This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt shows a rowdy group of fellows, soldiers, some in kilt, with drums and liquor bottles and smiles aplenty. They are just the kind of boys my dad would say partied all week and then late on Saturday night went to confession. Well that got me thinking that perhaps I shall give you the anti-prompt for Sepia Saturday this week. I give you….churches.
This postcard was purchased at Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA (right near where I live) and was sent from Louella [Rudd] to Mr & Mrs R. L. Fields in Kingfisher, OK. The “Little Chapel by the Lake” was an attraction in the farm, built in 1941 specifically to house a painting of Christ called The Transfiguration by Paul von Klieben. Visitors entered the church and sat on benches. A brief recorded talk about what Christ might have looked like played and then, the painting revealed. Through the use of fluorescent paint and lighting, the painting looked like Christ opened His eyes. Sounds rather creepy to me! The chapel was eventually removed to put in a roller coaster, probably in the 1980s. Knott’s still owns the painting. Knott’s had a second church, called the Church of Reflection which also faced the lake and was in a lovely grove of trees. After the roller coaster was installed it was impossible to hear anything inside the church as it was directly underneath the track! That particular church was relocated in entirety across the street and is still in use today. Unfortunately for us, the postmark on this postcard shows it was mailed on August 5th, but the year is obscured. Louella was having a great visit and had called Aunt Vera.
This postcard was not mailed. I can only guess that perhaps the Rudd family in Oklahoma attended this church.
It’s April ’68 and Neil Rudd was stopping for a rest after driving 300 miles per day for 5 days. He was traveling through Mexico with Freddie, who was “full of zest and rarin’ to go!” The writing is spidery and difficult to read. Neil sent the above postcard to Floyd & Louella Rudd.
1970, and Henry & Pauline have visited Denver where it was cool, but it turned hot in Salt Lake City – 100 degrees! They were driving through to Yellowstone. The postcard was mailed to Louella Rudd.
If all this churchifying disrupted your weekend debauchery, click on over to Sepia Saturday to find what sort of carousing and goings on other folks have come up with. You will be happy you did!
Very clever! It’s funny how families over time can choose their own themes for postcards. I know that’s the case for my archive of family cards where there are lots of dull hotels and placid lakes.
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I rather like the idea of a Sepia Saturday anti-prompt. Now there is a challenge for the coming weeks!
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I don’t know why, but the idea of moving a chapel to put up a roller coaster strikes me as funny. Now there’s an anti-prompt!
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I do remember that little chapel at Knott’s and was just talking to a friend about it recently. I miss the old Knott’s Berry farm. I know it wouldn’t be of interest to kids today who have the attention spans of gnats, but there was something wonderfully peaceful about the old grounds with the little town, the open area around the chapel, and the pond. The stagecoach ride and the train ride were enough for me.
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I recently went to an estate auction for Bud Hurlbut who was one of the early designers for Knott’s. They had the bright stained glass windows out of the old gazebo that sat in the middle of the lake, tons of wrought iron gates, fixtures, etc. from the old days.
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Love the idea of the anti-prompt! Thanks for sharing these churches and their stories.
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Nice photos and no, you did not disrupt my weekend debauchery! I too liked the anti-prompt!
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James Jasper Rudd (William Mann Rudd’s brother) settled in Kingfisher, Oklahoma.
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Several of these postcards mention Floyd and Louella (Barr) Rudd. They organized the Rudd family reunions held at Kingfisher, Oklahoma, in the 1960s and 70’s.
Descendants came from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and California, but the reunions ceased sometime prior to Floyd’s death in 2004.
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Here’s your chance to own the original Transfiguration Jesus. It goes to auction at Knott’s on March 31, 2017… https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/paul-von-klieben-jesus-the-transfiguration-chapel-painting-1941-total-3-items-/a/7151-95017.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515
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There are many great paintings and memorabilia in that auction! Wow, so many great memories at Knott’s are being sold.
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