I remember the guy saying "don't shoot anyone with that Canon" to my dad. Hah!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/coalesce99/IMG_0001_NEW-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/coalesce99/IMG_0002_NEW-2.jpg)
That's me (green shirt) and my brother (blondie) of course.
Greedy Brothers Excursions I think....
Wow...great pictures. I had to look to see if I was in one of them. This was the Greedy Brothers, where riders rowed around the structure on the edge of the lake (now the target structure for Geyser Gulch). It seems a Greedy brother was on each boat to narrate and warn rowers with his version of the dangers that faced them. There was a storyline and backstory to this ride, and it was probably the wettest of all the rides at the time. For such a low impact, low cost ride, the story was effective with me as a kid. Of course, you can't help but notice there were no visible life jackets - - - oh how times have changed!
The best part of your picture is the view of the lake pre-GG. I love the "rock" outcroppings on that edge. You can more easily see how that skyline could look with a different attraction along that shore.
Junior, was that structure in the lake before the Greedy Brothers moved in? Was it part of the DB story? And can you explain the relationship the GBs had with RD? It seems the stories were intertwined.
Wow, very cool! I have never known anything about this ride. What a great find! Who were the Greedy Brothers exactly, and why were they such a huge part of every ride back in the 1970s, or so?
Thanks for sharing the pictures, they are wonderful! :)
Nice shots of Greedy Brothers Excursion...it was only around for a year, 1984. That was also the last year for the diving bell. Big changes over the winter of '84, both the diving bell and greedy brothers were removed, and the lost river put in place and opened in spring of 1985. 1984 was the last year I worked on park at the diving bell playing Junior Dugan.
By the way, the structure in the lake was built for Greedy Brothers. Sorry, I cannot remember the storyline for that attraction. I only know when we had groups of people on our wharf to boo at Eli Tolts' submersible across the lake, that the Greedy Brothers passengers were instructed by their guide to boo back at us. Like I said, Greedy Brothers was only there one year, and then, POOF...it was gone!
Gosh, i cant recall if i ever rode this or not.. Prob'ly not. 1984 i would'a been 19 yrs old, not'a good year in my Life.
Seems like Greedy Brothers was somehow tied to the Diving Bell plot/storyline. I really thought Lake Silver was gettin' kind of crowded in 1984 with the Greedy Brothers, the Dugans, and Eli Tolts' all looking for a lost treasure. Nobody ever found it, either! :)
cool pictures
I do not even remember that one
NICE!!!! (jealous) most of my shots are of the queue, and the general area, no closeup shots of the ride itself.
Concept/ Back Story from what I have in my files:
Press Release: "ALL NEW, Greedy Bros. Treasure Excursions, a fun filled boat ride for the family!"
Greedy Bros. Treasure Excursions
"Join the reliable Greedy Brothers in the search for the century!"
(Photos to come later this morning)
were these boats on a track or were you rowing on your own....and what if you were poor rowers and ran into the rocks in the water near the structure or slow rowers? The line for that would stink on ice. What if you had one rower that was a rower in college and one like me who isnt all that fantastic.....and your boat went in circles??
And to just branch off on MissinTheGreenTrams' questions, why was everyone given a paddle? Were they practically used, or was it just for fun, and show? :)
No track, no lifejackets, adults received paddles, and you went on a predetermined route around Lake Silver. It was one of the wetter rides (until Lost River came about) as geysers would end up erupting and soak the whole boat. It would be somewhat like a rafting trip where the guide steered, and everyone else regardless of side would paddle and propel the boat. Disney had the canoes on their lake, SDC had the paddled boats.
The brothers were loooking for treasure, and the boats would depart from between the scrimshaw and directly next to shanty town-old playground (between the scrimshaw and the toy store.)
Here is the queue
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/greedybrosentrance.jpg)
and the boat leaving to the docks
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/greedybrosboat.jpg)
Quote from: rubedugans on November 01, 2010, 11:03:20 AMIt would be somewhat like a rafting trip where the guide steered, and everyone else regardless of side would paddle and propel the boat.
Ah, okay now that makes more sense! :)
So basically the guest would paddle the boat, and there would be an employee "crew member" who steered you through the course? That sounds very intriguing! For such a small little park on the southern ridge of Missouri, Silver Dollar City was quite imaginative, and intuitive with its simple pleasure rides, and attractions. :)
It was on a much smaller scale than WDL "Indian War Canoes" later renamed "Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes" which lasted from 1956-present (I believe) but have closed at WDW in 1994.
Lake Silver does not have the obstacle of a Mark Twain RiverBoat (which by the way is on a submerged track) which has the right of way to the smaller fiberglass canoes- that like the Greedy Bros.- are manpower and are on a predetermined course.
Greedy Brothers was a relatively cheap add for SDC in 1984. So was the shantytown playground and the ore carts for kids, put in place next to Greedy Brothers. I personally thought Lake Silver was getting pretty crowded in '84, and having the Greedy Bros. boats go past geysers and having the Greedy Bro. riders boo at our folks on the diving bell wharf when we booed at Eli Tolts Submersible, was quite a distraction from what we were doing at the diving bell. The folks seemed to like it, though, so there you have it! ;)
I guess I never paid attention before. But looking at these old photos makes me think that the large structure inthe lake with the greedy brothers was kept all these years and is the original portion of the Kids area that is adjacent to it now...geyser gulch. Duh, ummmm, I guess I done forgot! Junior is gettin' to be an old guy and is loosing some of his memory. ;)
This structure Junior??? (I had to have some sort of segway to post another photo!
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/lakesilvergreedybrosboat-1.jpg)
Alright now to blow your minds....we have talked about the gandy dancers, the greedy bros, the diving bell...but no one mentioned this other short lived attraction at the riverfront area...
THE SHANTY TOWN WATER MAZE
Anyone remember?
Maybe this helps....
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/boatrace-1.jpg)
Wow, rube how do have such a vast collection? You are like a magician pulling a rabit out of a hat!
Anyway, the first picture is very reminiscent of the current four legged, wooden Geyser Gulch piece with the tube attached that sits in the water. The second picture, I am completely at a loss of words. I have never seen that before! How did it work? :)
Thank you Thank you, I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your servers. :D
sweet niblets thats awesome! Great job rube!
WHOOPS! Wait a minute Rube...Top picture of the little water spout...part of Greedy Brothers, (But just off from the tower and bucket in the lake next to diving bell) and, yeah, I know you are joking about THAT being part of what is now Geyser Gulch. OK...now the lower shot of the minature items in the lake. I want to say that is actually the short lived remote controlled boats that were in the lake as part of the paid games area in late 1980. The remote controlled boats had little change/vending boxes with a steering wheel on em attached to the rope/net fence along the lake near the diving bell. The boats were placed in the water each morning and removed each night. They were stored in a small storage/boat repair room at the front of the diving bell building. If I am not mistaken, your photo shows the area in the lake at the end of the diving bell qeue area where the remote controlled boats could move around in. you paid your fifty cents by putting in the vending box (looked like a change box on a old soda machine or an early video game or pinball machine.) then you steered the boat with the steering wheel. Of course, people would crash the little boats into one another, which meant nightly repairs after the boats were removed from the water. The boats were dressed up to look like tugboats, old time freighters, and so on. All of the JUNIORs at the diving bell pretty much HATED the remote controlled boats. We just thought the management had gone too far off theme. In the end, I don't think the remote controlled boats made enough money and the daily repairs were very time consuming. The guy from paid games who usually oversaw the boats was Roger, and he was a nice guy. He really tried his best to keep repairs up on the little boats, but he was DAILY fixing them up with a glue gun! The boats were gone by the end of the 1980 or 1981 season. I personally loaded some of those props in the water in that shot above in the back of my dad's pick up truck the day after the 81 season ended, and carried them over to the atmosphere barn where they were put in storage. I seem to remember the PVC pipes that contained the boats in one area had gotten enough goop on 'em from being on the lake a long time that they just were thrown in the dumpster. If the picture you have is of something that was in the lake POST 1984 or 1985, they must have tried running the remote controlled boats a second time. But I honestly think your picture is from the latter half of the 1980 season, (Period of the ORIGInal remote controlled boats) because there are no other structures in the background visible in the lake, and I see the rocks on the opposite shore, which were there during the diving bell days. THANKS FOR A PHOTO LIKE THIS. I JUST WISH THE REMOTE CONTROLLED BOATS WERE IN THE WATER IN THE SHOT. If I'd known you had this shot, I would have asked to use it in the diving bell booklet! It shows something that operated at the lake at the same time of the diving bell that was very short lived. :)
OK! Taking a second look at the photo...I see some of the little remote controlled boats in the shot. I dimly see the Eli Tolts tower/submersibile in the background, so I'm still thinking this was a shot from 1980 of the remote controlled boats. If you have other photos of this, yes, I'd love to see them.
-
taking a second look at the first photo, yeah...the BIG structure in the lake is the one I'm talking about that must now be part of the Geyser Gulch set up.
Do you have any pictures of the paid games area across from the diving bell...it would have an area raised from the street level with additional sawdust, a "jacob's ladder" game, an elevated horizontal post that people would sit on and smack each other with a foam filled gunny sack to test their balance. Paid games was only around from 1980 through about the end of 1981 or 82. The attendants took a little money from you, and you could try the old time games...another one was "ball and jack." if you won, you got a little prize. They kept a steamer trunk full of mugs and other cheap prizes culled from the bargain bin of the hospitality house and ozark marketplace that that would give away to winners.
those paid games sound like fun! I wanna play Jacobs Ladder! Whoo! And I like the steamer trunk full of goodies. Even if they are bargin barrel items.
Sweet niblets.... :D.Unfortunately the number of shots from the boats(and yes all you said was spot on) are either too dark, or are already posted, I may have 1-2 more, but not anything of value. These were taken the ONLY year or so the boats were in service. Sorry I didn't think this would apply to the diving Bell project (I completely forgot about it until the Greedy Bros discussion came up) I will check my photos again tonight and see what I got..I knew however that most people forgot, or never knew this attraction even existed!
Wow! I forgot about the RC boats! This picture resurfaced my memory. I remember WoF's boats, but this hit the spot.
drawing a blank on that... seems odd that the boats did not work at SDC,, they tried them agaon at CC boats? submarines? something like that anyway. ???
its times like these that I wish I wernt so young, that I coulda partakin in the shanty town r/c boats. but why would the 1800's have r/c boats? hmmmmmmm. Anyway....heres to the not so young but not quite old!
Quote from: Junior on November 02, 2010, 03:53:09 PM
All of the JUNIORs at the diving bell pretty much HATED the remote controlled boats. We just thought the management had
gone too far off theme.
That line made me chuckle! :D
I find it interesting that even back in the early 1980's when I considered the theme to be very strong, there was still an uproar about staying on theme. That's just something that all generations of Silver Dollar City aficionados are passionate about. :)
So besides getting to navigate little remote control boats in the water, what was the main draw of the game? Did you win anything by completing the course, or was it more of a "pat on the back" so to speak?
??? I kinda remember them just not working to well, i just dont know. Too long ago for me.
Just a pat on the back. You spent your money and navigated the boat around the maze. Great for parents that didn't want to buy a $50 boat in the early 80's, this way they only had to spend $0.50 instead.
Ozark BBQ: True story...one of the Juniors was an aquaintance of the retired Mary Herschend. He STRONGLY followed her THEME THEME THEME guidelines...when they put in the remote controlled boats he was so strongly hacked off, he quit. Never came back. Too bad, cause he was a good guy and we all enjoyed working with him. He really thought the park management had gone off the deep end when they put in radio controlled boats. As mentioned, most of the Juniors didn't like 'em. We all had "keep it in theme" drilled into our heads. That is why, if you all will remember my August rant, that I freaked out when I went into the furniture shop and saw a working TV! Then, walking past concessions, drinks were kept in a refrigerator unit like you would see at a Wal-Mart check out line. Then, there is the little issue of the unthemed fan at the Mill Restaurant that drove me nuts! All these years later, and I'm still thinking "keep it in theme!" :D I feel that way because I know Miss Mary felt that way...I remember her and her grandson Bruce strolling across Main Street, as she inspected the park.
Quote from: Junior on November 03, 2010, 09:06:02 AM
Ozark BBQ: True story...one of the Juniors was an aquaintance of the retired Mary Herschend. He STRONGLY followed her THEME THEME THEME guidelines...when they put in the remote controlled boats he was so strongly hacked off, he quit. Never came back.
Wow, I am not sure if he was just passionate, or crazy, and perhaps a little bit a of both. ;)
Either way, I don’t think any of us could blame him to an extent. Not to get too far off on a tangent here, but being such huge fanatics of Silver Dollar City, we are all very intense about maintaining the theme. That’s just one of the many dynamic qualities that inspires me about Mary Herschend. I understand economic times are tough these days, and to theme every single minor detail is not always on the top of management's agenda. However, Miss. Mary was able to pull it off with limited resources years ago. I think if they stuck with their roots, and gut instincts that they could maintain the theme just as easily today.
Okay I feel better now. Oh, and to get us back on topic I think the boats were really neat. ;D
I was never able to drive them (as far as I remember). It was not an option because it cost extra. We were sent off to the shanty town, and let loose. Between that, hucks hideaway, and tom sawyers landing, that was where we got our energy out so mom and dad could walk through stores with us being polite little children instead of hyper little monkeys. Just good old time fun.
QuoteHe really thought the park management had gone off the deep end when they put in radio controlled boats.
Ironic, huh!
Even as a child, I recognized things that were off-theme. I remember being bothered by electric fans on the upstairs porch of the Riverside Playhouse even. Those RC boats were just an eyesore and a bad idea. Who wouldn't predict that people would want to crash them into things?
Concerning upcharge games, there was another attempt across from the Waterboggan - a dueling dumpwateronyouropponent game and a fireman's ladder I don't think anyone could climb. There may have been something else there, too, but the place was always empty. No one wanted to play those games for an extra fee.
The paid games area across from the diving bell (Wedged between what was called the Courthouse Theater and Valley Mercantile) had some interesting games..."Jacob's Ladder" was a rope ladder on a hook on both top and bottom, and you had to balance yourself to climb it. They folks working there were experts at it. One guy, Dwayne, would climb the thing in a few seconds, making it look soooo easy. A guest would pay to climb for a prize, and not make it up two or three steps before falling. It was pretty funny. The beam that two people sat on and whacked each other with a gunny sack full of foam was pretty good, too. It was funny watching these macho guys try to keep their balance and still whack at the fellow across from them! The "ball and jack" game was kind of like the old (forgive spelling) bocchee ball that I think was of Italian origin. It involved throwing or rolling wooden balls of different sizes and colors and trying to get your ball closest to the key ball. Like I previously mentioned, there was a steamer trunk full of cut out junk from the hospitality house or the ozark marketplace that was offered as prizes. I don't know how much it cost to play these games, or even operate the remote controlled boats across from them in the lake, but costs were probably pretty cheap, ranging from fifty or seventy five cents to maybe two or three bucks on the high end. However, crowds gathered to watch people compete, but there were long stretches when nobody wanted to pony up the cash to play for prizes. It got to where if you did not want to play for a prize, the attendants would allow you to do it for free. The remote controlled boats only lasted for less than a season, around 80 or 81. Seems like ball and jack lasted two seasons. The ladder and the balance beam game may have lasted through 82. When paid games was taken out, the landscape people planted a fabulous array of flowers and shrubs in that spot that looked great in the mid to late 80s. I think the flowers and shrubs lasted til the mid or late 90s on that spot. The folks working at paid games were dressed exactly as the Juniors at the diving bell. Why, I don't know. But when we faced busy times and had to really move people through the diving bell, we would call somebody from paid games to entertain on our line so the Juniors would be free to take more rides. One of our most favorite "Ruby Dugan's" was a 15/16 year old cute blonde girl named Sarah Smith, her dad Earl was the resident craftsman at Carrie's Candles at this time. She had a bright, bubbly personality, and was fun to work with. One of our Juniors, Dave, was so smitten by Sara, he left the diving bell and transferred to paid games! He struck out with Sara, and after that season, he never returned to SDC! Ah, the wicked ways of love! ;)
thats it! I am setting up a paid games area in my back yard! I wanna play these games!!! Now only if I had some friends to come play with me........ :'(
Paid games also had horseshoes. All the employees that worked at Paid Games practiced playing horseshoes, ball and jack, and climbing jacob's ladder and straddling the "king of the log" while smacking someone with a punching bag, until they became experts. Folks really wondered how these young folks could be so good at it. It was really funny seeing big, husky men knocked off that log by Paid Games employee Sarah Smith, a really sweet, petite, 15 year old girl! She could knock the devil outta people! :D
I remember one of the paid games had sponges. And i believe you were trying to hit the target on the other persons side that would dump a bucket of water on their head. It was not too far from the railroad crossing. My sister and I played it for free (i.e. no prize involved) a couple times. I think it would have been right after the Wilderness waterboggan opened around 1987.
Possibly so. That is after I left the park, so I don't know about those games. The Paid Games area I'm speaking of existed from late in the 1980 season to around the end of 1981, or sometime in 82. The radio controlled boats were only in operation in 80, maybe 81, too.
^^That one, and the ladder Junior described, was across from the WB.
Sounds like from the above post they DID bring back "Jacob's Ladder"...calling it "Fireman's Ladder" and putting it across from Waterboggin! You learn something new everyday!
Fireman's ladder was around in the mid-late 80's. I did in fact on one trip participate in all of these attractions. It says 1888...so maybe 1988 then? It was when RiverFest was in full swing. I have a whole roll of Riverfest tokens as well from somewhere!
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/3117612199_205977df53-1.jpg)
those r great! lost items from a lost era. :-\
Nice ribbons...I never heard of Riverfest, either. What was that all about...kind of like a little festival with special activities around Lake Silver?
yes, please describe riverfest? ???
Here are the front and back of one of the Riverfest Tokens
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/RiverFestTokens.jpg)
Mhmmmm..there's more! Other than the boats, and the remote control boats...they had themed refreshments...All for an attraction that only lasted a short time...
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/Picture013.jpg)
The history on this boat is interesting. It originally was in Tom Sawyer's Landing in the 1980 season as something the kids could climb all over and run around and through. In 1981 the boat was moved across the street (to the area that later served as the BIG climbing tower and ball room) and was the "fruit boat" for about a year. We were surveyed by our bosses each year, and I know several of us, (Yes, including me) suggested that a concession be opened that served fresh fruit like apples, banannas, watermelon, and served milk for babies. The year the boat was a concession was memorable in the fact that watermelon rines and bananna peels were left by guests laying all over the area from the lumbercamp and saloon down to the diving bell. The watermelon, especially, were messy, sticky, and rines were left laying all over, attracting flies and making big messes. I think the fruit boat may have lasted through the '82 season. I know by summer of 1984 the big Tom Sawyer's landing climbing tower and ballroom was added. The fruit boat was retired for a year or two, but it seems it was remodeled again and put in the Shantytown area for the kids to climb on again when that kids area was added by Lake Silver. Somebody will have to dig through their family scrapbooks to look for pictures of it in Tom Sawyer's Landing or in Shantytown. After a few years in Shantytown, I think the old boat was worn out and disappeared. It may have lasted into the late 80s or early 90s. Thanks for the photo Rube, I forgot about this piece of SDC history!
WHOOPS! Memories dim and fade. Upon looking at this shot again, I think that the little boat in Tom Sawyer's Landing and at Shantytown HAD THE SAME COLOR SCHEME but I think this concession was built specifically as a concession for '81 and 82 and was gone by 83. It did sit in the area I remembered though, across from the landing. Junior's gettin' old! Ok, somebody roll my wheelchair in the corner and let me talk to myself a while before the nurse puts me to bed! LOL :P
Wow, very cool picture rube, and thanks for the history lesson either way Junior! ;D
Fresh fruits at a concession stand? Say it isn't so! I would get a kick out of seeing that now in 2010. The most nutritious thing you can get currently is popcorn, and caramel apples. ;)
I'm just teasing of course, but it never ceases to amaze me how expansive the Greedy Brothers, and Shantytown were! Especially for how quickly the entire thing disappeared. Simply spectacular.
Wilson's Farm still offers both fruit, apples bananas etc, as well as fruit cups (it avoids those pesky rinds Junior was speaking of from the watermelon)
great pics, and of course great info! thanks guys!!