Western Exterminator Mr. Little statue currently on display at the Valley Relics Museum

 Howdy everyone!

We wanted to share the news that a recent addition to the Vintage Roadside fiberglass statue collection is one of the amazing Western Exterminator Mr. Little statues. This is one of four 17.5' statues created by Bob Strom in the 1960s.

 

Mr. Little and Menace Mouse in Santa Ana, CA

With the goal of continuing to share this piece of history, we've teamed up with our friends at the Valley Relics Museum in Van Nuys, CA. The statue is currently on loan through 2023 and they've created a perfect setting for him. Since arriving at the museum he's become quite the social media star appearing in countless photos and videos. 

Mr. Little & Menace Mouse now on display at the Valley Relics Museum. Van Nuys, CA

Huge thanks to Rentokil and Western Exterminator for allowing us to become the new caretakers of this statue. Also a huge thanks to Valley Relics Museum for all of their work preparing a space in their fantastic museum.

To learn more about our work with Mr. Little click here.

Mystery Corner Store

UPDATE - Location confirmed as W Danville Street, South Hill, Virginia.  Building now gone.

Calling all roadside detectives! We've got a 35mm Kodachrome slide we'd love to pin down location-wise. Over on our Facebook page there were a couple suggestions of South Hill, Virginia but we're still looking for that one person who immediately recognizes Daniel's Market.

There are a couple of clues that point to Virginia - the hams hanging from the roof, those huge watermelons and the gorgeous Nolde's Bread painted screen doors.

If you recognize or remember this little corner store we'd love to hear from you!

A peek at our vintage motel collection

As winter approaches and we all start looking forward to next Spring (and warm road trips) we thought it would be fun to share a few pieces from the Vintage Roadside ephemera collection. The pieces below are a few of our favorites from our tourist court, motor court, and motel collection. The next time you head out on the road we'd like to encourage you to keep an eye out for mom and pop lodging. They might not have wi-fi or a fitness center but they sure provide some great memories along the way!

The Roberta Motor Court was once located on US 341 in Roberta, Georgia. The court is a nice example of lodging that also provided an onsite restaurant for guests. Love the sign with the landscaped garden bed around it!


This copy of the 1956 New England Motor Court and Cabin Guide was provided by the Ko-Z Motor Court & Diner of Clarendon, Vermont. The guide lists numerous lodging choices for those on the road between New York and Quebec. These vintage motor court guides generally listed "member" businesses and many times included black and white photos of the establishments.


We love the pink bedspreads along with the matching pink car shown in this vintage postcard for the Park Motel of Morris, Illinois. The motel offered many of the amenities guests had come to expect - air conditioning, sound conditioning, wall to wall carpet, color TV in each room, direct dial phones, and a combination tub and shower.


The vintage postcard for Felix's Motel is a bit earlier than the Park Motel above in that they are still advertising "steam heat", a cooling system of "fans", radios in each room, and good ol' "cross ventilation" which meant you could open a window on each side of the room to cool down:-)


The Combahee Motor Court appears to have been quite a midcentury gem. They billed themselves as a "Modernistic Motor Court" and from the looks of the architecture they certainly were! The location of the Combahee was Garden Corners, South Carolina.


We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside