WOODIES... THE CLASSIC AUTOMOBILE LOOK IN THE 1940s
Peter Lawford shows off his Woodie!
During the World War II, wood construction saved steel for critical war-time uses. After the war, the middle class found mass-produced woodie wagons perfect for family travels. The popularity of woodies for personal transportation peaked mid-century. By the late fifties and sixties, used car dealers had plenty of cheap, poorly maintained wood-clad cars. Surfers found these bargains perfect for hauling their longboards in search of the perfect wave. A sub-culture and a car became legend.
Clark Gable and his new 1940 Buick Estate Wagon starred in a Buick magazine advertisement. The car was one of only 501 produced for that model year and listed for $1242.
Roland and Mary Conklin of Huntington, N.Y., made house-car travel a family experience. Their bus factory built the Gypsy Van, shown above, and in the summer of 1915, the Conklin family set out to see America.
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How Did the San Diego Zoo Begin?
How Did the San Diego Zoo Begin?
The way the story goes, it began with a roar! In 1916 when San Diego hosted an exposition (like a world's fair) to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. Among the exhibits were groups of animals scattered throughout Balboa Park. On September 16, a local physician, Dr. Harry Wegeforth, was driving through the Park and heard––you guessed it––the roar of the Panama California Exposition's lions. Dr. Harry thought that San Diego needed a zoo, and decided to start one. He began with the animals left over from the exposition, and the rest, as they say, is history!
From this beginning, Dr. Harry spent the rest of his life developing the Zoo. He was a genius at collecting money, plants, and animals, and we still tell "Dr. Harry stories" about some of his more inventive episodes. He set us up as a Zoological Society, so it would be a privately-owned (not owned by the city, as many zoos are), not-for-profit corporation, and managed by a board of trustees.
For years, Dr. Harry traveled around the country and the world, finding animals and plants from all over the globe, and building good business relations with other zoos. He rode his horse around the 100-acre (40.5-hectare) grounds of the Zoo, with its unique layout of mesas and canyons, deciding where to place the collections.