One hundred years ago this month New Mexico achieved statehood and became the 47th state.
The state was dubbed the “land of enchantment.”
This 1937 road map highlights various points of interest including Bottomless Lakes, Indian Reservations and Salt Lake Crater.

Another interesting detail is the layout of Route 66.
The original design of the famed route was to pass through Santa Fe, but after the state’s Governor lost an election bid, he re-designed the route so that it would pass through Albuquerque instead.

Four Dutch artists from the 1960s collectively called themselves The Fool.
They were close friends of The Beatles, Cream and The Hollies.

The Fool helped colorize the 1960s.
They designed clothes, painted psychedelic murals (including The Beatles’ Apple Boutique) and guitars belonging to Eric Clapton and George Harrison.
Their debut album (shown above) was produced by Graham Nash.

The Fools were Simon Posthuma, Marijke Koeger, Josje Leeger and Barry Finch.

Little is heard from them these days.
They have become a mere footnote (albeit an important one) in Beatles and Cream history.
But Simon Posthuma wrote his autobiography (in Dutch) and I recently came across this brief interview Posthuma gave after the book was published.

The New Hampshire primary is coming up and this week’s My Vintage Video is a look back at a controversial moment during the 1972 primary.

The Manchester Union-Leader attacked Democratic candidate Edmund Muskie’s wife Jane in print.
Muskie defended his wife with an emotional plea outside the newspaper’s offices.
It was snowing and Muskie claimed snowflakes melted on his face.
The press, however, reported that Muskie had tears streaming down his face.
The reports shattered Muskie’s image and he soon withdrew his presidential run.

Here’s a very short video of that moment as shown on cable TV.

I stumbled upon an outdoor flea market when I was in Copenhagen, Denmark recently.

I didn’t have the cash (Kroner) to buy anything, but I did take pics of these interesting items.

There’s no doubt Phil Spector is one of the most influential (and controversial) record producers in rock and roll.

His trademark was the Wall of Sound; a production technique using layered musical arrangements with backing bands the size of orchestras.

Songs produced with the Phil Spector touch included: “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Be My Baby” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.”

Spector’s stable of artists included: The Crystals, The Ronettes and the Righteous Brothers.

I discovered this book, Collecting Phil Spector: The Man, the Legend and the Music, a few months ago.
It’s by John J. Fitzpatrick and James E. Fogerty.
It was published in 1991 and is long out of print.

Collecting Phil Spector includes hundreds of photos of all the records with the Spector touch.

The photos included here are just a small sampling taken from the book.

Milton Glaser is a New York-based graphic designer best known for creating the “I Love New York” logo and the Bob Dylan poster as shown on the left.

I recently picked up The Milton Glaser Poster Book at the local flea market.
Some of the graphics from that book are included here.

Cover to the 1977 Milton Glaser Poster Book

Weltspartag (1975)

250 Courses (1967)

1905 Pawtucket, RI newspaper

I love looking through old newspapers because it provides a glimpse into what life was like at a certain day in time.
This set of old newspapers illustrate what I mean.

These papers are from 1905 from the city of Pawtucket in northern Rhode Island.
There are no bold headlines or memorable news events mentioned, but there are news-of-the-day stories and wonderful ads.
Papers like this are referred to as “atmosphere” newspapers.

Headlines from

The Evening Times

Women's Fashion Ad 1905

Men's Fashion Ad 1905

Vintage Postcard of the Tropicana

The Tropicana nightclub in Havana, Cuba was dubbed “paradise under the stars.”
It opened in 1939 on six-acres of land and contained lush tropical gardens.

This vintage postcard dates back to the nightclub’s heyday in the 1950s.
Headliners included Josephine Baker, Nat King Cole, Celia Cruz and Carmen Miranda.

In addition to it’s five-star celebrity roster the Tropicana was also a prime site for gamblers and international gangsters.

The fire erupted during a Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey performance on July 6, 1944.
It claimed the lives of 168 men, women and children.
It’s one of the worst fire disasters in the United States.

Front of a History Card on the Circus Fire

As I was reading the book I found out my partner (Dianne) had a relative who was at the circus that day.
Shirley N. Snelgrove was there to celebrate her 13th birthday.
She survived with severe burns, but both her parents, Olive and Edwin perished in the fire.

Another survivor of the fire was Charles Nelson Reilly (who grew up to be a famous actor & director).
He was also thirteen years-old.

This week’s My Vintage Video is a clip from his one-man show “Save it for the Stage: The Life of Reilly.”
He recalls what happened when he and a childhood friend went to the circus that day.

Laconia Airport, Lake Winnepesaukee & White Mountains

The airport was built on over 400 acres of farmland.
Laconia Airport was one of thousands of federal WPA (Works Progress Administration) projects completed in the 1930s and 40s.
It was originally conceived as a defense airport, but it was never used for that purpose.

Today, it serves as a small municipal airport with one runway in operation.