Monday, November 21, 2011

COLLECTION #102: Cawston Ostrich Farm


I grew up in South Pasadena, California, which is noted for many things: beautiful Arts & Crafts bungalows, great schools, famous former residents including William Holden, Hillary Swank, Henry Dreyfuss, Joel McCrea, Bobby Fischer....and of course, the home of the world-renowned and famous Cawston Ostrich Farm. You remember the ostrich farm don't you? Where people could ride ostriches, race them, watch them laying enormous eggs, ride in a little wagon pulled by an ostrich? No? Ok, you pretty much have to be a resident of South Pasadena to have heard of the Cawston Ostrich Farm. But back around the turn of the LAST century, the ostrich farm was a pretty famous and fun place. A definite tourist attraction.





I have collected a few small souvenirs of the Ostrich Farm... several postcards, a cute picture folder, and a great framed photo of three little boys riding in the ostrich wagon. These photos were taken by professional photographers, who posed their unwitting visitors in the wagon, and then sold the photos as souvenirs- kinda like Splash Mountain photos at Disneyland today! For those of you who are LDS, the littlest little boy in the front of the wagon is Hugh Nibley, noted LDS historian and professor. (This is not the original photo- It was given to me to scan by his grand niece Carolyn Nibley). The ostrich Beanie Baby looks cute with the collection, doesn't it?


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