Cripple Creek Pre-Hipster Barbershop ‘Staches

Life 08-22-55
Life 08-22-55

What is going on here? Guests of the melodrama Flying Scud were given cardboard mustaches upon admission to the basement theater of Cripple Creek, Colorado’s Imperial Hotel. Once disguised, they were encouraged to jeer at the villain as he tried to sully the honor of an innocent maiden. In that 1955 season, more than 20,000 people donned faux ‘staches in those seats.

The theater closed in the early 1990s when the Imperial was converted to a casino. The theater, however was left intact in the basement of the hotel, and in 2009, life was restored to the Imperial, including the Gold Bar Theater. Perhaps you could find yourselves seated at one of those checkered tablecloths, too!

That Looks Flimsy

American Home June 69
American Home June 69

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Whoa. Hold up. What is this hideous atrocity of plastic, stuck beneath the wooden cabinets? It looks like they ripped the crisper drawers out of a dozen refrigerators and glued them shoulder-level (little people would hate these), just waiting for the day they would snap off, break, and slice into your wrist, making people think you were suicidal, when all you did was try to find a whisk.

1949: Year Of The Better Sweater

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Greetings from the perky staff of the 1949 Redskin Yearbook from Oklahoma A&M University! Before folks wore Christmas sweaters ironically, they wore them to keep warm during winter. 1949 was clearly a sweater heyday, with these two staffers partial to forest creatures. Each time Barney Neal checked his reflection in the mirror, he reminded himself, “Hey, Barney–if that deer can jump over that stick, you can overcome any obstacle.” Sweaters were empowering!

This pretty co-ed favored moose.

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Others preferred fowl. A bird in flight sent a clear message: Don’t even try to clip my wings, honey. The war is over, I’m free as a bird, and this bird you cannot change.  

Polar bears were big with the big men on campus, especially bears in face-to-face confrontation.

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Sweaters even ventured into Aztec territory! So multi-cultural! His gal Suzy nearly exhausted herself applauding his fashion choice and had to rest her palms on this 1905 stone.

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And don’t forget: sweaters were great to wear while sharing gossip! Look at Phyllis wearing a platypus sweater. So gauche! Everyone knows bunnies and swans are where it’s at. 

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