I Got Hitched At Knott's Berry Farm! (Judge Roy Bean's Saloon)

Back in the 1990s, I got "hitched," and it happened at Knott's Berry Farm. "Hitchin' ceremonies" were performed inside Judge Roy Bean's Saloon, by the "judge" himself. After the ceremony, couples would receive this official Hitchin License.

The "Hitchin'" also included two rings, made from bent "antique" nails.

Judge Roy Bean was actually a real person, who lived from circa 1825 to 1903.  He was a saloon keeper and a "self-appointed" justice of the peace, in Eagle Nest, Texas (later renamed Langtry).  The judge gave himself the title, "The Only Law West Of The Pecos."

In 1947, Walter Knott built an "exact" replica of Roy Bean's saloon in his Ghost Town.

This sign outside the building gives a very brief bio of Judge Roy Bean.

A sign inside explains why Judge Roy Bean named his place, "The Jersey Lily," and why he named the Texas town it was located in, "Langtry."  However, info from Wikipedia contradicts this, and claims that the town was named for, "George Langtry, an engineer and foreman, who supervised the immigrant Chinese work crews building the railroad in the area", and Wikipedia is NEVER wrong.  ;-)

There are five different portraits of the famous stage actress, Lily Langtry, inside the Knott's version of the saloon.  That sign states that Bean was, "a life-long admirer," but I'd say, "STALKER!"  ;-)

I wonder if these were all reproductions, or if Walter Knott managed to acquire the original portraits?

Judge Roy Bean himself, can be seen in the black and white photograph on the wall.

Judge Roy Bean's place originally sat just off of Market Street, facing east towards the Bottle House and the Music Hall.

This map shows the original location (circled in red).

In 1992, Judge Roy Bean's was relocated to Calico Square, next to the Calico Stagecoach's entrance and loading platform (the spot circled in blue, on the map above).  The photos below, show the building in it's new location.

Hitchin' licenses are still offered today, along with a Hitchin' ceremony.

That price doesn't seem too bad.  I can't remember what the charge was thirty years ago.

The same year that Judge Roy Bean's place was relocated, "Indian Trails" opened on it's former site.

Indian Trails also extends over towards the Bottle House.

In 2004, the "Silver Bullet" roller coaster was built over part of Indian Trails.

This is the exact spot where Judge Roy Bean's used to sit (up against that building, which has always housed restrooms).  The elevated circle to the right, is used for Native American dancing and storytelling.

Here are two photos that I took inside of Judge Roy Bean's (in it's former location), back in 1986. The employee in the photo was only giving a break at that moment, and was not wearing the "saloon bartender" attire that the regular Judge Roy Bean employees wore.

The stuffed bear always had the hat on his head, and the noose around his neck, but the pickle was placed in his mouth specifically for this photo.  Don't worry, we did not put it back in the pickle jar, afterwards!  (Or did we?)

Here's the same bear, twenty-seven years later (in 2013).  He was still wearing the noose, but someone had taken his hat!

And this is what the official Judge Roy Bean employees wore back in the day.  This photo was actually taken in the Silver Dollar Saloon over on Main Street (now a tacky electronic shooting gallery), but the costumes were the same for both locations, as well as for the Calico Saloon in Calico Square.

Judge Roy Bean's and the Silver Dollar Saloon both sold the same snack food items; whole dill pickles, beef jerky, chips, pre-packaged flavored popcorn, and soft drinks.  They also sold the same souvenir items; boot-shaped mugs (filled with your choice of soft drink), garters, shot glasses, and small bottles of pure maple syrup.  The garters, along with their prices, can be seen in the photo above.  There are also small and large boot mugs visible on the shelf (turned upside-down).

The boot mugs were made by Anchor Hocking.  Back then, they were void of any writing or printed design.  Today, the mugs have "Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California" printed on them, along with a couple boysenberries.

 

There were three different styles of garters available; single lace, double lace, and "gun garters."

The "gun garters" had a holster with a little removable gun.

They came prepackaged so that the guns wouldn't fall out and get lost.

The gun garters were the most expensive of the garters, but still sold for only $1.79!

The mugs and the garters were very popular items with guests, but one of the souvenirs which did not sell very well, were the mini bottles of pure maple syrup.  They were made to look like mini bottles of booze, and had names like "Ole Polecat" and "Sudden Discomfort."

Here's a 2007 photo of the building's interior.  It was closed at the time, so I took the picture through the metal bars/gate that went across the open doorway.  Even though it was closed that day, they still could have put those boxes of stock behind the bar, just to prevent the place from looking so "junked" up.  But that's pretty much par for the course at Knott's.

A close up of the bar's carved details:

We will end today's post, with this artwork that currently hangs inside Judge Roy Bean's, titled, "The Famous "Judge" Roy Bean Horse Thief Trial."  It was a promotional print for the San Antonio Brewing Company, but I don't know the year that it was created.

The artwork was based on this original 1900s photograph.  The real Judge Roy Bean can be seen sitting on that barrel on the porch of his building, holding his "law book."

For anyone who's interested in learning more about Judge Roy Bean, his Wikipedia page has quite a bit of information about his life.  There was also a 1972 film, "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean," starring Paul Newman, but I don't know how accurate it was, since Hollywood tends to "tweak" the facts when doing a biopic film on someone famous.

Bonus:

Since today is Valentine's Day, here is something extra.  This is a page from the February 11th, 1983 issue of The Berry Vine, a weekly Knott's Berry Farm employee publication.  The photo shows an employee in The Berry Market, decorating/personalizing chocolate hearts for Valentine's Day.  I previously posted this page along with the rest of that article on the left, which gave a description of the soon-to-open Camp Snoopy.  To see that whole Berry Vine article, you can click here for my Camp Snoopy - 40th Anniversary post from June of 2023.

Knott's Berry Farm's Roaring 20's - Summer 1975 (50th Anniversary!)

Over the years, I have been searching online for vintage images of a shopping mall that I used to visit as a child.  Usually, nothing comes up, but then one day.....BINGO!  A large set of slides showed up on ebay, which included images taken at FIVE different malls that I used to go to with my mom and grandparents.  As a side bonus, that same lot of slides also contained one dozen images from Knott's Berry Farm, taken in August of 1975, shortly after Knott's unveiled it's brand new "Roaring 20's" section of the park.

So now, I would like you to meet Ralph and Florence, and their son, Alfred.  Based on both the subject matter and the info written on some of their other slides, I have discovered a few things about this family.  They lived in Pomona, California.  They liked visiting shopping malls.  They enjoyed dining out, and they also liked to travel.  I will be posting more of their photos in the future, especially the vintage "mall" shots.  But for now, let's take a trip with them to Knott's Berry Farm.  I am going to include the hand-written labels from their slides.  They will be in berry-colored italics.

"Entrance to Roaring 20's Section at Knott's Berry Farm"

Here we see Ralph (in the red pants) standing at the entrance to the Roaring 20's area, while Florence rests on a bench, at the far left.  Notice the Knott's Bear-y Tales attraction in the background.  This was Knott's first attempt at a "dark ride," for which they hired renowned Disney artist-designer, Rolly Crump, and his son Chris Crump.

"Ralph & Florence at Roaring 20's Section - Knott's Berry Farm"

This is just an alternate view of the same general area, but now we can see the north entrance to the Buffalo Nickel Arcade, and also the Lindy's Cafe food service windows (on the far right).  Today, Johnny Rocket's takes up the space formerly occupied by Lindy's and that northern portion of the arcade.

I tried to merge the previous two photos.  I think it came out pretty good, considering the fact that I don't have Photoshop.

"Ralph & Florence by Fountain at Entrance to Roaring 20's Section - Knott's Berry Farm"

In the past, I've mentioned how this fountain was used in the film, "Hello Dolly!"  I also posted about how Knott's did not originally use it as a fountain (note the plants in the base).  It was finally converted into a fully functional fountain, about 11 years later.  (Now, after having said that, I just noticed a slight stream of water coming out of the mouths of the upside down fish, near the base of the fountain.  That trickle of water appears to be falling into those small basins, attached to the fountain's base.  This feature was not working on the fountain, during my first four years of employment with Knott's.)

"Cars Turning Upside-down on Corkscrew Roller Coaster Ride - Roaring 20's Section - Knott's Berry Farm"

I love seeing rare views of Knott's Corkscrew, when it was still painted entirely white, and with the absence of the Sky Jump tower in the background.  The Sky Jump, along with the rest of the "Roaring 20's Airfield," were added to that corner of the park just one year later. 

"Corkscrew Ride - Knott's Berry Farm"

Hmmm, I wonder if Ralph or Florence went on the Corkscrew?  I went on it that first summer!  A recording in the queue used to say, "Welcome to the Corkscrew....America's first looping roller coaster."  They should have added the words "modern day" in there, because there were some earlier looping coasters.

"Al by Restored City Clock - Knott's Berry Farm"

This is Alfred.  He's Ralph and Florence's son.  Notice how he and his dad both got dressed up for this Knott's visit.  I remember this clock very well.  Unfortunately, it was taken out when the Corkscrew was replaced by "Boomerang," in 1990.  As far as I know, the clock was not relocated.  I wonder if it was placed into storage, or if it was just tossed into a dumpster along with the Haunted Shack?  As for that hand-written description on the slide, I don't remember there ever being a plaque near this clock, so I don't know if it truly was a "restored city clock" or not.  Maybe an employee had given them some detailed information about the clock.

Fun Fact:  Alfred and Walter Knott both attended Pomona High School, in Pomona, California....different years, of course!

"Old Chiming Pole Clock - Roaring 20's Section - Knott's Berry Farm"

Okay, I also don't remember this clock doing any chiming.  And I worked at Knott's for years, and walked by the clock quite often.  I wonder if maybe it did chime in the very early years of the Roaring 20s, but then broke and was never fixed?  After all, that is what happened to the clock in Camp Snoopy.  Note the "Bath House & Plunge" sign in the background.  That sign and the faux windows above it, were placed there to "dress up" what was actually the backside of the Calico Mine Ride's show building.

"Florence Near Marathon Dance Pavilion - Roaring 20's Section - Knott's Berry Farm"

Here's a nice photo of Florence, sitting near one of Knott's infamous popcorn wagons.  I've told this story before, but I think it's worth repeating, because unlike Knott's Berry Farm's popcorn, the story never gets old.  I used the word "infamous" to describe the popcorn wagon, because when I worked at Knott's, they used to make us save the popped popcorn that was remaining at the end of the night.  We were told to scoop it into a trash bag, and bring it into one of the main buildings (the popcorn wagons were all "satellite" locations, belonging to various restaurants throughout the park).  The next day, the person who was opening the popcorn wagon was supposed to take the trash bag full of the old popped popcorn, and dump it into the popcorn bin.  We were told to then pop a fresh batch of popcorn, and mix it together with the old stuff.  How gross!  And how very CHEAP of them!  But that was just par for the course, at "The Farm."  Ah, but I digress!  I just hope that Florence, Ralph, and Alfred didn't have any "early morning" popcorn that day!

"View Near Entrance of Roaring 20's - Knott's Berry Farm"

In this view of the water fountain, we can see the signage for both Cordy's Variety Corner and the Candy Cottage.  Several years ago, the Candy Cottage was converted into a coffee shop.  And unfortunately, that fabulous "Knott's Roaring 20's" neon sign on the roof of the Knott's Bear-y Tales building, was removed in 2015.  

"Good Time Theater (Formerly John Wayne Theater) - Knott's Berry Farm"

Ralph....or someone, gets bonus points for knowing that the Good Time Theater was formerly the John Wayne Theater, AND for including that information in the labeling of the slide!  I wonder what the "Pepsi Cola Presents Pop Your Buttons" show was all about?  Maybe that's what happened to you after eating too much day-old popcorn, and then drinking a Pepsi Cola!

Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids were also performing in the theater.  I do remember them appearing at Knott's, even though I never actually saw their show.  They were a retro rock 'n' roll band, who had made an appearance earlier that year in an episode of Happy Days, as "Johnny Fish & the Fins."  They had also appeared two years earlier in the film, "American Graffiti," as "Herby & the Heartbeats."

"View Looking Out Toward Old Train from Entrance to Berry Tales - Knott's Berry Farm"

Now, maybe someone should get points taken off, for changing the correct spelling of "Bear-y" to "Berry."  Oh, well....no biggie, I guess.  This photo was taken from the upper-level of the queue for the Knott's Bear-y Tales attraction.  To the left of the Charleston Circle fountain, we can see the "ride operations" office for the Roaring 20's area.  The office was built on "stilts," and employees accessed it via that spiral staircase just to the right of it (which is mostly obstructed by that palm tree).

"View Near General Store - Ghost Town - Knott's Berry Farm"

This last photo was taken on Market Street, in the Ghost Town section of the park.  This row of buildings housed the General Store, the Pitchur Gallery, and the Covered Wagon Show.  Note the cowboy sitting on top of the barrels.

The General Store is still standing today, and it doesn't look too different than it did in 1975, even though quite a bit of the wood on the facade has been replaced over the years, along with some alterations to the faux "second story."

For a few years after the Roaring 20's area opened, a copy of the "Good Time Gazette" was given out to guests as they entered the park.  This is the copy that my family received, when we visited Knott's the very same month as Ralph, Florence, and Al.  Maybe we were all there on the same day!

The front page featured articles on the park's entertainment, and also what was new at Knott's.  Roger Miller was performing that day.  The article about him mentions that he was the songwriter, and narrator for Disney's recent animated film, "Robin Hood."  That film had actually been released almost 2 years earlier, in November of 1973.

The third article was highlighting Knott's brand new dark ride, "Knott's Bear-y Tales."  I remember even as a kid, I was surprised to see that Knott's had built a "Disney-style" dark ride with an "Omnimover" system!

The back page included a listing of all the park entertainment.  So apparently, the "Peps-Cola Presents Pop Your Buttons" show was a "Roaring 20's Revue."  They sure had a lot of street entertainment in the new Roaring 20's area.  There was a Ragtime/Jazz piano player outside of the Hollywood Beanery restaurant, as well as saxophone players and slapstick comedy "on the streets."  I wonder when they got rid of all those entertainers?  They weren't around seven years later, when I was hired to work at the park.

The inside of the "Good Time Gazette" included a map of the park.

We will end this post with a postcard, which I bought during that same August 1975 visit.  Notice how the Sky Jump/Sky Cabin tower isn't present in the background (or on the map above).  As I mentioned earlier, the Roaring 20's "Airfield" section was not added until the following year.

Happy 50th anniversary, to Knott's Roaring 20's....or what's left of it, anyway!  :-/

Oh, by the way.....if Ralph, Florence, and Al look familiar to you, it's because we have seen them previously over on Gorillas Don't Blog.  By pure coincidence, Major Pepperidge had purchased a "lot" of the family's Disneyland slides, and has already shared them with us in the following posts: Scarce Interiors, June 1963; A Pair From June 22, 1965; Views From June 22, 1965; Muffler Man At The Disneyland Hotel; Mules Of Mirth, June 12, 1973; and A Few More From June 12, 1973.