From 36 years ago this month, we have a Los Angeles Times article about the Disneyland Custodial Department:
A quick search online reveals that custodial manager, Ray Sidejas, retried from Disneyland in 2011 after 46 years of service!
Incidentally, The Fantasyland Theater, which can be seen in the background of that photo above, was torn down just about four months after this article ran.
Portions of that "loose-leaf notebook" which was given to newly hired members of the custodial crew, can be seen here on the "Jungle is 101" blog: Disneyland Custodial Dept. - Welcome To Our Custodial Team.
Skyway alert!
Really an interesting article, TM. Glad you saved it.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see an updated feature on the Custodial Department. With cigarette smoking restricted to specific areas, I wonder what other things besides gum are the bane of their existence today? I'll bet it's harder to see and get to the trash quickly today due to the crowds, and of course more people = more waste.
I really like this article. Had fun looking up several of the people mentioned in this article. Not sure if you're familiar with a book called "Cleaning the Kingdom" by Lynn Barron and Ken Pellman. It's a fun book to read. They also do a podcast about working custodial at Disneyland called "The SweepSpot".
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to "Jungle Is 101". I bookmarked it and will definitely check it out later.
I worked maintenance and custodial at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk during he summer of 2011. It was a lot of work, especially when the crowds came. Lots of emptying cans over and over and over again as well as sweeping and wiping up everything imaginable. Still loved it though just for the setting.
I found Chuck Boyajian's window on Main Street above the Market House online. Here it is at "Finding Mickey".
http://findingmickey.squarespace.com/disneyland-windows/single-gallery/3112281
While Ray Sidejas didn't get a window on Main Street, he's referenced as a co-author of the book "Walt & You" located in a faux bookcase at City Hall. Here's a pick from "Finding Mickey".
http://findingmickey.squarespace.com/other-hidden-dl/main-street-usa/2710574
Joe Aguirre worked at least until 2005 with the latest article I could find from him about ASIMO at Innoventions.
http://asimo.honda.com/ASIMO_DCTM/News/renditions/pdf/ASIMODisneyNewsRelease-WEB.pdf
Another fun article. Thanks, Chris.
Chuck, not only do more people = more waste, but the park guests of today aren't as "tidy" as the ones in the past. I am always shocked when I'm cutting through the Plaza or trying to go down Main St. right after a parade has ended. It is like someone "paved" the street in trash. It's amazing how many people these days can't or won't take just few steps over to a trash can to throw away their trash. The majority of them just get up and leave everything right there where they were sitting. Of course, then it immediately gets kicked around and stepped on before the custodial staff can get to all of it. It's bad enough trying to walk through napkins, wrappers and cardboard carry-out boxes, but it's even more frustrating trying to navigate through tons of plastic bottles that are rolling around under your feet. I wonder what these people's homes look like?
ReplyDeleteKen, thanks for those links! That's nice that they at least gave Ray Sidejas a "book." I did look up Joe Aguirre and saw that the last online reference to him working there, seemed to be around the time of the park's 50th anniversary. I've mentioned here on my blog (and other blogs) that I used to write letters asking for various information about the park, future attractions, etc. I have several letters that I've saved from childhood, where he was the one that responded to my letter. Back then, they would answer your question, but they would often include the latest copy of Disney News Magazine, a Disneyland decal, or even one of the Disneyland Pictorial Souvenir books along with their response. They were pretty generous back then....probably a carry-over from Walt's days.
ReplyDeleteI used to cut out and save every Disneyland newspaper article that I saw in the L.A. Times (the only paper my parents received). At one point I had quite a stack! Somehow most of them have vanished over the years, though I still have a few. I agree with you about people being too lazy to put their trash in the nearest receptacle; disgraceful. These are probably the same people who complain when they see a mess. Incidentally, I wrote to the Disney Studios twice when I was a kid, and never received any response whatsoever! Maybe it was my use of four letter words? ;-)
ReplyDeleteMajor, I wish you still had all of the articles that you cut out! I have most of the ones I cut out, but there are a few that have gone missing. Disney must have responded favorably to me, because every single one of my letters was composed using ONLY three letter words. ;-) You just reminded me that I also used to write to the Disney Studios. Starting around 1977, I would write and ask for a copy of the company's annual report. The reports were quite nice back in the day. They had color photos of the parks and would usually contain information about future attractions. Maybe your letters got lost in the mail?
ReplyDeleteDo you still have all of your vintage Annual Reports? I'll bet the older ones would be fun to look at. I became a shareholder in the early 80's - not many shares, but I received the annual reports for decades, and saved them all. Now they just produce a digital annual report.
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered why the studio didn't respond. One of my letters encouraged them to do more animated films like "Pinocchio"! I was a teenager, and this was before the revitalization of the feature animation department. It was probably my letter than inspired them to make "The Little Mermaid".
Major, I do still have all of my annual reports. As the years went on, the reports weren't as exciting, because they got more and more tight lipped about anything planned for the future. The best ones might be the 1976 report, because it had pics of the Discovery Bay and Circusland model. The 1977 one was pretty good too, because it had pics of Blaine Gibson carving the face for the new abominable snowman that was going to be added to the Matterhorn and a pic of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad model.
ReplyDeleteSo YOU are the reason that the animation department made a successful comeback! I just knew that it didn't have anything to do with that no good Eisner.