Time: Late 1960's

Glamorous Treasures of the Sixties (in Upstate New York)

This beyond politically-incorrect brochure was dug up on a recent trip back to New Jersey. "Visit the Home of 1,000 Animals" (in the Lake Placid area of New York State) the kitschy travel brochure tells us, and then when we turn to the page displayed below, it becomes apparent that visitors can not only feed and pet these lovely creatures, but also wear them home! One tag line reads, "You'll LOVE our friendly, frolicsome animals! Feed us! Pet us! Photograph us! We're alive!" (Alive for the time being anyway). The really ironic part of this particular page is that the minks seem to be celebrating their own imminent demise. Anyway, I must give credit to my friend Jim, who dug up this classic piece of travel literature. His family vacationed in upstate New York in the 1960's, as did mine and almost everyone else in the tri-state area, so it is possible I actually paid a visit to this frightening place (I know for sure I visited the North Pole and the Land of Make Believe - all in the same vicinity). Vacations today just don't have the same glamorous possibilities as the 1960's. Such a shame. After all, who wouldn't want a lavender mink stole?


 

 

home | about me | archive | images | karen finley | history | send me mail