Christmas Toys 1956

A cornucopia of toy ads in the November 26, 1956 Life Magazine.


Parker Brother's Little Noddy's Taxi Game, Wonder Horse Regular, Transograms' Little Country Doctor and Little Play Nurse kits, Ideal's Turbo Jet Car, Dietz Electric Comet Lanterns, "Lone Ranger" Cowboy Guitar, Walco Bead-a-Basket and Coaster Kit, Tru-Vue 3D Gift Set (Viewmaster?).



S. L. Allen & Co., Inc. Flexible Flyer, Kid Size Samsonite by Shwayder Bros., Inc, Cindy Mardi Gras Doll by Horsman Dolls, Jig Saw Jr. by Gurgess Vibrocrafters, Transogram's Lady Lovely Plastic Beauty Kit, Parker Brothers' "Going to Jerusalem", Washable and sanitary Petal Craft, Wilkening MFG's Mr. Wiggle (Slinky?)


Metal Ware Corp.'s "Little Lady" Electric Range, Ideal's "Betsy Wetsy" Doll, Parker Brother's Monopoly, Auburn Rubber Company's Early American Frontier Set, Glolite's Glolite Outdoor Candles, Wonder Products, Original Deluxe Wonder Horse, Parker Brothers' Sorry, Jet Jumper


Hasbro: Hassenfeld Bros., Inc.'s Mickey Mouse Club "Loony-Kins", Jewelry Craft, The Merry Milkman Toy and Game, Mickey Mouse Club Oil Paint-by-Number Set, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (vegetables not included!), Little Miss Seamstress Necchi Sewing Kit, "Two for the Money" TV Quiz at home, and Pencil Craft Painting Set.


Olin Mathieson chemical Corp.'s Winchester Junior Roller Skates, Daisy Manufacturing Co.'s Daisy Bronco Holster Set, Milton Bradley's "Go to the Head of the Class", Huffman's Customliner 2424 by Huffy, Union Wadding's Sparkl-Tex, Transogram's Jackie Gleason's "And Away We Go" TV Fun Game, Plastic Block City Inc.'s "Block City", American Metal Specialties Corp.'s Amsco TV Snack Cart


Pressman Toy Corp.'s "Confucius Say" Magnetic Quiz Game, Junior Toy Corporation's AMF Junior Roadmaster, Kalamazoo Sled Company's Champion Flying Disc, Milton Bradley's Redskin Finger Paints, Cadaco-Ellis' Foto Electric Football Game, Vanity Fair Electronic Corp.'s Mickey Mounse Club Portable Phonograph, Aluminum Model Toys, Inc.'s Scale Model Continental Mark II, and Pickwick Sales Corp.'s Cricket Toy Tune Series


Plastic Block City, Inc. Buckley Irish Mail, Emenee's Golden Banjo, Milton Bradley's "Game of the States", On-a-Lite XMas Lights, Halsam's American Skyline H.O. Scale construction kit, Transogram's Tak-A-Peg Desk-ette Outfit, Junior Toy Corporation's AMF Junior Trike, American Artists' Color Works Inc.'s Color Festival


Milton Bradley's "Easy Money", Pert Pat Products, Inc.'s Pert Pat Doll Furniture Set #5, Daisy Manufacturing Co.'s Daisy Frontier Scouting Kit, Arthur Brown and Bro Inc.'s "Learn to Draw" Outfit, Hurley's Fire Truck, Cadaco-Ellis Inc.'s Thirteen, Rice Mills Inc., "Little Bride", Samuel Gabriel Sons & Co.'s Fiddlestraws

Purchase at these fine merchants

Eastgate 1982

I don't have very many photos of Eastgate but I wanted to share them anyway.

I have vague memories of this strip mall being built in the late 60s or early 70s - it was well before Factoria Square.  I recall a Cut-n-Curl (I think it was called), a music store where I got a music stand when I played the cello in fourth grade, a Christian bookstore (I remember being given one dollar in Sunday School to spend however I wanted except on candy and purchasing a wood cross necklace and thinking "that's what my Sunday School teacher would want me to buy"), Albertsons, Skaggs, and possibly the Baskin & Robbins.  There was also a gas station (Chevron?) off the right side of this photo where I remember getting free Smiley Face lunch bags and glassware with fill-ups.  Many of the stores were still there in 1982.  I believe the Albertson's and Baskin & Robbins are still there as of 2012!

Bellevue Airfield is written up about halfway down this page of forgotten airfields.

This is the Bellevue Airfield about 1978


From the 1980 Historic Aerials, you can see the strip mall south of I 90 (Freeway running East-West) and the airfield on the upper right.

This is motel in Eastgate undated but I believe it's the 1970s. Artist Kenton Pies designed the look of the Longhouse Motor Inn and shared this photo with me.

Visit Kurt Clark Eastgate Walkabout for more Eastgate photos.

Factoria Square 1987-1988

I mentioned in my last post about my Dad hiring a pilot to take us around so he could shoot aerials March 1987 in preparation for the Factoria Mervyn's Grand Opening.  Here are some of the photos he took of Factoria Square on that trip and when he went again November 1988. Be sure to click on each photo for more detail (and look for the magnifying glass icon.) Mervyn's is the largest white-roofed structure pictured below. 

3/7/1987

Facing NE. A few visible landmarks include I 405 (cuts the lower left corner of the photo), I 90 (in the upper left), the LDS Seattle Temple in Eastgate (white structure with peak in the distance), Loehmann's Plaza, and the Cascade Mountain Range.

Facing North.  I 405 (upper left) and I 90 (horizontal) interchange


Facing East. Newport Presbyterian Church visible lower right, Sunset Elementary slightly visible top center.  Note triangular patch of brush and trees on the other side of I 405 from the church and the swath of trees upper center of photo . . .(see eighth photo)


Facing East.  Somerset visible on right.

Facing NE.  Visible are Lake Sammamish at the top, Newport High School lower right.

Facing South.  Visible are I 90 (horizontal) and I 405 Interchange, Mount Rainier in the distance, Newport Shores on the right and Somerset on the left.

At this time, my Dad doesn't quite recall why he went up again a year and a half later.  When I came across these I thought maybe the negatives were dated incorrectly but these photos clearly are during the fall and there has been some construction in the meantime.  Including Target which is the large light gray-roofed structure to the right of Mervyn's (white roof).
11/23/1987

Facing West.  Seattle in the distant background.  The East Channel Bridge and some of the Newport Shores neighborhood are visible.

Facing West.  Compare this to the third photo - note the white stairstepped buildings in the upper left quarter, the west parking lot, Target and the new lumber structure that was the across from Target (which was the triangular patch of brush and trees described above across I 405 from Newport Presbyterian)

Similar view as above.

Facing North.  Downtown Bellevue's increasing skyline in the background.

Bellevue 1987

My Dad took photos for the Grand Opening of Mervyns in Factoria Square Spring 1987. He had a pilot take him up in a plane March 7, 1987 to get some aerial shots. I got to go along and posted my photos taken with my 35mm camera here. We've just dug up my Dad's negatives (he was shooting a medium format - 120mm) and I'm really enjoying seeing these images from a quarter century ago. I'll have more to share . . . but for today, here are some aerials of downtown Bellevue. Be sure to click on the images for more detail.

Facing East. Safeway, John Danz, Bowling Alley, and Overlake Hospital are a few buildings visible


Facing East. Bellevue Square


Facing SW. Ashwood Elementary, Hyatt Regency land being cleared for construction - Bellevue Downtown park looks like it's under construction, too.


Facing West. Hilltop Neighborhood


Facing West. Bellevue Square




Facing SE Woodridge Neighborhood

Bellevue had already started its growth spurt by 1987 but it was just the beginning!

Thanksgiving Greetings

Were Thanksgiving postcards more common a century ago?  Christmas season seems to start earlier and earlier every year - I don't know if I've noticed Thanksgiving cards for sale amongst all the Christmas décor. 

Of course I love these charming vintage postcards depicting colorful turkeys, bounty, fall leaves and pilgrims:

"Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving" Mailed November 1907


"Thanksgiving Greetings" Mailed October 1908?


"A Glad Thanksgiving" Mailed October 1912


"Thanksgiving Greeting" mailed November 1923


"Thanksgiving Joys" undated

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Election Day

As much as I dislike the campaign season, I'm still very grateful for the privilege to vote.  I was eighteen in time for the 1980 presidential election and it was the last time I recall the big old-fashioned election booth that you walked inside and pulled a large lever to close a curtain behind you (which brings to mind for me the "Wizard" in the Wizard of Oz).  And then there were dozens of small levers to select your candidate or vote for or against an issue.
Thankfully we have more choices in each row

Life Savers
October 15, 1956 Life Magazine

A few more Election season ads from 1956 - recognize the artist? I read several children's books to my own kids by this illustrator

Eagleknit (Eloise Wilkin)
October 15, 1956 Life Magazine


Chase & Sanborn
October 15, 1956 Life Magazine

So Americans - Get out and vote!

University of Washington

My parents are both graduates of the University of Washington.  My husband and I and as of last year our son also graduated from there. Three generations of Huskies.

This weekend marks their 151st birthday.  From Wikipedia

UW opened officially on November 4, 1861, as the Territorial University of Washington. The following year, the legislature passed articles formally incorporating the University and establishing a Board of Regents. The school struggled initially, closing three times: in 1863 for lack of students, and again in 1867 and 1876 due to shortage of funds. . . .

 . . . The University relocated from downtown to the new campus in 1895, moving into the newly built Denny Hall. The regents tried and failed to sell the old campus, and eventually settled on leasing the area. The University still owns what is now called the Metropolitan Tract. In the heart of the city, it is among the most valuable pieces of real estate in Seattle and generates millions of US$ in revenue annually. . . .

. . . Organizers of the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition eyed the still largely undeveloped campus as a prime setting for their world's fair. They came to an agreement with the Board of Regents that allowed them to use the campus grounds for the exposition. In exchange, the University would be able to take advantage of the development of the campus for the fair after its conclusion. This included a detailed site plan and several buildings. The plan for the A-Y-P Exposition prepared by John Charles Olmsted was later incorporated into the overall campus master plan and permanently affected the layout of the campus.

Not surprisingly, I have some old postcards that I would like to share in tribute to this special occasion.


"604 - University of Washington Campus Seattle, Washington - Library and Physics Hall, with Vista of Mt. Rainier. Just ten years after the city of Seattle was founded in 1861, the people of the territory of Washington started the University of Washington. From that day, now more than 75 years ago, the University has progressed to where it now boasts one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States. With an enrollment of 12,000 students, it ranks among the highest educational institutions in the country, and produces world famous athletic teams. Genuine Curteich-Chicago "C. T. Photocrom" Post card. C. P. Johnston Co. Seattle, Washington" Postcard mailed June 1952



"Library, University of Washington, Seattle. Natural Color K Card from Kodachrome. A Mike Roberts Color Production, Berkeley 2, Calif. Published by C. P. Johnston Co., Seattle. C3742"


"A section of the University of Washington campus at Seattle. The campus covers 582 acres, all beautifully landscaped. The building to the right is the Library and to the left Savery Hall. Ektachrome by Max. R. Jensen. Natural Color K Card from Kodachrome. a Mike Roberts Color Production. Berkeley 2, Calif. Published by C. P. Johnston Co., Seattle C5699"


"University of Washington Campus, Seattle, Wash. This view looking across Frosh Pond shows Johnson Hall Administration Bldg., Parrington Hall, Library and Physics Hall. C-409 Ektachrome by J. Boyd Ellis. Pub. by J. Boyd Ellis, Arlington, Washington 3978"


"University of Washington. This aerial view of the lower portion of the campus shows the Athletic Pavilion and Stadium. Union Bay and Lake Washington are beyond. Ektachrome by Clifford B. Ellis"