Prehistoric Forest

Since my last post was super boring I thought my next post should be extra exciting, and what's more exciting than dinosaurs.

This is a low budget brochure for Prehistoric Forest in Irish Hills, Michigan, and Prehistoric Forest was a dinosaur attraction filled with low budget fiberglass dinos.


Although it must be said that these were well done low budget fiberglass dinos, and at least when I visited everything was well maintained and freshly painted. Besides the dinos, there were other odd things to see at Prehistoric Forest like that "burning spring" thing pictured on the upper right above. I can remember asking my father how fire could be bubbling out of the water like that. Yeah kids can be so naive, but then again I was 23 when I asked this. Thank you folks, I'll be here all week!



Since the pictures in this brochure were all B&W I wanted to include some color photos my father took when this attraction was in its prime. Unfortunately I could only find one (I'll update this post if any other pix turn up).


This is the "Neanderthal Man" and if you noticed he looks like he had a makeover compared to the brochure picture.

You should have guessed by my use of past tense that Prehistoric Forest in Irish Hills is now defunct. According to a report online it closed in 1999. Thanks to YouTuber mortuarygirl1 you can see how Prehistoric Forest looked in 2009.


UPDATE: There's a few more color Prehistoric Forest photos right here...

Coral Castle and Wongo

Here's a 1980's brochure for that mysterious monument called the Coral Castle...



Did you happen to notice that little box on the front of the brochure?

I don't know why they didn't list the classic fifties motion picture The Wild Women of Wongo (1958) also since the Coral Castle was featured prominently in the film. Surely "Wongo" would be a bigger draw than You Asked For It. Check out this super sexy clip...



After you've seen a small glimpse of the wonders of Wongo, you are now powerless to resist watching the whole damn movie which I have thoughtfully embedded below...

Call of the Wild

Hey it's a new post! It's a new post for the Call of the Wild Museum in Gaylord, Michigan...

If you look closely at the bottom of the cover of this 1974 brochure you'll notice it's "'Pokey's' nap time." I'll let you in on a little secret if you haven't guessed - it's always "Pokey's" nap time because "Pokey" is stuffed.



The Call of the Wild is a museum of stuffed animal displays, and when you really think about it seeing stuffed animals in a museum display are just as good as seeing live animals at the zoo. Right? I mean whenever I go to the zoo a lot of the animals just sorta lay there and do nothing, so that they might as well be stuffed.


An entire side of the brochure is devoted to a map of the state of Michigan. You won't have an excuse if you should ever get lost in the Great Lake State if you have this brochure in you possession.

I'm happy to report that the Call of the Wild is still in business, and you can visit their site if you click here.

Chicks & Gators

There was a "Moment of Zen" on an episode of The Daily Show years ago that featured a smiling young couple at a zoo (which appeared to be somewhere in Asia) tossing live chicks into the mouths of hungry crocodiles. The next day the producer of The Daily Show gave an apology (a sorta funny apology) to all the horrified viewers who complained.

Well I don't have any video of chicks being fed to crocodiles (hope you're not too disappointed), but I do happen to have two brochures inspired by this event...

According to Google, there is no information on the Internets about the now defunct Chicken Little Museum in Sterling, MI. I don't know what happened, maybe the sky fell down on it, but it looked like "a fun place to stop."

And who could resist that clip-art of the crazy clown, or that cheeky eye-catching text, "A PEEP show of Chicks" on the front of the brochure?


The inside of this brochure is full of text describing the museum. The final paragraph says the admission was only $1.00 (50¢ for ages 3 to 12). Wow that's CHEAP, cheap, cheap (get it? I don't know why I'm not working on Madison Ave.).

On the back of the brochure are testimonials from people who visited the Chicken Little Museum. I like how the first testimonial states it was "kept very clean." That's good to know those baby chicks weren't being kept in squalor.

And now on to the gators at the Everglades Alligator Farm in Homestead, FL...

I find it interesting how the juxtaposition of the speeding air boat and the group of gators makes it look like the boat is going to clobber the gators.

Well I guess if you're going to visit an alligator farm you might as well visit one were you can take a fun air boat ride thru the Everglades too. Also I'm very happy to report the Everglades Alligator Farm is still in business.

Check out their video...

Stars Hall of Fame: Brochure #3

Here's one last Stars Hall of Fame brochure...

Stars Hall of Fame: Brochure #2

Hey folks, we're back at the Stars Hall of Fame in Orlando, FL with with another retro-brochure. "Where Dreams Come True" is the big theme of this brochure along with photographs depicting "wacky" tourists reacting (or lusting) over the attraction's wax figures.


YUL!!! Mr. Brynner is featured so prominently it makes me wonder if this was because of some sort of marketing research. "Gentleman, our exhaustive cross-generational surveys tell us that people are 73.6% more likely to visit your wax museum if the brochure prominently features Yul Brynner dressed as his famous role from the King And I."

Super gigantic fold-out with the Fonz right in the center.

This time they don't list the admission prices, but do mention the parking is free.

Stars Hall of Fame

The Stars Hall of Fame in Orlando, FL was owned and operated by the Six Flags company which also ran the famous Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, CA.

On the cover of this retro-brochure is a gold Rolls-Royce, and I was informed by a reader that the Movieland in California also had a gold Rolls-Royce. This is interesting because the Movieland Wax Museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario (which a recently blogged about) also featured a gold Rolls-Royce. I guess if you run a wax museum devoted to movie stars you're required to have a gold Rolls on hand.



The Stars Hall of Fame rolled up its red carpet for good in 1984, and Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, CA closed in 2005.

Movieland Wax Museum

Here's a retro-brochure (I think I just coined that term. Maybe I should trademark it) for the Movieland Wax Museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

I said this before , but it always bothers when a brochure doesn't show actual photographs of the attraction. If they only show illustrations it makes me wonder what they are trying to hide.

"See... the majestic, golden Rolls-Royce" is an odd thing to highlight. This is a wax museum after all, not a car museum.

I'm happy to report this attraction is still operating. To see what the Movieland Wax Museum looks like today you can view nearly the entire museum by checking out this walk-thru video by a very thorough YouTuber named niagarafallsvlogger...

Dutch Pantry

Here's a boring post for you all. A brochure for the now defunct Dutch Pantry restaurant chain.

I don't think I ever ate at one, but for some reason I happen to have the brochure so for the edification of future generations here you go...



Oh wait, I even have a restaurant directory too. It's "Where Food Makes Friends" don't cha know...


From what I've read online the Dutch Pantry was similar to a Cracker Barrel restaurant. The interior pictures on the cover of the brochure sure look a lot like the inside of a Cracker Barrel.

Maybe it's just me and my juvenile sense of humor, but didn't people make fun of the restaurant name? Would jokesters ask the waitress about the dutch oven in the Dutch Pantry? If there were Dutch Pantry restaurants near where I live I know I would probably call them the Dutch Panty among friends.

Since I didn't have any sort of firsthand experience with a Dutch Pantry I looked to see what the internet had to say, and found this entertaining conversation on a message board. Thank you "pacman" and "Michael H." for the lively exchange...


pacman
Anybody remember the Dutch Pantry - Thu, 12/9/04 3:10 PM ( #1 )

Does anyone out there a) remember this place b) know if any still exist. The chain originally began as a single restaurant in Selinsgrove, Pa. They eventually branched out and ( I guess ) franchised and got quite widespread. Last I heard they were part of some other holding corporation and were run out of offices in Chicago. There was one operating up to about a year or so ago in Danville, Pa next to I-80, but, the property was sold and the new owner changed the name, but, kept the decor and menu pretty much as it always was.

Any info appreciated,
Dan

Michael H.
RE: Anybody remember the Dutch Pantry - Thu, 12/9/04 3:16 PM ( #2 )

Oh, boy, I sure do remember the Dutch Pantry. It was a great place to go if you wanted to get something you didn't order, enjoyed not being able to get a second cup of coffee, hated being given a check so you could leave, and loved not finding anyone manning the cash register. Oh, and I almost forgot, if overflowing commodes and urinals were fun the various Dutch Pantry places I've been in, including the one in Danville, Pa., the one in Cambridge, Ohio, and the one near Mansfield, Ohio, were the places to visit.

pacman
RE: Anybody remember the Dutch Pantry - Thu, 12/9/04 3:26 PM ( #3 )

Good Grief,
How could one person have so many BAD experiances at the same place. More to the point, if you found this to be such an AWFUL place, why did you keep going there?

As far as commodes and urinals, I have seen plumbing back up in some very nice places. As far as the service you recieved, maybe, your actions/attitude to the servers showed the same sarcastic tone you used in this reply.

Michael H.
RE: Anybody remember the Dutch Pantry - Thu, 12/9/04 3:54 PM ( #4 )

I didn't keep going there. In Danville, the only other places that were open were a Best Western motel restaurant that was almost nice enough to be called vile and the always less than pleasing Day's Inn restaurant. In Cambridge, there was the Dutch Pantry and a Western Pancake House. The Mansfield stop was just a mistake. As to the service I received being related to my actions and/or attitude -- nope. Oh, and I was not being sarcastic. I was merely telling the truth. Apparently, you do not care for the truth. You asked for information. You asked whether anyone remembered the place. When yoou got what you asked for you didn't like it. Too bad!

pacman
RE: Anybody remember the Dutch Pantry - Thu, 12/9/04 4:15 PM ( #5 )

I guess we seem to have a misunderstanding. It is not that I object to hearing a bad opinion of a place. We can't all like the exact same things in life. However, I am rather amazed that you were in 3 Dutch Pantry's and they were all shi**y. I live in Northumberland, PA which is about 10 miles from the Danville location. Over the years I have eaten there several times and never had any of the experiances you mention. There was also one in Sunbury, PA and Selinsgrove, PA these were closest to me and I ate in them all. They were all fine, but, not by any means perfect (matter of fact, no place is perfect). There were also locations in Williamsport, Lock Haven and State College, PA that were close to me when I was growing up. Having eaten in them all, I found them to be generaly clean, friendly places to eat. I am sorry if you had poor experiances and wish you could have eaten there when they were still in their "hay-day".

Anyway, if you know of any that are still open, I am curious to know about them or any other info people have on the place.

Michael H.
RE: Anybody remember the Dutch Pantry - Thu, 12/9/04 4:19 PM ( #6 )

I don't know of any that are still open. And I just remembered that the Country Kitchen in Danville was crowded with a long line of folks waiting for seats, and that's why we ended up at the Dutch Pantry there. I always liked that Country Kitchen. I suppose one of the reasons I liked it was because they didn't spell it Kountry Kitchen.

And finally, here's a well done and amazingly encyclopedic page that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the Dutch Pantry but were afraid to ask.

Kellogg's Factory Tour

In a time before corporate espionage, and excessive OSHA regulations (or so I'm told) there once was a popular factory tour of America's favorite breakfast cereal company...


Here's full color pamphlet to tell you all you wanted to know about the Kellogg's corporation, and the most important meal of the day...










I took the factory tour when I was a kid. I don't remember much about it, but we all had to wear paper hats since we were entering a factory were a food product was being manufactured.

Yes that is a hat.

Parts of the factory were so noisy the hostess would point to a poster explaining what was going on. After the tour was over we were each given a Kellogg's Cereal Variety Pak. For the kids, they also had a selection of "cereal toys" (you know, the cheap old fashioned plastic toy you'd find at the bottom of the cereal box) to fill your pockets with.

The factory tours ended in 1986. If anyone out there remembers taking the tour, and would like to add your 2 cents please leave a comment.