Vintage Roadside meets a mermaid!

In 1964 the Johl family saw their dream come to life with the grand opening of The Aquarama. The Lake of the Ozarks had never seen a show quite like this - a cast of local performers took the audience on an underwater journey "around the world". The show featured mermaids, a Spanish bull fight, a Hawaiian routine, and even a performance by the Beatles.

As we began gathering the history behind that first season we quickly learned of one cast member who had made a tremendous impact on the rest of the cast - Barbara. We learned that Barbara had arrived at The Aquarama by way of Weeki Wachee, had grown up in Michigan, had left the Aquarama after that first season to get married and begin a new chapter in her life...oh, and that the cast had not spoken with her since 1964.

As we began getting to know the cast one of the questions that would come up was "Had we found Barbara?". Over the past 3 years we've traded countless emails, had many wonderful phone calls, gotten to know several of the cast, and now feel fortunate to call them our friends. Our conversations have gone beyond just the Aquarama these days, but many times at the end of a phone call one of us would ask the other "Any news on Barbara?".

A few weeks ago we got a call from Ann Johl with news we couldn't believe - she had spoken with Barbara! Ann worked out a time for Marc and Barbara to catch up and we waited on pins and needles to hear from Marc.

We were happy to hear that Marc and Barbara had a wonderful conversation and also that Barbara had given Marc her email address to pass along to us. Marc mentioned that Barbara was leaving in the next few days to visit family but she would be checking her email before leaving. We sent Barbara an email to say hello, and here's where the story takes an amazing turn - Barbara was coming to visit family in Oregon of all places and was kind enough to offer to meet us here in Portland.

We're still a bit stunned that 47 years after being such a vital part of Aquarama's history, we not only have the opportunity to talk with Barbara, but that a Michigan Mermaid who performed in Missouri would be sharing stories with us across a table in Portland, Oregon in 2011.

We'd like to say thanks again to Barbara for generously sharing some of her vacation time with us and to Ann for solving the riddle. And to the entire former cast of the Aquarama - thanks again for letting us be a part of the Aquarama family.

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside Visits: The Prehistoric Gardens

We're huge fans of dinosaur attractions here at Vintage Roadside. We've dug for fossils at The Petrified Creatures Museum in Richfield Springs, NY, smiled for days after seeing the animated dinosaurs at Stewart's Petrified Wood outside Holbrook, AZ, and stood in awe at the feet of the world's largest dinosaurs in Cabazon, CA. But until recently we'd been missing out on what has become one of our all-time favorites - The Prehistoric Gardens near Port Orford, OR.

The dinosaurs in the attraction are the work of sculptor E.V. Nelson. He began work in 1953 and based his dinosaurs on "extensive research at the larger natural history museums of the United States: the American Museum in New York, the Field Museum in Chicago, the Denver Museum and many others; and at the Geology and Paleontology Departments of the University of Oregon."

We visited on a rainy, gray day in early March and found the weather fit the setting perfectly - water dripped off of the moss-covered trees and the creek bubbled noisily through the woods. Here's what the brochure has to say about the setting:

"These Rain Forests are different from other forested areas, and are due to several localized conditions...our average rainfall is over 6 1/2 feet per year. This heavy rainfall makes it possible for the Rain Forest vegetation to grow so abundantly: here the ferns grow to gigantic size, many types of mosses hang from the trees, and even the common skunk cabbage develops huge tropical leaves."

The brochure also includes this handy map:

Here are a few of the photos we took on our visit - remember to follow the tracks.

Stinky used to demonstrate how large a dinosaur track would be compared to a full grown human.

Gigantic turtle

Armor plated

Baby Triceratops

No surprise this guy never survived

All of the displays have these great informational signs

Even though it was still early March you can see how tidy the Gardens and trails are as well as the dinosaurs

Stinky once again demonstrates scale

The parrot-beaked Psittacosaurus

A short video we filmed on our visit

If you find yourself heading along the southern Oregon coast we'd highly recommend a stop at The Gardens!

Jeff & Kelly

Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside Visits: Aquarama Aquamaid Marion

We're pleased to share our most recent Aquarama interview as today we catch up with Aquamaid Marion. Without further ado here are some of Marion's memories of her time as a mermaid.

Vintage Roadside: Do you remember how you first heard of the Aquarama?

Marion: Liz Nelson was a good friend and she encouraged me to audition. I was a year younger. Liz lived close to me and drove a big, white Blazer type machine called a Scout but it had a special nickname. We drove to Eldon a lot in the big Scout because it was the place to shop. Very little shopping at the lake. Sometimes we drove to Jefferson City...that was a BIG trip for a little girl from the lake.

Marion 4th from right and Liz 3rd from right. Photo courtesy of Marc

Vintage Roadside: Did you know any of the others from the cast that summer?

Marion: Yes, Liz, Mary, Alice and Michelle. Michelle was a year younger and her brother Bob and I were an item for a short time in high school.

Vintage Roadside: Did you have any water training or experience before the Aquarama?

Marion: Yes, I had lifeguard certification.

Vintage Roadside: It seems everyone who performed at the Aquarama had a favorite routine. What was yours?

Marion: Eating the banana underwater - it was a challenge! I also liked the clown outfit.

Vintage Roadside: A vote for the clown outfit! If you had to choose another favorite which would you go with?

Marion: Besides the clown outfit, the white go-go outfit was awesome.

Vintage Roadside: We've heard stories from most of the Aquamaids that it was a bit of a battle to keep their hair in good shape. Any memories of the effects on your hair?

Marion: I have curly hair and it did a drying number on my hair. But I was young...what the heck, I wasn't worried at the time.

Please note the photo above is a few years after the Aquarama, but we love it and Marion was kind enough to let us post it on the blog. Thanks again Marion! :-)

Vintage Roadside: Any memories of things not going exactly as planned in the performance?

Marion: We liked to pinch the air hose and cut off oxygen and watch each other squirm.

Vintage Roadside: Ah, practical jokes! Any others you remember?

Marion: If I remember correctly, we used to place small buckets of water on top of the door so they would fall over and get you all wet after the show. If memory serves me correctly we did something to Mary one night. Mary was very pretty and always looked perfect before she left the show. One night we got her all wet. She was pretty mad because she had a date that night.

Vintage Roadside: Do you remember Nola Johl?

Marion: Nola was bigger than life. I was in awe of her.

Vintage Roadside: How did your next job compare with being a mermaid?

Marion: Nothing compares to being a mermaid. It was the best job in the world!!!! It was the closest thing to being in "Show Biz".

Vintage Roadside: Not many people can say they were a real-life mermaid. Do you still think about those times?

Marion: I do professional development for teachers and my favorite creation and Powerpoint presentation is called "Don't Judge a Mermaid by the Color of Her Fin." It's about at-risk kids and their special needs. I presented this district wide last month.

Vintage Roadside: When we first talked you mentioned that you had a team leader name that gave a nod to your time at the Aquarama. What was that again?

Marion: At school, they call me "the Mermaid."

Vintage Roadside: Thanks again Marion, it was wonderful to hear about your time at the Aquarama!

Do you have memories of the Aquarama? If so we'd love to hear from you! Click here for our contact form.

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

2011 Modernism Week Vintage Travel Trailer Show

A recent addition to Modernism Week is the Vintage Travel Trailer Show. In only its second year the show has more than doubled and the quality of the trailers on display is truly amazing. The setting for this year's show was the Riviera Resort.

The line-up for the 2011 show was as follows:

1935 Bowlus Road Chief
1960 Airstream Caravel
1959 Airstream Globetrotter
1962 Airstream Flying Cloud
1962 Airstream Globe Trotter
1961 Airstream Bambi
1960 Holiday House
1950 Airfloat Landyacht
1973 Airstream Safari
1969 Airstream Tradewind
1948 Airstream Trail Wind
1948 Spartan Manor
1958 Airstream Caravanner
1936 Airstream Clipper
1948 Westcraft
1965 Airstream Caravel
1955 Spartan Manor
1948 La Cosse Vacationer

1935 Bowlus Road Chief

Bowlus Road Chief detail

Bowlus Road Chief interior

1960 Holiday House

Whenever the guys from Funky Junk Farms show up you're guaranteed to see something cool.

Stove inside the 1948 Spartan Manor

1960 Airstream Caravel

Interior of the 1950 Airfloat Landyacht

Exterior of the 1950 Airfloat Landyacht

We had a great time at the show and wanted to say thanks again to the organizers, the trailer owners, and everyone that stopped by the Vintage Roadside booth!

See you again next year,

Jeff & Kelly

Vintage Roadside

6 New Fine Art Photographic Prints Available at Modernism Week 2011!

We're looking forward to being a part of the Vintage Travel Trailer Show again this year at Modernism Week in Palm Springs. In addition to our Vintage Roadside t-shirts, we'll be releasing six new fine art prints in both 11x14 and 8x10 sizes. We'll also have six of our most popular images available in both sizes.

The six new images are:

The Kaufmann House - Palm Springs, California
The CP Trailer Court - near Stockton, California
The Rancho Super Car Wash - Rancho Mirage, California
The Shirleen Trailer Park - Medford, Oregon
Horseshoe Camp Modern Cottages - Bowling Green, Kentucky
1952 Chevrolet Bel Air

The other six images are:

The Fresno Motel - Fresno, California
The Luau - Fresno, California
Stinky on the Road - Our mascot along SR 120 in the Sierra Mountains
The Painted Desert Indian Center - Holbrook, Arizona
The Ranch Motel - Rice Hill, Oregon
Joe's Liquor - Rock Springs, Wyoming

Our Chromira prints are produced by a professional lab here in Portland, Oregon and are printed on Fuji Crystal Archive paper. We'll be offering our 11x14 prints matted and our 8x10 prints both matted and unmatted.

We hope to see you at the Riviera February 25th-27th!

Happy February,

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside at the Crafty Wonderland Holiday Show this weekend!

We hope to see our Portland friends at the Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale this weekend!

This will be the last chance to pick up several of our designs as we're planning something a little different for 2011.

The show is in Hall C of the Oregon Convention Center and is open Saturday & Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Did we mention there's free admission? How about goodie bags?

We'll be in booth #5 for those of you keeping score at home. :-)

Happy Holidays,

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside Visits: Aquarama Aquamaid Quinetta

Our latest Aquarama interview features original 1964 Aquamaid Quinetta. Quinetta performed at the Aquarama from 1964 - 1967 and was kind enough to share some of her memories with us.

Let's raise the Curtain of Bubbles once again...

Vintage Roadside: Do you remember how you first heard of the Aquarama?

Quinetta: I was working as a waitress at a restaurant across the street from the Aquarama. Mr. and Mrs. Johl and Marc came in for lunch. I overheard they were holding swimmer tryouts that very afternoon. I took off my apron, told the owner of the restuarant I had an emergency, went home to get my swimsuit, and showed up for tryouts. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't gotten the job!

Vintage Roadside: Wow! That's quite a story. Had you been working at the restaurant for some time?

Quinetta: I only worked there 1 day!

Vintage Roadside: How old were you at that point?

Quinetta: I was 16.

Vintage Roadside: Being a part of the original cast you trained in that unheated, outdoor motel pool. So, was it pretty chilly out there?

Quinetta: It was cold but I was so busy trying to learn to regulate my air so that I could stay in the middle of the pool and learn the routines that I hardly noticed the cold.

Vintage Roadside: Do you remember those first shows?

Quinetta: I just remember being so nervous and afraid I'd forget everything. I didn't forget and after the first show I was so excited that I hardly slept after going home.

Vintage Roadside: In the photo above you're shown performing on the trapeze. That must have been something to learn how to perform on a trapeze underwater?

Quinetta: It was difficult at first. Breath control is the secret. I had to inhale just enough to swing back and exhale while swinging forward.

Vintage Roadside: Did you perform any routines with Marc?

Quinetta: Marc and I swam to "Three Coins in a Fountain". We wore black bodysuits with black fins and masks. The bodysuits were fitted with underwater lights with a switch at our waists. When the music started we switched on our lights, the pool was dark, and all the audience could see were our body silhouettes moving to the music.

Vintage Roadside: Any other routines come to mind?

Quinetta: I was also part of a John Phillips Sousa march. Three other girls and myself hooked up feet (fins) to neck and did a big circle in the pool. When it worked it was wonderful, when someones air hose got caught, well, you can imagine - we gasped for air, broke the circle and headed for the top of the tank.

Vintage Roadside: Did you have a favorite routine?

Quinetta: My favorite was being a mermaid. I had to put the mermaid tail on in the water. I coated the zipper with Vaseline to keep the zipper from rusting and help it zip more easily. The tails were stored in baffles at the side of the pool. I would swim to the baffle, put on the mermaid tail, then swim to a clam shell to wait for the start of the music.

Vintage Roadside: Do you have any memories of Wally & Nola Johl?

Quinetta: I remember going to their home for lunch and to listen to the music for the show. They were very eager to use music that we liked and could swim to. I also remember Mrs. Johl's voice on the underwater speaker reminding us to point our toes or to get with the music. She would often tell us that we did a great job, too.

Vintage Roadside: Looking back how does it feel to have been one of the Aquamaids?

Quinetta: It was great fun! Swimming and making money too - can't be beat!

Vintage Roadside: Were you able to use your mermaid training later on in life?

Quinetta: Swimming at the Aquarama opened many doors for me in later life. During my freshman year at college I tried out for the synchronized swim team and made the team. In 1976 I started teaching swim lessons at the Jefferson City (Missouri) YMCA and eventually became the Aquatic Director.

Vintage Roadside: Thanks Quinetta! We're honored to talk with you.

If you have any information, souvenirs, stories and maybe even worked at the Aquarama we'd love to hear from you! Click here for our contact form.

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside