design a new bank building.

The result was this — Southern California’s most fashionable bank building ever. Newport Balboa Savings was a one-of-a-kind sampler platter of ultra modern mid-century architectural details done with South American flair and style– �Ole

Cheers to you and W.A. SARMIENTO

This slide of the week: PRESIDENT KENNEDY ON TELEVISION, 1963, was inspired by my visit to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealy Plaza in Dallas last week. Having just watched a video of an ABC NEWS special aired last November about that fateful day in Dallas forty years ago, my Kennedy-curiosity was as peaked as it could possibly be.

The Sixth Floor Museum is in the legendary school book depository building where Oswald fired the fatal shots. The exterior of the building remains virtually as it was that day. But the sixth floor, with the exception of the recreation of the “sniper’s perch” near the corner window, bears no resemblance to its former warehouse appearance. Fifteen years ago the space transformed into a most engaging and informative display with incredible photos, films, and artifacts that tell one of the most famous events in the history of the universe. The omni-present

This week’s slide, TEXAS STATE FAIR, 1954, DALLAS TEXAS was inspired by my trip here today to do a slide show for the Dallas Video Festival. I never confuse slides with video but I guess they do -oh well. Anyway what a whirl wind day it’s been. From the time that I stepped off the plane into the blast furnace-like heat and humidity it’s been an action packed day of sightseeing, sweating, delicious Tex-Mex food and two (I splurged) margaritas.

Dallas is VERY lush and green right now, they’ve had a lot of rain this year. That made the afternoon tour of the city especially beautiful. My tour guide, Susan Teegardin (what a great name) drove me by the book depository where we all know what happened on that more than legendary day here in 1963. From there we were off to Lover’s Lane (a major east-west thoroughfare) to the AMAZINGLY well preserved and beautifully detailed 1947 art deco Inwood Lounge and Movie Theater, which has thankfully recently been declared a historic landmark. Before I knew it we were checking out the Frank Lloyd Wright Theater where the slide show will be tomorrow night. I wouldn’t say the theater is one of Wright’s best works but the next site on the tour, a house that he designed here in the oh-so snooty Preston Hollow neighborhood, more than made up for it.

Then came what must be the historic highlight of the entire lone star state�Fair Park where the Texas State Fair has been held every October since 1936. After I recuperated from the disappointment that the old neon Midway sign, pictured in the slide of the week was long gone, I nearly wept, ok, I shed a tear of joy or two over the SPECTACULAR monumental art deco exhibit buildings, sculptures and murals that date back to 1936. It was kind of spooky because the grounds were like a ghost town. There was not a soul to be seen as we wandered around in the roasting hot sun and moisturizing humidity. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that this has to be the grandest example of a classic International Style Exposition Park setting left in this country. It’s like going back in time to the 1939 New York World’ Fair. Come this October I may have to just come back to see the Texas State Fair in all of its glory! I hear the butter sculpture competition alone is worth the trip

Here’s to Dallas and the Texas State Fair!

Gracefully spanning the Will Rodgers Turnpike in Vinita, Oklahoma, this is the world’s fastest drive-thru, the Glass House Restaurant. The fine folks at Conoco Oil brought us this miracle of modernity in 1957. It was the first restaurant constructed over a United States public highway and the simple solution to cater to motorists passing in both directions. The term “roadside architecture” doesn’t apply here. It’s not on the side of the road. It’s over the road. And why did they call it a house? It’s much more like a bridge.

Not only did the place offer gas, gifts and good food, there was a great show too. Imagine the thrill of dining on a Yankee Pot Roast or Virginia Ham dinner while being entertained and amused by a constant parade of sparkling cars speeding to and fro below.

The ultra unique attraction was a big hit with tourists. Soon locals started hanging out. Local high schools even held proms there. As the years passed and America’s appetite for fast food increased the wonderful Glass House closed, only to reopen as “the world’s largest McDonald’s. Yes, the arches are now “golden arches” they are painted that warm and familiar shade “golden” yellow. So the next time you have a Big Mac attack this is where you’ll want to satisfy your craving. And, oh-yeah� don’t forget to have them super-size it!

Here’s to you �and the Glass House Restaurant!

In my hometown of Ontario, five years ago when I was running around out there looking for images to include in my first book, Cruising the Pomona Valley 1930 thru 1970, I ran across this amazing slide. I got it from the owner of the Hot Dog Show, Norma Jones. I wonder if she ever noticed that those red and white striped curtains look more like a rather large person squatting -therefore making those hot dogs with angel wings and halos very unappetizing.

Before the San Bernardino Freeway was extended through the Pomona Valley in 1955, Hollywood stars would pass by the Hot Dog Show on their way to and from Palm Springs. Norma told me about the time that Joan Crawford pulled up in a big chauffer driven black limousine. But before she ordered a round of hot dogs for the chauffer, nanny, twins and precious little Christina, she insisted upon inspecting the cleanliness of the kitchen. After it passed her test, she sat in the kitchen and smoked a cigarette while they sat patio and ate their hot dogs.

In 1960 the Hot Dog Show burned to the ground – grease fire in the kitchen. It was replaced by a taco stand. There is one Hot Dog Show still standing -across the street from Bob’s Big Boy in Toluca Lake.

God Bless Americana!

This week’s Slide of the Week is the cover of my new book: Southern Californialand: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome, which has just been released. Wouldn’t you just love to hop in that 1956 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz and be whisked away on a tour of Southern California in the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s? Well you can! With more than 170 spectacular images in living color, Southern Californialand shows “the land of plenty” as the locals saw it, through the lenses of their cameras back in the day. Enjoy the stories and images of the Luer Quality Meat Rocket, Jalopy races, monorails, Disneyland’s House of the Future and Pacific Ocean Park. See the Vista Dunes Trailer Park in Indio, The Covina Bowl, Compton Drive-in Theater, Shriner’s Arabian Bazaar, fast food stands, Muscle Beach, Tiki parties, and Mayor Motor City Used Car Lot. You’ll even go behind the scenes of Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments." And there’s a lot more too!

When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s it seemed like every family took home movies. My family did – with a super 8 movie camera. I loved the sound of the film turning inside of it. For a couple of years, around the time I was about nine or ten, my parents used it occasionally, until they cast it aside and lost interest in it. Ten or so years ago after not seeing my family’s home movies since I was a kid I had them transferred to video. Ever so eager to see them again, I was more than disappointed to discover that out of an hour and a half of film I was hardly in them at all. Oh well.

The first “home movies” were taken in 1923. They were 16mm and taken by the revolutionary “Cine Kodak" Camera. In 1932, in the middle of the depression, Kodak introduced the new 8mm format. But it wasn’t until the 1950s that masses of moms and dads became home movie makers. Super 8, introduced in 1965, became the next and last popular home movie format. In the 80s we all crossed over to the age of home video and bought a Camcorder. Too bad, film is a much more luxurious medium. If you have old family movies of course I encourage you to get them out, dust off that old projector and have a look at them. Invite the whole family.

For all your home movie film, camera and projector needs I recommend the Echo Park Film Center in Los Angeles. They are located at 1200 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles 90026, echoparkfilmcenter.org , 213-484-8846. Check out their website for the schedule of screenings. It’s a one-stop-shop for all of your home movie needs. The fine folks there will take care of you very nicely. They even have those now hard-to-fine projector bulbs. Make sure to tell them I sent you!

God Bless Americana and Home Movieana!