Streetcar Sundays - Boston, MA

Looking through old postcards, I realize how many cities and even very small towns had streetcars. Some still exist or have been brought back, but many disappeared in the 1950s. So, every Sunday I will highlight a postcard featuring streetcars, trams, trolleys, and cable cars. Stay tuned! I encourage comments from readers who are familiar with the particular systems and their history.

The first city in this series is Boston. Years ago, I read a very interesting book by Sam Bass Warner entitled Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900, which traces the influence of the streetcar on the pattern of housing development in the suburbs of Boston.  In the mid- to late 1800's, people generally walked to work. Streetcars enabled people to move out of the downtown, so that the inner city became an area of commerce. Lower-income residential areas surrounded the inner core and wealthier residents moved farther out.  Although the book is specifically about Boston, a similar process took place in many other cities.

 

Gerald Matthews' Museum of Un-Natural History

 

Recently, we took a trip to Walla Walla, Washington. Along the way I tried to pick up postcards, but to no avail! Small towns don't seem to have postcards anymore. We were determined to get a postcard for Uncle Milton in the town of Milton-Freewater, Oregon, but we looked everywhere and finally gave up. Poor Uncle Milt.

Luckily for us, there was a veritable postcard bonanza in Walla Walla. We had seen a postcard for the Museum of Un-Natural History and I was pretty excited about going there. At first I was discouraged when I read that it was only open on Saturdays and the first Friday of each month, but then I also saw that it was open by appointment. Not being shy, we called to make an appointment and Gerald Matthews answered the phone and said he would meet us there in 20 minutes.

When we arrived, Leon Redbone was playing in the background and various mechanical exhibits were turning and whirring. Mr. Matthews was eager to tell us about all of the pieces and about his interesting life (he has been a clown, an actor, and the voice of Sugar Bear...remember Sugar Bear?) Visiting this museum is a little bit like going to a carnival. Mr. Matthews readily admits that some people hate it and leave in disgust. The museum is full of humor, sarcasm, absurdism, and political commentary. It's also full of beautiful and haunting images. If you're ever in Walla Walla, you should definitely make a point of stopping by.  If you aren't, you may want to take a look at the website; it doesn't give you the full flavor, but it does give you a hint of the nature of the place.

Walla Walla feels like it's in the middle of nowhere (because it is), but it has great wine and fabulous restaurants out there surrounded by wheat fields. Equally strange was the fact that we kept running into Eric Idle everywhere we went (remember him from Monty Python?)

Check out the Museum of Un-Natural History at: http://www.wallawalladada.com/

Vintage Tacky Hawaiian

I'm not an expert on the Hawaiian language, but even I recognize that this Hickey Dula nonsense bears no resemblance to real Hawaiian words. What I didn't know is that these Hawaiian Territory cards from the 1920's refer to lyrics from a well-known song composed in 1916 by  E. Ray Goetz,  Joe Young and Pete Wendling. Many famous musicians recorded this song, including Fats Waller, Al Jolson, and Woody Allen and His New Orleans Jazz Band! You can even get it as a ring tone for your cell phone. Where have I been? And although the song was designed to appeal to mainlanders entranced with tropical Hawaii, the strange song was also a big hit in Hawaii.

Here are the lyrics:

Down Hawaii way
Where I chanced to stray
I heard a hula maiden say; singin'
Yaaka hula hickey dula
Yaaka hula hickey doo

Down Hawaii way
By a moonlit bay
As I lingered awhile
She stole my heart away; singin'
Yaaka hula hickey dula
Yaaka hula hickey doo

Oh, I don't care if you love the ladies far and near
You'd forget about them all if you could hear
Yaaka hula hickey dula
Yaaka hula hickey doo

I'm coming back to you
My hula lou
Beside the sea at Waikiki
You'll play for me
And once again
You'll sway my heart your way
With the yaaka hula hickey dula tune Yaaka hula hickey dula
Yaaka hula hickey doo