Logen's Cool Stuff

Many are familiar with Deadwood, South Dakota, from the now legendary HBO series (2004-2006) based on the town in the 1870s.  Few are familiar however with one of Deadwood’s unique early twentieth century attractions, the undeniably awesome Log Cabin Service Station.  It opened in 1921 as Deadwood’s first gas (or filling) station, and honored the regions rustic past while embracing that modern invention known as the horseless carriage. 

We see the Log Cabin Service Station here in two post cards, the first likely from the 1920s, and the other probably from the 1930s.  Much landscaping had occurred between those decades—one further reminder that the garden had been made of the wilderness.

This gas station was also located on a notorious spot—that of the real Al Swearengen’s Gem Theater, which had burnt down decades before. 

By 1940, the Log Cabin Service Station itself had been replaced—by a more contemporary-style gas station—but its image has lived on, ironically through ephemeral post cards issued in the days when gas stations were considered special.

Historical source: http://www.digitaldeadwood.com/digidead/history/index.php?section=611613mainstreet

It was a good week for Leonard Nimoy fans in Boston.  First, we had a May 14 showing of the Nimoy-directed Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) as part of the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s (Brookline) “Science on Screen” series, and then we had Nimoy himself today (May 19) as the Commencement speaker for the Boston University College of Fine Arts.

The film programmer at the Coolidge warned the audience that the 35mm print they were about to see was a bit “gnarly.”  And sure, the print’s quality was rough in spots, but that other definition of “gnarly” (like cool, as we used to say in the 1980s), would be more appropriate.  Star Trek IV is still a joy to watch, and is filled with the characteristic wit and optimism that were the core of the original series.   

This movie brought back a lot of personal memories—I saw it in a theatre with my Mom in St. Albans, VT back in ‘86.  I was 7.  Perhaps all these year later I too am gnarly—hopefully in a good way.

I always felt pretty close to Spock because he reminds me a lot of my Dad—a “logical” person with a creative side.  Another nice childhood memory I have is routinely watching the the original Star Trek TV series in syndication along with my Dad and my brother.

It was amazing—and beyond words—to see Nimoy in person this morning.  His speech drew upon elements of his experiences growing up in Boston’s West End, formerly home to many first and second generation immigrant families like his own.  It was apparent that he had gotten to where he is through hard work and perseverance, and that he has certainly written about over the years, that he is and is not Spock. 

A curated collection of my Polaroids, taken between 2008 and 2011.  600 film, mostly instant, but also SX-70; sometimes expired, sometimes altered.

Souvenirs of the old Riverfront Stadium. 

I recently stayed at a Holiday Inn in the City Centre of Southampton, England.  The impact of this experience was twofold: I reflected on just how much I trusted this worldwide hotel franchise, and I recalled that I had a collection of nineteen Holiday Inn post cards from the c.late 1960s and early 1970s waiting for me back home. 

Holiday Inn is recognized as the first motel chain, started by Kemmons Wilson in Memphis, TN, in 1952.*  One of the signature components of this new chain was its “Great Sign.”  How could anyone not like something called the Great Sign? 

In my days of searching through many a post card bin, I have happened upon tons of Holiday Inn post cards from its peak years of expansion in the late 1960s and early 70s—when Holiday Inn branched out from suburban to urban markets, and the Great Sign shifted from stating, “The Nation’s Innkeeper” to “The World’s Innkeeper.”  As one of the post card designs implies, the chain had gone global. 

What I like so much about these post cards are their stock qualities.  Posed photos and paintings by anonymous artists had the ability to stand in for any place, or anywhere.  It was just a matter of changing the location descriptions. 

Two of my favorite Holiday Inn post cards in this collection are one with an artist’s rendition of a pool scene where perhaps the hotel manager had written in pen on the back the location of Winter Haven, Florida, as well as happy vacationers gathered around the courtyard pool in a franchise purporting to be in Fishkill, New York.

As I understand it, the name “Holiday Inn”—the title of an earlier film—was first suggested as a joke, but there is always an element of truth in a joke.  The nearly Utopian vision depicted in some of these Holiday Inn post cards really is something to admire.  These suggest a time when a new-found consistency in one’s lodgings away from home could allow one comfort when in traveling to unfamiliar places.

*For more information on the history of Holiday Inn, see John A. Jakle, Keith A. Sculle, and Jefferson S. Rogers, “The Nation’s Innkeeper,” in The Motel in America (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), 261-285.

This Logen’s Cool Stuff posting is dedicated to the memory of a friend who passed away recently and who I knew only too briefly.  He was a weaver, a storyteller, and a collector.  When I visited his shop in Los Angeles a couple years ago, knowing my collecting interests he invited me to look through some of his postcards and paper items.  Among those that I selected, and which he gave to me, were the two pictured here.  He told me that these were among his favorites.

Logen’s Cool Stuff (LCS) was on hiatus for the past couple of weeks as I was among the stated 1,309 passengers on board the MS Balmoral for the Titanic Memorial Cruise. This 100th Anniversary Voyage took us from Southampton, England to New York City. 

This was an absolutely amazing experience, and participants were able to retrace elements of the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, as well as hear lectures by some of the leading scholars on the topic.

On April 14 and 15, 2012, the Balmoral was at the coordinates of the Titanic site.  A very moving Memorial Service was conducted, exactly 100 years after the Titanic tragically struck an iceberg, and sank.

While there were many serious moments on the cruise/voyage, there was also plenty of time for fun.  I’m sure that participants have formed many fond memories of this unique cruise, and for many different reasons.  It is often commented that the subject of Titanic has a way of bringing people together.

Included in this LCS post are some of the mementos I kept from the cruise.  First is the souvenir identification card that was issued for all passengers.  Second are scans of Cruise Log that was provided to us at the completion of the voyage.