Don Knott’s Berry Farm,
Buena Park, California, 1954
Two dapper gentlemen flirt with Cecelia and Marilyn, the most popular ladies in Buena Park. They never need to be fed or paid – just repainted. Over the years these fiberglass females inspired countless Kodak moments for millions visiting Don Knott’s Berry Farm. Claude Bell, the man that built the big dinosaur in Cabazon, California sculpted them in the late 40s. They’re so masculine. They look like men in drag!
I know it’s not called Don Knotts Berry Farm. But it could’ve been if Don Knotts would’ve bought it. Just think there could’ve been the Andy Griffith Show ride; the Mr. Limpet ride and the Three’s Company ride. And, oh yeah, the Apple Dumping Gang ride would’ve fit right in with the western theme of the ghost town.
Knott’s Berry Farm started exactly as that; a berry farm in 1920. In 1928 Mrs. Knott opened a little tearoom next to their roadside berry stand. Then during the depression she began serving fried chicken dinners. Soon people were waiting in line halfway around the berry farm on Sunday afternoons to enjoy the delicious down home dinner. Walter Knott thought he’d better do something to entertain the people while they were waiting. So in 1940 he began creating a western ghost town paying tribute to the gold rush pioneers who had blazed the trails just a couple of generations before.
By the late 1940s Walter Knott’s ghost town had blossomed into a well-researched, total emersion environment of western architecture, displays, demonstrations, entertainment, merchandise, memorabilia, music, food, transportation, and costumed employees. Mrs. Knott’s famous fried chicken dinner inspired America’s first permanent theme park.
Miraculously, some of the original Ghost Town is still exists. But what ever happened to Cecelia and Marilyn?
Here’s to Don Knotts, Knott’s Berry Farm and you,
Love this Charles. Total drag queens. They look like Mardi Gras party folks. Check out the dude on the left is totally into it !
You got to love ol Don. An interesting side note to the whole Knotts berry farm story. If my memory serves me correctly Walter actually stole the bosenberry plant from some guy who first created the hybred berry. Can you imagine that? That whole empire which preceeded Disney was founded on blatent plagerism! Snooze you loose. Part of the orignal ghost town was moved to what is now another tourist attraction outside of Barstow called Calico Ghost town.
Whatever cheap pickup line these gents are selling, obviously the girls ain’t buyin’ it.
Very dapper gentlemen… Somebody’s been slugging back shots at Mr. Knott’s Saloon!
Perhaps after this tryst they’ll head down the street to the Movieland Wax Museum to troll more babes.
These sculptures are great! The ones I remember from my youth were more simplified, no ruffles and roses…. They have moved around Ghost Town over the years, and now occupy a bench back by Boot Hill, near where the Panning for Gold joint moved when it got evicted by the Ghostrider coaster.
What a sad day when the very first Ghost Town attraction, the Covered Wagon Show (not the wagon circle campfire, but a very strange diorama of the Knott family crossing the plains, with light effects and voice over) which was in the Ghost Town Hotel…. It’s now a clothing store. That, and the volcano going away, are my two most mourned changes. AND THE HAUNTED SHACK! and th the mission dioramas….. and….
OK, I need to go lie down now.
Knott’s Berry Farm’s Ghost Town was modeled after the real Old West Ghost Town of Calico. (Just up the hill from Barstow). I spend every Thursday night at Knott’s Berry Fram for many years. (It was the family dinner at payday) Of course, then, it did not cost to get in to see all that was there. Mr. Knott put up the fence when the “Hippies” started to filter in. We used to park where the “Mountain” Log ride is. After the fence went up, it was not the same, but then not many things were by the late 60′s. Mr. Knott’s neighbor is the one that crossed berries to make the wonderful Boysenberry. It’s the best berry out there. I sure wish I had a piece of Boysenberry pie right now.
I have so many fond memories of Knotts Berry Farm and those wonderful chicken dinners! The whole family used to spend the day at KBF. It always seemed more manageable than Disneyland. Does anybody remember the Museum of Miniatures? I loved looking at the dollhouses and miniature stores and works of art on grains of rice. But alas, it wasn’t glitzy enough to survive Knotts upgrade. . .
That’s not Knotts rival Walt Disney in the gray suit, is it?
Howdy Mr. Charles!
Although I assume that these two fun-loving gents have the finest of manners, I’m still a bit taken aback by their fresh behavior with these, uh, rather manly and scantily clad statues. A man is required to behave around ladies at all times! Imagine a mother trying to explain the hand-on-the-knee move from Mr. Jaunty Hat to an impressionable young boy! A refresher course is needed, sirs. I am consulting the chapter on “Men’s Manners” in Etiquette: The Complete Modern Guide for Day-to-Day Living The Correct Way by Frances Benton, 1954.
Men’s Manners Toward Women:
1. Talking About Women: A well-mannered man does not talk about his conquests. He does not, in fact say anything about a woman which would give others a questionable opinon of her integrity or morals. Locker room bull sessions about women are poor manners.
2. Unnecessary Touching: A well-mannered man avoids touching a woman unnecessarily. In helping a lady down from a bus or over an icy sidewalk, a certain amount of touching is necessary, but in ordinary conversation, patting on the shoulder or squeezing the arm is wholly unnecessary. The line between friendliness and pawing is a very fine one.
3. Making a Woman Conspicuous: A well-mannered man does nothing to make a woman conspcious in public. He doesn’t talk loudly or intimately with her, or call her name aloud across a lobby. If you want to hail a friend across the street, cross and catch up with her so you can do so without annoucing her name to the whole block.
4-14 aren’t all that interesting but I do love number 15:
15. When You’ve Been Drinking: An age-old rule says that a gentleman never goes to a lady’s house when he’s been drinking. For us moderns, this rule may be a little strict, but visiting a woman when you’ve had too much to drink is never respectful or endearing.
Indeed! I do hope our men didn’t have a tipple or two before arriving at Knott’s Berry Farm. It seems you just might pick out the wrong jam to bring home to the missus if you’ve had a sip. And no pawing the statues, please! Friendly becomes pawing in the blink of an eye! And that goes to you, too, Prince Philip in the light suit and brown shoes.
xoxo!
Miss Sharon
I say ZAZZ to those lecherous old men!
Charles, the ladies I think are still there…..you can call the coporate offices to find out. There were definatly there when I went in the sixties, I remember sitting with them, I think they were by the mining for gold activity.
LYNN
Photographic documentation of the first occurance of safe sex!
I, too, remember the good old days of Knott’s…I even remember stopping at KBF for chicken before driving on to visit Disneyland, newly opened a few miles away, for the first time. They should have left the old Ghost Town alone…and the Museum of Miniatures…and all the other neat things that made this place so much fun back before roller coasters…
So, as it turns out Cecelia and Marilyn are still there and hangin’ out posing with any with anyone who will sit next to them on the old bench!Long Live the two, by far, most photographed woman at Knott’s!!!
No wonder these guys flocked to them. Check out the GAMS on the blonde honey!
My grandparents lived in Buena Park when I was growing up in the ’60s in Pomona, and every summer I would go stay with them for at least a week, sometimes longer. Inevitably there would be a trip or two to KBF while I was there. I loved the Haunted Cabin and panning for gold, and the train that somehow ALWAYS got held up when you rode it. The last time I was there was as a teenager in high school, in the early ’70s, right about the time they started adding rides to make it more like Disneyland or Magic Mountain. I thought the rides ruined the ambience of the place, and have not been back since.
My wife used to go with her best friend just for the chicken dinners. They would dip the fried chicken in the boysenberry jam, and thought that was about the best Sunday dinner ever.
Holy cow. A fellow teaching comrade and I chaperoned a group of students to Knott’s recently and I dragged her onto the mine ride to show her what used to be the big thrill ride in the 6o’s. To my delight I can newly appreciate the many meanings of “glory hole” which were previously wasted on my young and innocent mind. We couldn’t contain our peals of laughter every time the ride operator boasted about its features, dimensions, load, etc. We kept being reprimanded to think cleanly but there’s no stopping that now is there?
Someone added a very-good-looking male mannekin around a sharp left bend that the tour guide briefly refers to as a “model miner” complete with painted stubble and tattered clothes as if to fit in. If you blink you’ll miss his surreal but noteworthy appearance.
Be sure to read the bizarre letters as you wait in line for the delicious and way too large chicken dinner- especially the one from the dear patron who left behind her dentures.
I miss the mules and Throck Morton Holiday (spelling?) of the Birdcage Theatre but Knott’s still rocks.
look at the socks the guy on the left has on.
The man in the brown: what’s that green strip just above his ankle? Colorful socks? Is he wearing galoshes? And the guy in grey: dresses to the left.
Glad to hear that the two women are still there. Those men must really be desperate.
Yes, those were some of the statues that my Father Claude K. Bell made for Mr. Knott. I don’t think he intended them to be men in drag though! HA! He would have a good laugh over that one! He also made their male counter parts, Handsome Jim Brady and Whiskey Jim. There were other’s over the years, The Minuteman outside of Independance Hall, Christ in the Chapel, the Cigar Store Indian outside the general store but the most famous of all were the Old Miner and his burro. There were actually 3 different sets, one on each corner. We still have one that they took down and display it out at the Wheel Inn Restaurant near our Father’s dinosaurs in Cabazon, California.
Oh, and by the way, it’s Mott’s Miniatures, and I remember the ‘working’ miniature black and white TV they had!
Thanks for the memories!
I still remember back in the 60′s after the performances in the Birdcage Theater, one of the actors would announce for everyone to please pick up their trash and dump it in Disneyland’s parking lot! I still get a laugh out of that one.
Remember how the “bad guy” in the jail knew so much about you? (thanks to a guy in front who got the info from your parent and spoke through a microphone.)
Lucinda,
Yes, I remember the miniatures that I toured in the 70′s. I purchased a brochure of miniature scenes that folded out. And not I visit a shop near me in Maryland called A Little Something in the quaint town of Hereford, where they display all the small items you can make miniature shadowboxes by using.
Lucinda,
I did some web surfing and found the Mott’s Miniature page. There is a store on line for purchasing miniatures. I bought the history of the Mott’s Miniatures book. The items are all shown there too in a section about the Superior auction in 1998 that sold all the items. The web site seeing all about this is http://www.minishop.com/museum/Mott.htm.
Gee, fond memories which I recall from my visit in 1951! That voice from the outhouse calling my name! I still have the folder that depicted Jesus from the Little Chapel and it still shows his eyes open after putting it in the dark! 55 years later! Can you tell me what happened to the “Little Chapel”?
The cigar store indian mentioned above was actually bought from my great-grandfather and his twin brother who owned a cigar store in Shenandoah, IA in the early 20th century. I would be very interested in finding out what the fate of it was. My parents were out there about 8 years ago and nobody seemed to know what had happened to it.
Does anyone remember the lady statues talking? I remember taking a picture of a friend who had touched the statue in a place he shouldn’t have, to which she replied something like, “Do you have a lisense to do that?”
The Covered Wagon Story:
“I’m thirsty moma.” “I know dear but think of the poor horses, here have a sweet root.”
I grew up 5 miles from Knott’s and visited there maybe 100 times, we all had birthday parties there in the party area.
As far as I know the ladies were still there in the early 80s. I didn’t know the statues spoke but there were a few locations around the park where a hidden speaker would sound off from some guy or gal hiding nearby. The guy in the jailhouse used to talk once in a while and if you looked in the corner you could see a small mirror reflecting the speaker.
Knott’s was heaven. Great food and chickens everywhere. We would ride our bikes through the open areas on the way to the beach and at 6am you had the place to yourself. Just like being on Grandpa’s farm.
1961 is when I started going we moved to California from mass,what a great place My Dad would love to sit on the porch by the covered wagon story and Mom and I would go to the candy store and watch them make candy while eating some. My other favorite ride was the train,Loved the train robery, Some how I feel that train is what got me into the small train hobby today, Mom and dad are gone now but what great memories Knotts still holds for me.
Oh my…so many memories of Knotts. I sure recognize these gals. In fact I’ve got B&W photos of my friends and myself with them to prove it. Grandmother used to talk about buying pies from Mrs. Knotts when it truly was a berry farm. One thing I also remember is the many church gatherings that would take place at Knotts Berry Farm. There was a circle of wagons and they’d have speakers, sing songs, etc. It was a great place to take the family. Does anyone remember the wonderful vanilla fragrance that came from the (I think it was called) Candy Kitchen? The huge, colorful suckers? Thanks for the memories.
Anyone know what happened to Monti Craig that played the Bird Cage Theater in the early 60′s?
Always,
Dale Walsh
One day I was at an estate sale in northern ca., And purchased a bunch of old family vacation slides. While looking through them to my amazment I came across one from 1975 of me and my best friend brian walking through Notts Berry Farm while ditching school. So freaking.
Knotts Berry Farm! One of my favorite places to ride out a cold! My Mom Moselle Townsend was one of the Pastel Artists there when I was young! Above Claude Bell’s Artist Shack was a patio roof with umbrella chairs and a table and when I was sick Mom would take me there to relax and read while she worked! For lunch I get to meanander around and visit Motts Minatures, the gold panning area and some great old ladies in prairie bonnets. Being sick was a priveledge! I loved to eat at Mrs Knotts Kitchen, is that what was it called? Bosenberry Pie is still my favorite to this day, rubarb in syrup and the greatest fried chicken and gravy! Wasn’t there a great little dish of bacon and cabbage too? I still have the want ad mom cut from the newpaper. Claude Bell was looking for a pastel artist to do portraits and my mom thought she could do it so she drew my sister, brother dad and me and our friends from Lakewood all in one week and then went down and applied for the job and got it. I am not sure how long she worked there but it helped buy her supplies while she got her MFA at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. I have often wondered how many portraits she might have painted? I think she might have been there for about 4 years! Perhaps 1955 to 1960. I wonder how I could find out now? Michelle
hey,
this story is super intersting!
i Bookmarked your posting.
Hope to see much more from you in the days.
As much as my dad’s family knows the Knott’s and my living in Buena Park my whole life and going to that park I do miss alot of what’s not there anymore. I feel lucky that I got to see the diorama show once! And even though I worked at haunt for 3 years I find myself going to Knott’s and doing what I do at Disneyland when I go…I find myself just hanging out in a certain area at a time rediscovering the things I had totally forgotten was there. It’s quite a feeling to actually stop and view the peek-ins instead of rushing by to get to the next ride as so many of us did in our teenage years.
Hi everyone,I’ve been going to KBF for years. I to miss the old Knotts. Went this last weekend 3-14-09 I saw the ladies sitting on the bench in a maintenance area facing the Knotts hotel parking lot.My 10 year old daughter asked why they where not out in the park? I asked a manager and he stated that alot of the teen age guest”would do rude and volgur things to them” so they took them out. Sad…
I grew up in so Cal and fondly remember many happy trips to KBF. In fact, I am going back for the first time in probably 20+ years this week! My BF is taking me on Thursday and I’m so excited to see the old spots I still remember. Don’t even care that much about all the new rides … Just want to soak up the atmosphere in the old Ghost Town area, stock up on boysenberry goodies and eat some fried chicken! Life is good at Knotts!
I was a waitress at Knott’s from l942 until l945. I have so many memories of working there. I especially loved Cordellia. My name then was Charlene Rod
I just bought the book “Knott’s Berry Farm The Early Years” Really great photo of old Knott’s and some great history too.