Flashback : Dallas

A Miscellany: History, Ads, Pop Culture

Tag: Historic Dallas

December 30, 2017

Year-End List! My Favorite Posts of 2017

gill-well_highland-park_dallas-rediscoveredA Gill Well pagoda in Highland Park…

by Paula Bosse

Another year of Dallas-history immersion comes to a close — that can only mean that it’s time for the all-but-inevitable making-of-lists. I enjoyed writing all the Flashback Dallas posts that appeared in 2017, but these are the ones I had the most fun researching and writing. Those who think history is dull don’t dive in far enough! (To see the original full-length posts, click the titles; click the pictures to see larger images.)

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1. THE GILL WELL

Every once in a while, the words “Gill Well” would creep into Dallas history articles I’d read, but whenever I tried to find out more information on this once-very-well-known source of hot “medicinal” mineral water near Reverchon Park, I found almost nothing (even though we were “this close” to having our own Hot Springs-like resort in Oak Lawn). So I decided to write something myself and see if I could find any historic photos. I write most Flashback Dallas posts fairly quickly, but this one took ages to research and write. But it was fun. And now I know the who, what, when, where, why, and how of Dallas’ famed Gill Well and its legendary foul-smelling tonic water (which I’m glad I never had to drink).

gill-well_dmn_120103

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2. “ENEMY ALIENS” AND THE WWII INTERNMENT CAMP AT SEAGOVILLE

I had no idea there was a Japanese internment camp in Dallas County during World War II. This was really fascinating (and depressing) to learn about.

japanese_dallas_wwii_corbis

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3. NEWLY DISCOVERED FOOTAGE OF JACK RUBY — 1960

This is fantastic — and weird — and prosaic. Footage of Jack Ruby combing his hair (yes, combing his hair…) on a crowded Elm Street sidewalk during a Christmas parade came to light almost accidentally via an SMU social-media post. It’s all very cool, and I had a lot of fun trying to determine where the footage had been shot and what was going on. (There’s also a spy camera involved….)

jack-ruby_WFAA-1960_jones-collection_SMU_det

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4. 1710 HALL: THE ROSE ROOM / THE EMPIRE ROOM / THE ASCOT ROOM — 1942-1975

I love reading about Dallas’ rich music history, and this “North Dallas” club hosted huge names in jazz, swing, and R&B.

rose-room_the-e-f-band_marion-butts_dpl_1946

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5. MOSAIC RESTORATION AT DOWNTOWN’S ST. JUDE CHAPEL

I went downtown to watch the progress of Julie Richey’s painstaking restoration of the giant mosaic (made from over 800,000 glass tiles) which has graced the exterior of the little chapel on Main Street since 1968. And I took a lot of photos. It was a great day.

st-jude-chapel_scaffold_052417_bosse_bosse

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6. THE MOSQUITO BAR

I had never heard the term “mosquito bar” until I saw a painting of one by John Singer Sargent. Life would have been miserable without this essential household item.

sargent_mosquito-nets_1908

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7. BISHOP COLLEGE — 1969

The 1961 arrival of Bishop College — founded in Marshall, Texas in 1881 — was an important chapter in Dallas’ history. And its 1969 yearbook was filled with some of my favorite photos of the past year!

bishop-college_1969

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8. MIMI PAYNE ALDREDGE McKNIGHT

Mimi was a family friend who was instrumental in my father’s career. She passed away this year, and I wrote about a tiny portion of her very interesting life.

ABS_mimi_bookcase

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9. WHEN THE CIRCUS CAME TO TOWN — 1886

W. W. Cole’s Circus … I can’t even. The troupe’s advertising mastermind was never at a loss for adjectives and superlatives.

cole-circus_dallas-herald_101586-det

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10. TINY TIM MOBBED AT THE MELODY SHOP — 1969

Ukulele-strumming Tiny Tim was set upon by a “human wall” of 5,000 teenage fans at NorthPark. Who knew?

tiny-tim_melody-shop_1969

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11. HISTORIC NEON: THE SUPER-COOL SIGEL’S SIGN

Who doesn’t love this sign? I wrote about the sign and its creator, Marvin Sigel (whom I was told enjoyed this post!).

sigels-neon-sign_greenville-ave_072717

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12. TWELVE PROMINENT BLACK BAPTIST CHURCHES — 1967

I will always love looking at pictures of old buildings. And most of these are still standing.

church_new-zion-baptist_1967

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13. THE PRAETORIAN BUILDING AND ITS 19th-CENTURY NEIGHBORS

Yeah, it’s kind of picture-after-picture of the same couple of blocks over the years. Even though the Praetorian has been erased from the skyline, a couple of those other older-than-you-realize Main Street buildings have managed to hang on by the skin of their teeth.

empire-imperial-praetorian_flickr_coltera

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14. DOWNTOWN DALLAS, LAST WEEK

I should get out and take photos more often. This was so much fun.

mercantile-from-st-paul_052417_bosse

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15. STATE FAIR OF TEXAS MIDWAY — 2017

Photos taken while wandering around Fair Park during this year’s State Fair of Texas.

hall-of-state_illuminated_night_sfot_100417

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Not a bad year (…Flashback Dallas-wise at least). I look forward to learning about all sorts of new things in 2018. Thanks for reading! Onwards!

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Sources & Notes

See all three 2017 “Best Of Flashback Dallas” lists here.

See all Flashback Dallas Year-End lists — past and present — here.

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

 

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December 29, 2017

Year-End List! My Favorite Images Posted in 2017

jimi_wfaa_hamon_smu-1Love Field was never cooler… (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

Another year is ending — time for lists! This is the first of three year-end “favorites” lists — this one contains favorite photos and artworks posted over the past year. To see the post they originally appeared in, click the title of the post, and to see a larger image of the picture, click the picture. They’re in no particular order, although, the one above is my favorite of 2017.

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The image above is not a photograph but a video screen-capture of newly unearthed WFAA-Channel 8 news footage of Jimi Hendrix and The Experience, on the Love Field tarmac, being interviewed by a charmingly agog Channel 8 reporter. This short interview is one of the coolest things I’ve seen all year. Watch the video — it’s in the post “Jimi Hendrix, Glen Campbell, Tiny Tim — In Dallas (…Separately), 1969.”

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whittle-music_elm-and-murphy_flickr_red-oak-kid

Above, the Whittle Music Co. building, 1108 Elm Street, around 1956. It was built in 1892 and originally housed the A. Harris department store (until 1914). Whittle’s occupied this beautiful building from 1941 until 1965, when it moved to Oak Lawn. The building was bulldozed soon afterwards in order to  begin construction of One Main Place. Read more about all of this at the post “The Whittle Music Building — ca. 1956.”

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main-and-stone_praetorian_haskins_UTA_det

This is actually a detail of a larger 1953 photo by Squire Haskins (seen here), showing the intersection of Main and Stone Place, looking northeast. The building on the left is still standing and is one of the oldest buildings downtown. See more at the post “The Praetorian Building and Its 19th-Century Neighbors.”

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baseball_dallas-clippers_cook-coll_degolyer_smu

I love this photo from the George W. Cook Collection at SMU’s DeGolyer Library. More at “The Dallas Clippers: Early Dallas Baseball.”

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mallorys-drug-store_ca-1913_cook-collection_smu

One of my favorite still-standing buildings in Oak Cliff. More about it can be found in the post “West Jefferson and Tyler — 1913.” 

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bearden_dallas-skyline-late-afternoon-from-stemmons-freeway_litho_1959

Fantastic lithograph by Dallas artist Ed Bearden — this view from Stemmons looks a lot different now. More info in the post “‘Dallas Skyline: Late Afternoon From Stemmons Freeway’ by Ed Bearden — 1959.”

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baker-hotel_postcard

This photo was one of the most-shared photos I posted this year — it kind of surprised me, but it’s a great photo of “The Baker Hotel.”

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n-m_shoe-salon_1965_nyt-magazine_dec-2016

I love this. “The Neiman-Marcus Shoe Salon — 1965.”

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bishop-college_1969-yrbk_campus-security

Campus security at “Bishop College — 1969.” Fantastic.

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woodrow_1965-yrbk_birdseye

You’ve got to post the occasional photos of the alma maters. I love this photo of Lakewood-area schools J. L. Long and Woodrow Wilson, mainly, I think, because of the surprising sight of White Rock Lake in the background. See the present-day shot, submitted by a drone-owning reader at “Long and Woodrow From Above — 1965.” 

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jfk-memorial_postcard_portal

Speaking of familiar sights seen from unusual perspectives, I can’t get over how much I’m fascinated by this postcard of the JFK memorial in its earliest days. From the post “Aerial View of the JFK Memorial — 1970.”

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dallas-big-d_william-e-bond_business-week-collection_ca1962

This is without a doubt my favorite Dallas art discovery of the year! “‘Dallas/The Big D’ by William E. Bond — ca. 1962.”

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downtown-dallas_aia-journal-april-1962

Had to make this one small so it wouldn’t overwhelm the page. Click it1 Lots of info on all the buildings seen in this photo is in the post “The ‘Akard Street Canyon’ — ca. 1962.”

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FW-zoo_hamilton-hittson_fawn_062937_UTA

Okay, so this is Fort Worth, but, hey — close enough! Let the cuteness-overload wash over you as you look at adorable animals big and small in the post “Cowtown Extra: Fort Worth Zookeeper Ham Hittson and His Forest Park Friends.”

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wfaa_george-dahl_ed-bearden_postcard

The more I see of Ed Bearden’s work, the more I love it. Here he captures George Dahl’s always-cool mid-century-modern sleekness. “The WFAA Studios, Designed by George Dahl, Rendered by Ed Bearden — 1961.”

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commerce-street_walgreens_adolphus_1957_ebay

This postcard view of the Adolphus block at night is one of my all-time favorite photos of downtown Dallas. It would be nothing without that heart-palpitatingly wonderful Walgreens neon at the corner of Commerce and Akard. More at “Nighttime on Commerce Street — 1957.”

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gill-well-sanitarium_dmn_011307_photo

The image-quality of this newspaper photo leaves a lot to be desired, but this is the photo that most excited me this year. I spent an incredible amount of time researching the Gill Well, and I was really surprised by how few photos I could find. Finding this 1907 photo of the Gill Well Bath House was pretty damn thrilling. Thank you, Clogenson! From the post “The Gill Well.”

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ervay-north-from-commerce_det_052417_bosse

I actually took a few photos myself, and there are a couple I really love — like this one which captures five of Dallas’s most recognizable buildings in one shot. Architecture-a-rama. It is from the post “Downtown Dallas, Last Week,” which also includes the photo below — a view of the Wilson Building you might not have seen before.

wilson-bldg_detail_052417_bosse

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st-jude-chapel_la-virgin_det_052417_bosse

And lastly, two more of my own photos, taken at the St. Jude Chapel, which is filled with mosaics. The one above shows a detail of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the one below shows a detail of St. Martin de Porres (mice!). More at “Mosaic Restoration at Downtown’s St. Jude Chapel.”

st-jude-chapel_st-martin-de-porres_mice-det_052417_bosse

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Sources & Notes

It’s been a visually-satisfying year!

See all three 2017 “Best Of Flashback Dallas” lists here.

See all Flashback Dallas Year-End lists — past and present — here.

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved

 

3 Comments
December 28, 2017

Orphaned Factoids: Year-End Grab Bag, 2017

wigtons-sandwich-shop_flickr_colteraWith a name like “Wigton’s…”

by Paula Bosse

Time for another year-end collection of miscellaneous bits and pieces that don’t really belong anywhere, so I’m compiling them here in a weird collection of stuff. Enjoy! (Most clippings and photos are larger when clicked.)

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Above, Wigton’s Sandwich Shop, owned by Charles J. Wigton. It looks like it was located near the dreaded East Grand-Gaston-Garland Road intersection. I found one listing in the 1932 city directory for this little “soft drink stand” which also served as the residence of Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Wigton. The address was simply “south side of Gaston Ave., 3 lots east of East Grand Ave.” (Found on Flickr.) And somehow there’s a second photo of this place out there — the one below was found on eBay.

wigtons-sandwich-shop_white-e-grand-and-gaston_ca-1930_ebay

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colors_ad_dallas-herald_112580Dallas Herald, 1880

You know, you just don’t see colors like “scared mouse,” “subdued moonshine,” and “sunset in Egypt” anymore. Pity. (Ad for A. A. Pearson’s millinery house.)

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dancing_dallas-herald_1859Dallas Herald, 1859

“All those who are indebted to me for dancing lessons, MUST POSITIVELY SETTLE UP. I mean what I say.” Do not mess with dancemaster Howard. (I’m actually a little shocked someone was offering dancing lessons in Dallas, which, in 1859, was podunker than podunk.)

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ad-debonair-danceland_ca19691969 Dallas directory

This is the only photo I’ve been able to find of Debonair Danceland (what a great, great name for a club). Depending on whether you were a regular, the adjectives generally used to describe the legendary dancehall are either “notorious” or “beloved.” It opened in 1967 and closed in 1995. As Bill Minutaglio wrote in The Dallas Morning News, it was “one of Dallas’ last rough-hewn links to the brawny honky-tonk highway” (DMN, July 25, 1995). It certainly had a colorful life. For starters there was a “suspicious” double bombing that ripped the place apart in 1968 (I don’t know if the photo in the ad above shows the place pre- or post-blast). There was a lot of … um … “activity” that went on at Debonair Danceland over the years which kept police-beat reporters busy. It was also apparently quite popular with bored housewives who tippled away their afternoons. (See a not-very-clear-but-at-least-larger grainy image of the photo in the ad here.)

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ad-home-killed-beef_hillcrest-yrbk_19401940 Hillcrest High School yearbook

“Home-killed beef” is the best-killed beef.

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weiland-funeral_1930-directory1930 Dallas directory

weiland_19291929

weiland_lady-embalmer_19411941

The Chas. F. Weiland Undertaking Co. was one of the city’s top funeral homes. They really promoted the fact that they had a “licensed lady embalmer” — I suppose some people preferred to have their mothers and other dearly beloveds tended to by a woman.

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headcheese-poisoning_galveston-news_011994Galveston News, 1894

Beware the head cheese. …Always.

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vegetarian_dallas-herald_050274Dallas Herald, 1874

Maybe even go cold turkey and completely ditch the head cheese for a diet consisting solely of “a salad of herbs.”

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paper_houston-telegraph_121056Houston Telegraph, 1856

“The Dallas Herald is out of paper. It comes to us this week printed on wrapping paper. It is rather hard to read….”

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police_dallas-herald_dallas-herald_050980Dallas Herald, 1880

I’m sure there is an interesting and most likely embarrassing story behind the implementation of this new police regulation.

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kites-at-night_dallas-herald_072577Dallas Herald, 1877

This sounds wonderful.

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ad-robertson-horseshoer_1900-directory1900 Dallas directory

Go to the M. O. Robertson, the expert horseshoer who will not fail to give satisfaction. Because all those others? They’re gonna fail. Not “if” but “when.”

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ad-boedecker-bros_oysters-ice-cream_city-directory_18901890 Dallas directory

The sensation generated by seeing an ad with the words “oyster” and “ice cream” next to each other — cheek-by-jowl, as it were — is not a pleasant one.

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ad-hawaiian-music_bryan-street-high-school_1927-yrbk1927

Who knew? Ukulele-mania was alive and well in Big D in the ’20s.

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sanger-bros_first-fashion-illus-in-ads-1881_centennial-ad-det_19721972 ad (detail)

A little tidbit on the history of commercial fashion illustration in Dallas, from a Sanger’s ad celebrating the company’s Centennial.

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ad-sangers_high-schools_dmn_1008481948

Another Sanger’s ad. This one with a, let’s say “more populist” example of the store’s fashion-illustration chops.

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cat-wanted_dallas-herald_112387Dallas Herald, 1887

“WANTED—A good gentle well disposed cat to use in taking pictures. Apply to J. H. Webster, High Priced Photographer, 803 Elm or 804 Main streets.”

Okay, I’m a sucker. I love cats, and I love self-proclaimed “high-priced photographers.” Ergo, I must love this ad. I do. Seems like a good time to share a couple of 19th-century photographs of cats. 

cat_jones-coll_degolyer1860s, via SMU

cat_baby_degolyer1890s, via SMU

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Sources & Notes

Dallas Herald clippings are from the Texas Digital Newspaper collection provided by UNT to the Portal to Texas History; you can peruse many scanned issues of The Dallas Herald (not to be confused with the later Dallas Times Herald) here.

“Cat Posed with Mexican Serape” is a cased ambrotype from the Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs collection, DeGolyer Library, Central University Libraries, Southern Methodist University; more details on this photo can be found here. The article “Everyone Loves the Cat!” can be read on the SMU CUL blog “Off the Shelf,” here.

“Baby Seated with Cat” is also from the Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs collection, DeGolyer Library, SMU; more info on the photo is here.

Want more? See other “Orphaned Factoid” lists here.

Most images are larger when clicked. Click away!

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

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December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas! — 2017

pecan-tree_robert-j-sadler

by Paula Bosse

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings! I hope this holiday season has been a happy one. Christmastime in Dallas is not complete without a pilgrimage to the giant Pecan Tree in Highland Park. It is 152 years old this year! Read about its history, see some historic photos of it through the years, and watch a short documentary from KERA in my 2015 post “Celebrate the Pecan Tree’s 150th Christmas” here.

Eat too much, drink too much, and stay warm and toasty!

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Sources & Notes

Photo from Pinterest, via Robert J. Sadler., a mystery writer who sets many of his novels in and around Dallas.

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

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December 23, 2017

From El Chico and the Cuellar Family: Feliz Navidad!

xmas_el-chico_cook-collection_degolyer_SMU

by Paula Bosse

…y Prospero Año Nuevo!

xmas_el-chico_cook-collection_degolyer_SMU_2

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Sources & Notes

Images from a matchbook cover in the George W. Cook Dallas/Texas Image Collection, DeGolyer Library, Central University Libraries, Southern Methodist University; more on the item can be found on the SMU site here.

A couple of super-folksy El Chico commercials can be watched here.

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

 

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December 22, 2017

From the Vault: A Christmas Miracle — Spidey Saves Dallas

xmas_spider-man_cover_sm

by Paula Bosse

You didn’t know Spider-Man saved our Christmas 30-some-odd years ago? Read how in the Flashback Dallas post from 2015, “Spider-Man: Christmas in Dallas! (1983),” here.

Thanks, Spidey!

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

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December 21, 2017

Highland Park Village From Above

h-p-village_HPHS_1966_ad-detPlenty of parking, above & below ground… (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

This bird’s-eye view of Highland Park Village is from an ad placed in the Highland Park High School yearbook by Flippen-Prather, who really wanted to stress how there was NO PARKING PROBLEM at this convenient “North Dallas” location, above ground and below ground. Don’t worry, Flippen-Prather had you covered.

h-p-village_HPHS_1966_text1966 ad

Fifty years on from this ad, Highland Park Village is physically still recognizable, just expanded. The tenants, however, are now much more chi-chi.

hp-village_google-2017Google, 2017

I’m not sure when the top photo was taken, but it appeared in the 1966 Highland Park High School yearbook. Here are the tenants of Highland Park Village in 1966 (click to see a larger image).

hp-village_1966-directory

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Sources & Notes

Ad for Highland Park Village/Flippen-Prather Stores, Inc. appeared in the 1966 Highland Park High School yearbook.

Color image from Google.

Listing of Highland Park Village businesses is from Polk’s Greater Dallas City Directory, 1966.

All images larger when clicked.

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

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December 20, 2017

The Texas Instruments Semiconductor Crystal Christmas Tree

xmas-tree_texas-instruments-records_degolyer-lib_smu_ca-1959-smThe semiconductor tree… (click to see a larger image)

by Paula Bosse

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a Christmas tree made from models of semiconductor crystals. I can’t even begin to understand this, so I’ll hand it over to the “explanation” seen on the card in the photo and pretend to nod knowingly. (Click picture to see larger image; transcription is below.)

xmas-tree_texas-instruments-records_degolyer-lib_smu_ca-1959_descr

SEMICONDUCTOR CRYSTAL CHRISTMAS TREE

In a 12-step cycle, the crystalline atoms light in sequence, illustrating the many planes in which they are oriented in a semiconductor crystal.

This demonstrator applies to Germanium, Silicon – both of which TI uses in its semiconductor products – Diamond, and compound semiconductors such as Indium Antimonide, Gallium Arsenide, Silicon Carbide and Zinc Sulfide.

The central yellow and blue round atoms form a “unit cell,” or basic crystalline building block.

The white round and blue conical atoms represent alloying elements producing semiconductor action and occurring only once in a thousand crystal segments this size.

Green and red atoms would be of different elements in the case of a compound crystal, or the same element in the case of a simple crystal.

MAGNIFICATION – 500 MILLION TIMES LIFE SIZE

Model manufactured by: The Thermoelectric Materials Group, Central Research Laboratory

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED

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So … yeah. Merry Christmas from the fine folks at TI’s Thermoelectric Materials Group!

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Sources & Notes

This circa-1959 photo — titled “Semiconductor Christmas Tree” — is from the RG-06 Semiconductor Group, Texas Instruments records, DeGolyer Library, Central University Libraries, Southern Methodist University; more info on this photo can be found on the SMU site, here.

Speaking of germanium (…there’s a phrase I’ve never used before…), SMU also has another TI photo showing a close-up of “a germanium crystal being pulled (grown) out of a crucible of molten germanium material” here. In fact, SMU’s DeGolyer Library has a whole slew of material in their Texas Instruments records — browse through the collection here.

Semiconductors, single-crystal germanium, silicon, and transistors … the world owes Dallas’ Texas Instruments a huge “thank you” for their cannot-be-overstated contribution to the development of the technology that, dare I say, changed life on earth.

texas-instruments_AP_051054AP wire story, May 10, 1954 (click for larger image)

One of the inventors of “single-crystal germanium” was Dr. Gordon K. Teal (1907-2003), a Dallas native whom Texas Instruments snapped up from his previous employer, Bell Laboratories. Read more about Dr. Teal’s remarkable career in an Engineering and Technology History Wiki, here, and in a portrait (literal and figurative) from Baylor University (his alma mater), here.

More about the importance and applications of “single-crystal germanium” in the new Transistor Age can be found in an interview with Dr. Teal in the Dallas Morning News article “Mighty Transistor: Dr. Gordon Teal ‘Grows’ A Gadget” by Robert Miller (DMN, Feb. 8, 1953).

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

 

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December 19, 2017

Lighting Menorahs — 1954

hanukkah_texas-jewish-post-122354

by Paula Bosse

Above, a photo of Gilla Silverman and her mother, Devora Halaban Silverman, wife of Rabbi Hillel Silverman, lighting menorahs during Hanukkah, 1954.

Happy Hanukkah!

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Sources & Notes

Photo from the Dallas-Fort Worth Texas Jewish Post, Dec. 23, 1954. The entire 52-page issue of this special “Chanukah Issue” has been scanned and may be viewed at UNT’s Portal to Texas History site, here. (Click “zoom” to enlarge the pages, click arrows at right and left to move through the issue.)

Rabbi Hillel Silverman arrived in Dallas as the new rabbi at Congregation Shearith Israel in 1954 and was a popular and influential member of Dallas’ Jewish community for the decade or so he served here. He may be best known beyond Dallas as “Jack Ruby’s rabbi.”

Read about a 2009 return to the city by Rabbi Silverman in the Texas Jewish Post article by Dave Sorter, “A Golden Opportunity to Reunite” (Oct. 8, 2009), here.

The Texas Jewish Post article introducing Rabbi Silverman to its readership — “Dr. H. E. Silverman Appointed to Head Israel Pulpit” (July 8, 1954) — can found here.

An article focusing on the Ruby family and Dallas (Rabbi Silverman is interviewed) can be found in “Remembering JFK” by Steve North (Jewish Telegraphic Agency, via the Texas Jewish Post, Nov. 21, 2013), here.

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

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December 18, 2017

Back Again: The Giant Santa Claus and the Christmas Tragedy — 1953

santa-crane_wbap-3_portalThe fateful day…

by Paula Bosse

This “giant Santa Claus tragedy” story is one of the most-viewed Flashback Dallas posts I’ve ever written. Here it is, back again for another holiday season. I’ve updated the post this year to include new photos as well as film footage (!) shot by WBAP-Channel 5 on that fateful day. Read the original post from 2014 — “The World’s Largest Santa & The Christmas Tragedy — 1953” — here.

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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

 

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