20 Vintage Roadside fine art prints now available!

Gearing up for the holiday season, we're pleased to offer twenty of our favorite Vintage Roadside fine art photographs in our Photo Department.

We Still Roam the Earth -  © Vintage Roadside

Each photo is available as an 8" x 10" or an 11" x 14" Chromira print on gloss Fuji Crystal Archive paper. We looked at several printing options and were floored by the quality and colors of the Chromira prints. All prints are produced by a professional lab here in Portland, Oregon.

Feels Like Home -  © Vintage Roadside

Enjoy the photos - we've got everything from mannequin-eating dinosaurs to fading tourist courts as well as vintage neon signs.

Dive In -  © Vintage Roadside

You can browse and shop our Photo Department here.

Have a great week,

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside Visits: Aquarama Aquamaid Marlen Manzer

We're thrilled to present the latest in our series of interviews with the former Aquamaids and Aqualads of Missouri's Aquarama.

Today we're talking with 1967 Aquamaid Marlen Manzer.

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

Marlen: My dad came home from work one day and told me about it.

Vintage Roadside: Did you know any of the other cast members working that season?

Marlen: Janie and I went to school together.

 Aquarama 1967 cast photo. (Janie fifth from left & Marlen second from right.) Photo courtesy of Marc Johl.

Vintage Roadside: Was there an audition you had to go through to get the job?

Marlen: Yes - I remember meeting Mrs. Johl and working in the swimming tank.

Vintage Roadside: In the photo above you're wearing the "Go Go" costume. Do you remember any of the other costumes you wore that year?

Marlen: We also had the Snowflake suit and the Alley Cat suit with tails and big stones on our gloves.

Vintage Roadside: Did you have a favorite costume?

Marlen: I liked the mermaid one the best, but it was hard to get into.

Vintage Roadside: Were you one of the lucky ones with your own clam shell?

Marlen: Yes. If you were looking at the stage I was in the one on the right.

Vintage Roadside: Any memories of your former shell?

Marlen: It was so dark in the shell and you had to use your air hose to open the shell. If it didn't open fast enough you would have to squeeze out so you were in time with the music.

Vintage Roadside: Was there one routine you always wanted to perform?

Marlen: Janie had a single act where she drank from a cocktail glass - one show she could not make it and I got to do the act.

Vintage Roadside: You guys performed two shows a day. Do you remember the night show being any different from the day show?

Marlen: I remember at the night show it was hard to get into our costumes because they were still damp - especially the black tights we used in Alley Cat.

Vintage Roadside: Any other random Aquarama memories?

Marlen: I remember after each show we would have to put alchohol drops in our ears to help dry the water up. Also, swimming at Aquarama made learning scuba diving really easy for me.

Vintage Roadside: Any other interesting Lake of the Ozarks jobs after your time at the Aquarama?

Marlen: The only thing close was modeling for the Tan Tar A Resort Gift Shop. They would have a fashion show on Friday and Saturday nights in the dining room and I also did some modeling for their brochures. They have one of the brochures on display in their "50 Years Celebration"  case in the lobby.

Vintage Roadside: It must be fun to look back and realize you're one of very few people that can say "I was a mermaid!"

Marlen: It was pretty special.

Vintage Roadside: Thanks so much Marlen for sharing some of your Aquarama memories with us!

As always if you have any information, memories, souvenirs, or if you worked at the Aquarama we'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a message.


Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

The top 5 questions we get here at Vintage Roadside.

We thought it would be fun to list the 5 questions we're asked the most here at Vintage Roadside along with our answers. If you have any questions of your own, feel free to leave a comment and we'll see what we can come up with.

Question #1. "What do you guys do in real life?"

A. This is it! We're "Vintage Roadside" 365 days a year. We make and sell our t-shirts, take photos which we share online and also sell to wonderful people (from national publications to that guy you see at the coffee shop on Thursdays), give presentations on bygone mom and pop businesses, write preservation-themed road trip articles, and occasionaly produce limited edition t-shirts for events and businesses with great histories.

Question #2. "Seriously, this is what you guys do?"

A. Really, this is it. This is how we pay the bills. For the past 5 years we've been nothing but Vintage Roadside full time, 24-7. We love sharing the stories behind the mom and pops we feature on our t-shirts.

Question #3. Where do you guys get the ideas for your t-shirts?

A. We have a large archive of vintage materials. We collect just about anything relating to mom and pop businesses, of any type, from the 1930s - 1970s. Everything from 1940s motor court receipts to a 1970s ledger from a North Carolina drive-in theater. Another of our favorite pieces of history is an original notebook containing all the hand-written recipes for a drive in/custard stand once located in Michigan. All of our Vintage Roadside t-shirts come from our collection of original materials.

Question #4. So you just find something you like and print it on a t-shirt?

A. That would certainly be much easier! Actually we have a copyright and trademark attorney that assists us with every item we produce.

Question #5. Why is your mascot named "Stinky"? Does he smell bad?

A. Luckily, no bad smell. We gave him his name after noticing that from certain angles he looks like he's giving the camera a wicked "stink eye."

Stinky Fun Fact: He's road tripped through Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, and Kentucky.

 Keep those hands at 10 and 2,

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside size 3XL Limited Edition T-shirts!

We have exciting news for those looking for a 3XL Vintage Roadside t-shirt!

Answering your requests, we've produced a very limited run of 3XL t-shirts for a selection of our most popular designs. We now have one each available of eight Vintage Roadside graphics. These t-shirts are not available through our website gift shop so we are taking phone orders at (503) 239-6342 and email orders via our contact form -- first come, first served!

Our 3XL t-shirts are the same great 100% ringspun cotton, pre-shrunk, super-soft men's t-shirts we offer for our Small - 2XL sizes. The measurements are:

28" Wide (2" wider than our 2XL)
35" Long (2" longer than our 2XL)

The price is $25.00 each + $5.95 shipping via Priority Mail. Want more than one? We can do that. Let us know and we'll confirm a shipping amount (at USPS cost) for you. Pick up four or more and we'll cover the shipping!

The Chi Chi - Palm Springs, California

The Hidden Harbor - Phoenix,  Arizona

The My-O-My Room - Denver, Colorado

Tiki Gardens - Indian Rocks Beach, Florida

Thunderbird Lanes - Ontario, California

Squirrel Lodge Motor Court - Nashville, Tennessee

The Zombie Zulu - Portland, Oregon

The Hula Hut - Tucson, Arizona

Thanks to everyone for their feedback - we hope you enjoy our limited production 3XL t-shirts!

Jeff & Kelly

Vintage Roadside

503.239.6342

Vintage Roadside Visits: Aquarama Aquamaid Dian Sevra - Part 3

We hope you've been enjoying our visit with 1964 Aquamaid Dian!

In this third and final piece we'll hear more about her favorite performances, what led to the end of her mermaid career, and an epic road trip...

 Wally Johl, 1964. Photo courtesy of Marc Johl

Vintage Roadside: What were some of your favorite routines?

Dian: I think my favorite group act was the Circus routine. I believe Marc was the ringleader and the girls would swim in sync together forming different lines and doing stunts. I believe there were swings in one part of the Circus act. It was difficult to maintain your balance and regulate the air flow while maintaining your position in the middle of the glass tank. We had to remain together and at the same height, "swing" together and perform tricks together - something easier said than done, but we seemed to pull it off more times than not!

Vintage Roadside: Did you also perform any solo routines?

Dian: I always enjoyed the scenes where we had "free reign" and could just swim, glide, wave, turn, smile and relax as only a true mermaid can. I loved swimming free-form to the music.

Vintage Roadside: Could you see the audience while you were performing?

Dian: It was difficult to see the audience if we weren't wearing our masks. We could sort of see them but they were blurry forms. When we wore the swim masks it was a different story and could make "eye contact" with individual audience members. The masks let us connect to them eyeball to eyeball - from our underwater world out to their "people" world!

Vintage Roadside: Any fun memories of things maybe going not quite as smoothly as hoped for?

Dian: There is one that comes to mind. We would form a "human circle". One girl's neck would be between my ankles and my neck would be between another girl's ankles and so on, I think we would have 6 or 7 of us forming this circle underwater, and yet, wait, there was more - we would then use our arms together and actually spin the circle around and around! All this while remembering to maintain the circle height to the center of the windows and keep in time with the music! Well one time the girl that had her ankles around my neck kicked my air hose out of my mouth! I tried to maintain my position in the circle as long as I could (without an air hose) but finally had to break rank, and the circle (oops), and swim to the top of the tank. Unfortunately when this would happen all the audience could see was a pair of tangling legs kicking and twirling at the top of the glass tank. Not a professional moment - but one necessary to sustain one's life!

Vintage Roadside: We've heard stories of Aquamaids having their hair turn green. Did you also end up with green hair?

Dian: A downside of the mermaid job was definitely the hair issues! For the most part we were blondes that first year (Barbara was a brunette) and we were asked to let our hair grow as it would "wave" more underwater if it was longer. The chemicals needed for the pool were a bit harsh and we spent hours on end underwater, thus creating a green shiny cast to our blonde locks! When our hair dried it was stiff and broke easily - as I mentioned a bit of a downside! You could pretty much spot an Aquarama mermaid on land by the looks of her hair!

Vintage Roadside: Except for the green hair it sounds like the perfect summer job. Unfortunately you had to leave early that first year. What happened?

Dian: I swam in the original show through July that summer but I developed a huge ear infection. The tank was fairly deep, and for the beginning of some of the scenes we needed to swim and rest on the bottom of the tank before the lights and music would start. With an ear infection the pressure from the depth of the tank really hurt. I would try to swim in from the side, or only rest on the bottom for a few seconds but in the end I just couldn't stand the pressure. The doctor told me I would have to stop going underwater for at least 3-4 weeks, thus ending my mermaid career.

Vintage Roadside: So you still had a month of summer vacation left. Did you end up stuck at home the next month?

Dian: A highlight of this misfortune was an unexpected trip! It was the summer that the World's Fair was in New York City and my parents arranged for me and my two younger cousins to fly to New York and meet up with my other cousins that had been touring Europe in a VW bus. We waited for the bus to arrive via ship and attended the fair for a week, then all piled in the bus and drove cross country...Quite an adventure!

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

Dian: At the time it all seemed fairly normal. All of my friends had jobs around the lake - some sold tickets to the country shows, some worked in gift shops, some were guides at the attractions and others pumped gas for the marinas...

Looking back I think maybe part of the attraction was that it was a glamorous job. I felt pride in being asked to swim in the original season. There was a lot of responsibility given to us to pull this whole crazy idea off - remember, for the most part the cast was from Missouri, and had never seen or heard of a mermaid show let alone perform in one! We pretty much went on blind faith that the show could actually happen. Being young helped, what fifteen year old doesn't think they can do anything? Ha!

Vintage Roadside: Before we go we wanted to ask about your memories of the Johl family.

Dian: I have only fond memories of the Johls, like the Johls my family were transplants. Mrs. Johl reminded me in part of my own mother. I always believed she was a "show girl" at heart. She designed all of our costumes to be figure flattering, colorful and flashy - "when in doubt add a sparkle!!" must have been her theme. Mr. Johl was the perfect compliment to the "sparkly" Mrs. Johl. He was daring to build and undertake such an idea - imagine mermaids in Missouri! He had a vision and with the help of his family was able to see it come true. All in all a great team!

Vintage Roadside: Thank you so much Dian for sharing some of your history with us. It's always an honor to talk with an Aquamaid!

Dian: You're welcome!


Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside Visits: Aquarama Aquamaid Dian Sevra - Part 2

Let's rejoin Dian and the rest of the 1964 Aquarama cast as they complete their initial training for the debut of the Aquarama...

Vintage Roadside: You were lucky enough to have a very special co-worker that first year - former Weeki Wachee performer Barbara Hodgson. Do you remember Barbara?

Dian: Yes, I remember Barbara. She must have been in her early twenties, and with me being 15 she seemed very worldly and glamorous. She had made the trip alone to Missouri to teach and train a group of fledgling mermaids in a few short weeks. At the time, being 15, I neither worried nor thought about anything more than what I would wear and where I would go on the next date, but looking back that was a very large responsibility given to Barbara!

I remember she was so patient explaining all of the plans, the routines, the training, the eating expected and the importance of stretching and excercising to build endurance. I remember we would all sit in the lobby of the Aquarama on a regular basis and stretch together and visit and get to know one another. I'm sure it must have been a lonely time for her and yet she pulled it off! Mission accomplished!

Former Weeki Wachee Mermaid Barbara Hodgson

Vintage Roadside: Before we jump in and talk about the performances we wanted to ask you about the costumes you wore that season. Do you have any memories of the costumes?

Dian: I do remember several. For the most part we wore white two-piece suits and then would put on various skirts, vests, etc. with velcro for fast costume changes! Remember, after a scene we would either swim to the side of the tank behind a partition and change the costume underwater (hooking the costume pieces securely so they could not float away) or we would swim back up the tunnel to the ladder, climb out of the tank to the dressing room, change the costumes very quickly, climb back down the ladder, swim through the tunnel and find our position underwater - Whew!!

The costumes were simple, to convey the idea of the act, but very colorful and sparkly! Much time and thought were put into the creation of the costumes. Mrs. Johl must receive the credit for their beautiful design. They needed to look light and beautiful, yet hold up to being pulled and yanked upon for quick changes. They also had to hold up as they were underwater, then dried, then placed in the water, etc. over and over and over again!

Vintage Roadside: So here we go! Memorial Day Weekend 1964. Do you remember the theme for that first year?

Dian: The show that original year was an underwater tour around the world. You, as an audience member were traveling around the world, and at every port you would dock and scenes of the mermaids in that part of the world would unfold for the audience. I remember a bullfighting scene with a matador and bull, Hawaiian wrap skirts, English Guard's jackets, circus acts from France, etc.

Vintage Roadside: Was there one part you really wanted to perform?

Dian: I always loved the routines with the mermaid tail! That first summer Barbara did that scene the most as it was more difficult than it looked. The tail, of course, was full of water and was sooo heavy! And swimming horizontally, kicking your legs together, maintaining your position in the middle of the glass, waving and smiling was crazy difficult! I just thought it was the ultimate routine though. If you were a real mermaid what could be better?!

Vintage Roadside: Let's talk about the shells. Did you get to pop out of a shell?

Dian: Yes, I maintained residency in many a clam shell! I remember we would climb down a ladder in the dressing room into the darkened tank, hold our breath and swim down a dark tunnel and then out into the main tank and find "our" clam shell. When you were curled up in the lower part of the shell you would grab the strap and pull to lower the shell top then just lay there curled up in the shell patiently waiting for the lights to come on and the music to begin!! Actually with the weight of the water the opening of the clam shell could be difficult as they were heavy. A little trick was to grab your air hose and put it inside the shell as you were raising the "lid" and the force of the air bubbles would assist in the lifting of the shell.

Vintage Roadside: Any other memories of the clam shells?

Dian: They introduced live fish that summer - not sure if they lasted long term? They were the large goldfish that were yellow but also they had icky black ones with bulging eyes. Sometimes you could feel something inside the shell with you and I always hated it when I had to share the interior of my clam shell with a fish friend waiting in the dark for the lights and music to begin!!!

We hope you'll join us for Part 3 of our interview with Dian as she shares more of her favorite routines, what led to her departure from the Aquarama and her thoughts on how it felt to be an original Aquarama Aquamaid.

Jeff & Kelly

Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside Visits: Aquarama Aquamaid Dian Sevra - Part 1

One of the most rewarding parts of our years-long Aquarama research has been the opportunity to talk with many of the people involved with this unique attraction once located in Osage Beach, Missouri.

We're thrilled to bring you part one of our interview with Aquamaid Dian Sevra - a member of the original 1964 cast of the Aquarama. After months of training for that first season, Dian's career as a mermaid came to an abrupt halt after two months of performing. In addition to her time as an Aquamaid, Dian also performed in local water ski shows and spent time working at her family's resort at the Lake of the Ozarks. Let's take a trip back to 1964.

Vintage Roadside: How did you first hear about the Aquarama?

Dian: Marc (Marc Johl, son of Aquarama's founders) and I were classmates at The School of the Osage.

Vintage Roadside: So the two of you lived in the same school district?

Dian: Actually no. Although I should have attended school in Camdenton, the high school at that time was not accredited so my parents who wanted me to be able to attend college paid tuition for me to attend The School of the Osage.

Vintage Roadside: How old were you when Aquarama came along?

Dian: I was 15 years old.

 
Vintage Roadside: Do you remember how you landed the job as an Aquamaid?

Dian: I really don't remember the details. I think it was along the lines of - I knew Marc from school...I could swim...and I was willing!

Vintage Roadside: You also lived fairly close to where the Aquarama building was being constructed didn't you?

Dian: Yes, the Aquarama building and parking lot were on the highway right at the end of our lake road.

Vintage Roadside: Were there any other factors you can remember that led to you becoming an Aquamaid?

Dian: One of the main reasons I swam at the Aquarama that first summer is a bit convoluted.  I had also been asked to ski in the Tex Bemis Water Ski Thrill Show that year, but being 15 I didn't have a driver's license yet. The Ski Show was at Bagnell Dam, which my father thought was too far to drive illegally, however he didn't seem to mind if I drove to the end of our road and turned into the Aquarama parking lot - so I became a mermaid!

Vintage Roadside: Had you been working at your parent's resort (Robin's Resort) before this?

Dian: Yes, and although they had a yard boy and a maid it seemed like I was on the clock 24/7. I wanted to go and earn my own money and this seemed like the ticket for me!

Vintage Roadside: Did you already know the rest of the cast members that summer?

Dian: Marc and I had 56 students in our graduating class which I think was the largest class up to that point. I believe we also had six sets of twins...weird...anyway, I digress...Living at the lake at that time everyone pretty much knew everyone else.

Vintage Roadside: We've heard about the unheated outdoor pool used for training that first season. Do you remember that?

Dian: Oh yes, I think we were a lot crazy!! We would go to school each day and then after school we would all meet at the pool of a motel along the highway in Osage Beach. I believe it was like April and the water was sooo cold! All of us were good swimmers but this type of swimming was all new to everyone.

Vintage Roadside: One of the critical parts of performing at the Aquarama was using the air hose. Do you remember learning to use the hose?

Dian: We had some sort of generator on the pool deck and air hoses running from it to the swimmers in the pool. A huge part of swimming with an air hose is learning how to regulate your breathing, in part by biting down on the hose with your teeth so you can maintain your position underwater. Too much air, you tended to float, too little air and you sank.

Vintage Roadside: It sounds like holding your position for the routines was one of the hardest things to learn. Aside from the temperature did the motel pool pose any other problems in your training?

Dian: In the motel pool we had to "imagine" where the glass for the tank would be. And then we had to learn the routines. I don't believe we could hear the music in the pool at the motel - another problemo!

Vintage Roadside: Was it difficult learning the routines?

Dian: We had to coordinate our moves not only with the music but with our cast mates. Believe me, swimming and being a mermaid was much more difficult than it sounds. It might sound dramatic and glamorous, but in truth it was very controlled, difficult, challenging and took a lot of stamina and strength!


We hope you've enjoyed Part 1 of our visit with Dian! In Part 2 we'll raise the "Curtain of Bubbles" for a look at those very first Aquarama performances.

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside