Disneyland Transportation Cutbacks: The Keel Boats

One last part to my Disneyland Transportation Cutbacks series; how could I leave out the Keel Boats? Appearing on the Rivers of America, the 38' Bertha Mae and Gullywhumper Keel Boats were based on two episodes of the Davy Crockett miniseries from the 1955 Disneyland TV show: "Davy Crockett's Keel Boat Race" (November 16, 1955) and "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" (December 14, 1955). The attraction was named after Mike Fink, the "King of the River" who lost the keel boat race. Once again, Walt showed his genius in reusing items already available to him by putting the props from the show into the Park. Over in Tomorrowland, it was the 20K Under the Seas exhibit. But I digress…below are Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen, who appeared in the Davy Crockett episodes as Davy and George “Georgie” Russell:



It would appear that the show also featured a third boat, the Monogahela Belle:



A close-up with Ebsen and Parker:



Some of my earliest shots of the Keel Boats at the Park are from August 1956, both featuring the Bertha Mae:





This October 1956 shows the Gullywhumper, which was much plainer in the decor department:



March 1957:



A June 1957 overhead shot taken from the Mark Twain (or the Columbia!) showing the Bertha Mae docked in Fowler’s Harbor:



This August 1958 image shows a Mike Fink popgun that was found on the deck of the Gullywhumper:



Undated 1950s:



LOVE those early Disneyland Paper Hats!



June 1965:



Some marvelous hairdos and glasses:



June 1967:



From July 17, 1977, the most recent shot in my collection of a Keel Boat still in action:



The Bertha Mae was removed in May 1997 after it capsized; shortly after that the entire attraction was 86'ed. The Bertha Mae was auctioned off on ebay for $15k and the Gullywhumper sat permanently docked in the Rivers of America. From December 2006:



May 2008:



By April 2010, the Gullywhumper got a bit of a reprieve. It was cleaned up, restored back to how it looked in the 1955 shows, and put in front of the former Burning Cabin, which was turned into Mike Fink’s home:



How it looked in May 2015:



Were they comfortable? Probably not. Did they have a high guest capacity? No. Did they add to the flavor and movement of Frontierland? DEFINITELY YES! Slowly but surely, the budget cuts have removed the energy and excitement of what Walt originally created.

See more Disneyland Keel Boat photos at my main website.

Monday Mystery at Fowler's Harbor

Based on the size of the landscaping and the Gullywhumper Keel Boat, this shot of Fowler’s Harbor is from somewhere between December 1955 and…?



The Gullywhumper baffles me; the design of this one is different from the one in most of the shots from my collection. The railings on top look like straight beams, whereas in this March 1957 they have been replaced with oars. Perhaps the one in my shot, showing the word “Pittsburgh” on the front, was an early version or prototype.



Back to the original image for today’s post. The bigger mystery is what the heck is this large cylindrical object being worked on? Was it construction for the Disneyland Railroad tunnel?



By June 1959 (image below), the front shack seen above had been removed.



Bueller? Bueller?

See more Disneyland Fowler's Harbor photos at my main website.

The Eagle Eye of Archivist Jason

Although there is an overwhelming abundance of Disneyland fans/admirers/geeks/enthusiasts, NOBODY tops the knowledge of Jason Schultz, the unofficial Disneyland archivist supreme. Recently, his twitter feed featured a vintage 1950’s image from my collection that shows both Ron Dominguez AND the Dominguez palm. Below, you can see Ron on the right:



…and this detailed view shows the Gullywhumper Keel Boat, Aunt Jemima’s Pancake House, and the Dominguez Palm (2nd tree from the right).



If you don’t know about the Dominguez Palm Tree, here’s the 411: Ron Dominguez grew up on ten acres of orange trees that were sold to Walt Disney to build Disneyland. After a year of construction, that acreage became part of Frontierland and Adventureland. The Dominguez family asked Walt to keep this one tree, as it had been planted in 1896 as a wedding gift to Ron’s grandparents. The Dominguez Palm is located to the right of the Jungle Cruise boathouse.

Ron also has a Main Street, U.S.A. window:



Inscription: Orange Grove Property Mgt. - “We Care For Your Property As If It Were Our Own” - Ron Dominguez - Owner

Ron Dominguez was raised on a grove where the Rivers of America is now. He began working at Disneyland in its early days and eventually became Executive Vice President of Disneyland and “Mayor of Our Community.”

Thanks for knowing more about my collection than I do, Jason!

See more photos at my main website.

Disneyland Keel Boat Detail

New to me is the discovery that on the Bertha Mae Keel Boat at Disneyland the front of the watercraft had what appears to be a hand-painted detail. A closeup from the December 1958 image:

The Gullywhumper had a placard affixed instead of the painted name of its sister-boat, as seen in this June 1964 image:

And while we’re on Keel Boats, here’s one from the Fall of 1956:

See more vintage Disneyland Keel Boat photos at my main website.