Mae West in San Diego

This picture shows actress Mae West at the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition held in San Diego, which lasted from May to November 1935, and then again from February to September 1936. The accompanying caption was translated from the French in which it was originally written:

Famous screen star Mae West visited the San Diego, California, Fair last week. During her visit to the Fair, Mae West chats with a pair of dwarves in their miniature house.

Mae is shown holding Paolina Rodriguez (18" tall) and eighteen-year-old 26" tall Johnnie Fern McDill, known as the Midget Mae West. Yes folks, a major attraction at the San Diego Fair was Midget Village. Edited from The Times of San Diego website:

One of the most talked-about exhibits during the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition was Midget Village—a small but popular attraction featuring little people performing various acts and living in tiny houses designed to charm visitors. The Exposition was held to promote San Diego and support its economy and had hundreds of exhibits on history, the arts, horticulture, ethnic cultures, science, and industry.



The above image shows one of the more famous residents of the Village, Vance Swift

Midget Village was located in the Casa de Balboa building [shown below as it looks today] and capitalized on the era’s fascination with novelty entertainment, similar to the “freak shows” that were common at the time. Visitors were drawn to the miniature village and the performances, with weddings and social events often staged in the tiny homes.



According to Mary Steffgen of Point Loma, who, as an 8-year-old, freely explored Balboa Park during the exposition, the Midget Village was a major highlight. She recalled in a 1997 San Diego Magazine article, “I was fascinated by the Midget Village, where weddings frequently took place. Visiting the tiny houses and shops was the big step between playing with miniature dollhouses and living in the real grown-up world.”Many of the performers in Midgetland later went on to appear as Munchkins in the iconic film “The Wizard of Oz” she said.



Steffgen’s memories offer a vivid glimpse into the park’s atmosphere during that time, when children and families felt safe wandering the grounds—a freedom that, she noted, “could not happen in today’s social climate.”Adding historical context, Edith Ott, a longtime Balboa Park historian, shared insights in a Smithsonian Institution oral history interview about Midget Village’s role in the exposition. She described it as “a curious mix of fascination and spectacle that captivated many visitors, a window into a time when public amusement often involved unusual performances.” Ott’s remarks remind us how entertainment norms have evolved, highlighting the importance of viewing such exhibits through a modern lens that respects dignity and representation.

Back to Mae…from The San Diego Sun on June 10, 1935:

“Oh-h-h, if I’d known the fleet was to be in I would have arranged to stay over. I’m very patriotic.” And Mae West concluded a hurried visit to the Exposition with the promise: “I’m coming up again some time.” Nudists? The blonde screen star raised long lashes and looked vainly for a sailor in the goggle-eyed crowd. “Well—uh—I like uniforms—gobs of them!” Crowds packed the route as she rode with her manager, James A. Timony, to visit the Motion Picture Hall of Fame, the Midget Village and the Press building. No one was injured, but a fuse blew out in anticipation and Gold Gulch was dark for half an hour. The actress met the “Mae West of the Midgets,” Johnnie Fern McDill, age 18, heigh 26 inches. The tiny lady provided a neat take-off on Mae’s walk and someone suggested Mae adopt her. “When, Mae? Let me be your baby!” “But I’m not married,” returned Miss West. “Oh—I forgot—I’m supposed to have seven husbands. Sort of a chain-letter business, y’know.”

A day later, the Sunny Side column by L.E. Claypool ran this tidbit:

When Mae West hit the Expo Sunday nite she and a bodyguard and her manager each took a wheel chair and after rolling into the grounds in her limousine she accepted some bad advice and was wheeled into the various concessions pretty much rolling over the toes of other patrons who really hadn’t come to see Mae. The explanation was that the theatrical big shots who hire the uniformed personnel work for the people who hire Mae and are able to do this and that. On the whole, however, Mae was gracious and obliging and autographed cards until she was limp.

The site of larger-than-life Mae West being wheeled around the fair is difficult to fathom!

See more photos at my main website.

Traces of Gold Gulch

So often, the most interesting things in life are right under our noses but we aren’t even aware of them. That was the case when I discovered my newest obsession thanks to Ken of Stack’s Liberty Ranch a few weeks ago. The two of us were catching up over lunch in Balboa Park. Before departing, Ken said he wanted to check out the trail to Gold Gulch. The trail to what? He told me that during the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition held in Balboa Park that one of the attractions was a Ghost Town called Gold Gulch. Once the Expo was over in 1936, it was removed. I stared at him in total disbelief. How had I never heard of this? As we walked over to the area now known as Zoro Garden, he told me that guests could ride a stagecoach along the path that spilled out onto the very vibrant Ghost Town of Gold Gulch. While it may not have been the yellow brick road, to me, it was the next best thing.



It was easy to imagine myself riding in a stagecoach, passing the oak trees and other sites along the way. According to Ken, there was also a replica of the Mark Twain cabin where the author spent the winter and wrote "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Below is a vintage shot of the “original” replica, located in Sonora, California.



Can’t you just picture it nestled right here?



All I could keep thinking was, “How do we get this attraction back?” I purchased a souvenir guide for the 1935 Expo, hoping to glean more information.



Inside was a photo of Gold Gulch. Ken told me that both Walts, Knott and Disney, visited this attraction and were inspired when they built their own theme parks. Anyone who has been to Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm can see the living proof of this.



The guide book gave this description of Gold Gulch:

Admission free although area contains pay shows
Gold Gulch—down a ravine into 21 acres of raw Western mining town country. Stage-coaches rumbling down the narrow roads. All the thrill and excitement of the rip-roarin’ days of ‘49!. Aside from the fun of it, it’s a faithful “movified” version of the pioneering period by a Hollywood motion picture art director. Ten cents for a burro ride, down past the Shooting Gallery, Blacsmith Shop, Horse-shoe ring punctuated with hitching posts and whiskered miners. Visit the old Stamp mill, assay office, the Pioneer Dance Hall and old-time bar-room. The Old Mill, with a flume of wter to turn the wooden wheel, presses out the best cider you eer drank! And coffee out of a tin cup tastes grand at the Gulch Chuck Wagon—not to mention steam beer by the scupper. The cigar shop has the inevitable Wood Indian out front. The mighty smithy-at-his-forge turns out rings and medals from horse-shoe nails that delight the youngsters. Step right up, gals, and have your pitcher took, at the tin-type gallery! The boy-friend can be photoed with whiskers, six shooter revolver and ten gallon hat—and be leaning against a burron, if necessary. Gold Gulch isn’t just a show. It’s real. It savors of the days of Mark Twain, Bret Hart and John Sutter. You rub shoulders with such characters as Liminatin Lem, Gopher Joe, Screw Bean Benny and the “spattenest tabeccer spatter” in town which you probably remember in Oliver’s “Dessert Rough Cuts.” The heathen chinee and the strange characters from the four corners of the wold will be there—just as in ’49. And you? Well you’ll be one o’ ‘em, stranger.

I also acquired a Five Nugget souvenir bill from the Expo:



Love the artwork on this!



I immediately called my Mother to see if she had any recollection of Expo. She would have been three at the time, so my hope was that HER Mother had either taken her there or talked about it in her later years. By the next morning, I had a photo of a souvenir bracelet that she still had in her possession from the Expo. She wasn’t sure if her Mother had taken her or if the souvenir was a gift from someone else who attended.



And the final “duh” moment for me came when I realized that hanging on my living room wall was another souvenir from the 1935 Expo that had once belonged to my Grandmother. Chock full of images, including a Miner panning for Gold.



I returned a week later to make a video (definitely not ready for Sundance!) to document the pathway that guests once took to view Gold Gulch.



If you want to learn more about Gold Gulch, Ken of Stack’s Liberty Ranch put a great primer on his Facebook Page. Check it out!

Anyone else out there ever heard of this marvel?

See more 1935 California Exposition & Gold Gulch photos at my main website.