Disney Album Palooza!!!

 Hey gang!

I decided to go through all of my albums and see just what other Disney albums I have. Now, I must point out, that I don't really collect Disney albums, but if I go to an estate sale that has one cheap, I might grab it. Apparently, I've done that quite a bit over the years. Plus...I found something that I didn't even know I had! So let's dive right in!

First, from 1959 we have Uncle Remus. Now, I posted this one before, but for completeness, here it is again...

But jump forward to 1970 and we have Songs and Stories of Uncle Remus Brer Rabbit! This is like the small 45 records with a booklet, but larger and more stories!

Speaking of great story albums, how about this 1965 copy of 101 Dalmations? It proudly serves up "The story! The Music! The songs!" What's the difference between the music and the songs? I don't know! 

 

Next, from 1967 we have Songs from The Jungle Book! You don't get a booklet with this one, but the songs are so good, who cares?

Oh, ok...we'll do another song and story album! This one is from 1965 and it features Winnie the Pooh and the Honey (hunny?) Tree!

Then we'll jump to 1974 and look ar Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! I like the graphics on this one quite a bit...

How about some live-action stuff? For that, we move from Disneyland Records to Vista Records. Don't worry, it's still Disney. Here we have The Happiest Millionaire! And it comes with a booklet too! Oh, it's from 1967...

Have you heard of Scandalous John? I hadn't, but I read up on it and I might want to check ir out. It was a comedy/action movie set in the old west. I'm pretty sure there wasn't any real scandal involved, even though this is Vista too (aren't they the racey Disney?) This was from 1971.

Now THIS one I remember! In 1979 Disney released The Black Hole! This companion album and booklet are among my favorite Disney albums! 

Speaking of favorites, how about this blast from Walt Disney World's past? The 1972 album, The Hall of Presidents recalls the attraction during it's first year! And yes, you get a booklet.

Finally, remember how I said that I needed to get another Walt Disney's Merriest Songs due to the finger painted cover? Well, it seems at some point...I did! The album inside isn't quite as nice as the finger paint version, so I may do a switcheroo. I'm pretty sure I didn't get this one to upgrade the other one, I just happened to find two of them! Sometimes things just work out!

So there you have it! All of my accidently collected Disney vinyl! Will I buy more? Probably. Will I keep up with what I have and don't have? Probably not. 

Sue, do you have any of these?

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Musical Service Stations!

 This week we'll look at a slice of late 1960s kid life! You see, that was the time when service stations had promotional items that you could either get with a fill-up, or for a slight add on fee. Some of the coolest collectibles come from this time. Everything from paper models of the lunar lander to football team glassware, to...well...these!

In the late 1960s Gulf Oil relased two Disney albums that could be purchased for a dollar after a fill up  The first one, released in 1967, was this:

Walt Disney's Happiest Songs featured twelve songs from hit Disney movies! I had this one as a kid and I remember that Supercalafragulisticixpialidonhjffg...uh.... Superhjjcnjkh....uh...

Anyway, it was my favorite! Interestingly, the sharp eyed reader will notice that this recording is not the official soundtrack recording (although it is done by the stars). In fact, out of the 12 songs, only four came directly from the soundtracks. This was pretty common for Disney at the time. They would put alternate tracks, often recorded during the same sessions, or remixed from the soundtrack cuts for their albums. A lot of time, though, this was simply to cut out dialog or tweek the instrumentation for home listening. 

The next year, in 1968, Disney and Gulf released this:

Now, my copy (that I picked up at a thrift store) was set down in some kid's finger paints! The record is in good shape, though, so I plunked down my fifty cents (or something like that) and bought it. This album has twelve MORE songs from Disney movies! This one features six songs from the original soundtracks. Although it's every bit as good of an album as "Happiest," I prefer the first album. Probably it's because I actually had it as a kid, and also because I like the castle design on the cover, which, of course, reminds me of Disneyland. 

The reason the Gulf put these albums out (along with other Disney promotional items) was simple; they were a major sponsor of  "The Wonderful World of Disney" on NBC. In fact, there were commercials that ran on that program promoting these albums!

Gulf Commerial

Isn't the internet wonderful?

So, the next time you're feeling down, remember that there was a time where just buying gas could bring an extra helping of joy!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Mighty Tiny Sound!

 Today I'm going to share something I picked up at an estate sale a few years ago, just because I thought it was cool! It's this unopened package of Mighty Tiny records!

This little card contains four records made for the Mighty Tiny record player. The Mighty Tiny was made in 1967 and was, in fact, a fully functioning record player that fit in the palm of your hand. The records came in a variety of genres, this card being "Dixieland & Jazz." It's tempting to open the card, but since other unopened cards are going for about a hundred bucks on eBay, while opened records go for about 30 bucks for four, I shant. 

What I'd really like to do is get a player to go with them. Again, they run for about a hundred bucks, so as much as I'd like one, I'm not rushing out to buy it. However, in my quest to be complete in my blog, I offer these pictures of a genuine (not mine!) Mighty Tiny record player!

This is it closed. It looks like the whole top is a speaker.

This is the inside. I think there's supposed to be a battery door on there, but I'm not sure. The design is pretty cool because the clamshell keeps the record in place no matter how you carry it. It really is portable!

Anyway no matter if I ever get the player or not, I have an unopened pack of four cool records! By the way, I'm pretty sure these are the same players (or close to them) as the players in the games "Voice of the Mummy" and "Seance."

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Sub Post

 No, I don't think this post is lessor than any other (ok, maybe a few), but it's actually about a sub. I have this little guy (about three inches long) that I picked up...somewhere.

Yes, it's the ever popular diving submarine! These have been around for surprisingly long (I was surprised, anyway). It seems that they started out as schoolroom teaching aides in the late 1800s! They were made of light metal or glass back then, and didn't look much like a real sub, since there were precious few real subs back then. 

Still, the idea was the same. You put a little bit of chemical in the unit, and it reacts with the water (or vinegar) and makes bubbles that cause it to float. When the bubbles are released into the air, the object loses buoyancy and sinks. Then the process starts all over again and continues until the chemical has been completely consumed by the reaction. Simple, but kind of fun to watch.

By the time this sub was made (1980s probably according to my exhaustive research) the manufacturers had it down to a...well...science! Here you can see that the deck of the sub contains holes to help it sink and rise in a more stable manner.

And here we see that the superstructure is actually a rubber stopper for the baking soda chamber. Who needs nuclear reactors?

And here we see the bottom of the craft, which contains the bubble nozzle. 

All of this is actually balanced extremely well to insure that the sub dives and rises smoothly. 

By the way, in my research it said that prior to the 50s, these were made of light tin. Plastics in the 50s made them very cheap and easy to produce. You can tell this one comes from the 80s or 90s because earlier ones were unsually molded in colors and later ones were brand marked and more detailed. 

These are still readily available (and inexpensive), so you can build your own navy pretty easily!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Unexpected Pixie Dust

 I have a quick one for today. I was taking a few things out of my closet and pulled out the suitcase that I used a couple of years ago for my trip to Disneyland. On that case, I found this tag...

Yep, just a simple sorting ticket from the Disneyland Hotel. Not even in a "fun" color. But you know what? It made me smile. The Disneyland font gave me memories of that blue carpet leading into the lobby. Heck, the memories of the whole trip! 

So, it's not a big deal, but in a way it is. Anything that brings back good memories is a big deal in my estimation. A nice unexpected nudge of the ol' smile muscles.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

My First Diploma!

 While going through some old boxes, I found a record of my first step in a rather long educational journey. 

Now, these days kids "graduate" many times. There is kindergarten, from elementary to middle school, from middle school to high school, out of high school, and onto higher education. Back in my day (the late 1960s) you had (maybe) kinder graduation, high school and whatever came next. And kinder graduation was a rather lighthearted affair. The academic requirements were somewhat lower than they are now (where they want the kids reading independantly and doing simple math by themselves). We were more focused on colors and days of the week. 

Anyway, I apparently nailed both and, hence, got this...

That's right, I have my Bachelor of Rhymes! I can still rattle off a lot of them, so I guess my education took. I'm not sure this ability helped in my career, but then again since I was an elementary school counselor, it certainly didn't hurt! By the way, the tattered look came from a few decades in my mom's attic. 

And here is a report card envelope! Yay! I don't really remember Ms. Kelly, and certainly not Ms. Hibbitt, but I appreciate their efforts in launching my education. 1968/1969 seems like a loooong time ago (mainly because it was).

Anyway, I ended up with a Masters degree (in counseling, not rhymes), plus additional coursework, so I guess they did okay. 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!