More Ice Cream for Nixon

Some of the mysteries were solved when I acquired this second batch of negatives of Vice President Richard Nixon and family at Disneyland from June 14, 1959 sharing an ice cream sundae at the Carnation Ice Cream Parlour on Main Street, U.S.A. This envelope gave the name of the waitress (Louise) and the two gentlemen in the back. At left is restaurant General Manager Mr. Knowles and standing next to him is Charles Cowling. I do not know any other information about these two (or charming Louise for that matter).



A closeup of the carnation on the menu cover:



I wonder what's in that toast from Mr. Knowles?



On the negative for this shot, the kids had an "X" through them; I guess the intention was to crop them out when the photo was published. I rectified the situation with a simple swipe of the cloth. Nixon's mother, Hannah, didn't make the frame. You can barely see the edge of her face at left.



See more Nixon at Disneyland photos at my main website.

A Sundae for Nixon

On June 14, 1959, Vice President Richard Nixon and family were invited to christen the Monorail. At some point in the day, they also enjoyed some ice cream at the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street U.S.A. His mother, Hannah Milhous Nixon, is at left, wearing the Special Guest tag in addition to the Guest Pass ribbon for the day.



Nobody seems to be paying attention to whatever it is that Vice President Nixon is talking about.



Nixon is shaking the hand of...no idea on this one. I'll give a thrill to one of my readers and let them chime in.



Whoever he is, he doesn't have the "Special Guest" designation that Mrs. Nixon has.



Tricia is not happy that her dad is the only one getting ice cream. No idea what Julie thinks, but it would appear that it is bringing some laughter to Mom and Dad.



Oh that sundae looks good.



Tricia reaches her spoon in for this one, but the rest of her is cropped out. I think I'll go see what's in the freezer. I'm hungry now.



More Nixon family at Disneyland photos at my main website.

Mr. Toad Mural Extravaganza!

One new one and a lot of re-hash for today (yes, still catching up on life!). First shot is the "new" one, showing two tots who have just experienced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Fantasyland. Of course, the real reason for attaining this photo is the view of the queue mural in the background! While we're at it, how about a shot from December 1957 of Donna Reed and Steve Allen also enjoying this dark ride classic?



And Jerry Lewis:



Vice President Richard Nixon and family:



The Audie Murphy family, circa 1956:



Here I used a little photoshop magic to get a better look at the mural (human distortion be damned!), circa 1958:



Last one is a June 1955 image of the exterior of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride:



More vintage and contemporary shots of Mr. Toad at my main website.

60 Years Ago Today: Nixon at Disneyland Pt. 2

Finishing out the 60th anniversary of Vice President Richard Nixon's first trip to Disneyland are these shots from a journey on the Mark Twain riverboat. I love this first shot of the entire family on the dock, perfectly dressed for this momentous occasion.



Daughter Julie gets to ring the bell; a treat for any child!



Nixon seems to be enjoying the view from the top of the Twain. Who wouldn't?



In this image, the Twain is passing by the Chicken Plantation restaurant, which was located approximately where the Haunted Mansion is today, give or take a little real estate.



Nixon waves to onlookers from atop the Twain. Note the fire buckets…



which can still be found on the riverboat. Highly doubtful they are the same ones though.



More Nixon family at Disneyland on my main website.

60 Years Ago Today: Nixon at Disneyland

60 years ago today, the Richard Nixon family visited Disneyland for the very first time.



Six years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Nixon's daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, who graciously shared her memories of that day. She had nothing but nice things to say about Walt Disney. “He was so kind; and very approachable. He was also a very nice looking man.” Her father was given the “Key to City Hall” by none other than Davy Crockett (Fess Parker). “I was in heaven, meeting Fess Parker! It was a big deal to be there at Disneyland, especially because of the weekly broadcast that introduced the world to Disneyland with each episode. The characters, the castle...seeing it all in person was fantastic. It was such a joyful place!"



A closeup of the Key to City Hall shows that Walt didn't miss an opportunity to plug one of the Main Street Vendors, Yale Lock Manufacturing.



Here's an August 1955 image of the Yale & Towne Lock shop:



This particular trip was a family reunion for the Ryans (Pat's family) and the Nixons, and Julie enjoyed the company of her 7 male cousins. The family rode the Autopia cars (with 2 secret service men in tow for Vice President Nixon) as well as The Mark Twain, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Adventure.



The rest of today's images show the Nixon family enjoying the attractions in Fantasyland, beginning with Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.









Fess Parker watches as the Nixon girls get loaded into the Dumbo attraction:



Two of the Mad Tea Party:







Julie shared this other tidbit: "My favorite ride was (and still is) the Peter Pan ride.” I can't disagree with her on that one!



More Nixon family at Disneyland on my main website.

More Nixon in Yorba Linda, June 1959

I recently acquired two more shots from then Vice President's Nixon return to Southern California in June 1959, when he christened the Monorail at Disneyland. Here he is in Yorba Linda doing some ribbon-cutting duties.



See more vintage Richard Nixon photos on my main website.