Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Hippies at Knott's Berry Farm

Anonymous writes about how the hippies "ruined" Knott's Berry Farm...

I grew up less than a mile away from Knotts in the sixties. We used to go there and hang out. It was free to get in before the Hippies ruined it. Knotts started charging admission to get them to stop loitering. Nothing against against the Hippies though. Great place to go on a Sat night and try to pick up girls.Knotts had a park in back that was short lived . I believe it was called "jungle island". You paid 50 cents to get in and you got to play there all day-what a blast. We used to buy our cigaretts at the "pottery shop" that was across the street from Knotts. They had a machine in the back. Nobody was ever looking and for 35 cents we got a hard box of Marlboros. Next to it was the Alligator farm. Who out there remembers that place?
Coincidentally, another commenter, Dave, posted a note a couple of years ago making a similar comment...
The hippies were sleeping in the parking lot, so thats when they fenced it in, and they wide the tracks for the train to run on, and charged a quarter for admission.
I didn't realize that Knott's changed from being free admission to paid admission as a way to get rid of hippies, but I guess that's one way. But it seems to me that as the park grew larger and larger, charging a fee would eventually happen anyways.

14 comments:

  1. I was too young for hippies at Knott's, but I remember seeing pictures of the day the hippies took over Tom Sawyer's Island at Disneyland.

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  2. My recollection was that Knott's was fenced because it was a destination for motorcycle gangs.

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  3. By coincidence, I was just telling someone today that the frequent long visits by the Hell's Angels under the trees just east and north (but on the west of Beach) of where the ticket gates now stand where why I remember the fence and gates going up... the hippies were around but I really seem to remember the bikers being the problem, or maybe the excuse to start charging!

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  4. They also had a problem with people using Knotts as a place to buy and sell drugs. My husband worked there in the 1970s and Mr. & Mrs. Knott still lived on the Farm. There house was well hiddend behind the Chicken Dinner Restaurant and was their original farm house.

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  5. I remember my parents taking us to Knott's to ride the carousel that, if I remember right was around '63-'65, in a park like area with large trees and picnic tables. We would bring a picnic lunch and spend the day. We would also visit Virginia's gift shop and the farm animal part of Knott's. My favorite was the mule driven swing ride.
    I also remember the pottery shack and the alligator farm! I liked the show with the alligator that went down a slide. My parents still have a stuffed baby alligator that we bought there, which would now be extremely politically incorrect! lol
    The carousel is now located at Castle Park in Riverside. I rode it when my kids were little, and it brought back many happy memories..

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  6. I grew up, literally, across the street from Knotts; it was my backyard and playground. I remember the stories about the “evil hippies”, but I NEVER encountered a single one. Even though I was a kid at the time, I was still cynical. When the fence went up and the ticket booths were installed, I figured they just wanted to start charging admission like Disneyland. It was bound to happen.

    As I recall, the first admission prices were 75 cents for adults and 25 cents for kids. Jungle Island was NOT short lived. I believe it had a 25 cent admission, even before the gates went up. Of course, my memory could be hazy. Probably from all that second-hand hippie pot smoke I inhaled in my youth. ;-D

    Karen

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  7. I remember our sixth grade class from Sunnyside Elementary in Garden Grove square danced in the wagon circle at Knott's in 1966.

    The Park was all open and free then. We would go in just to get licorice and root beer barrel candy at the general store.

    Remember the little round building that sold religious LP's? I remember seeing a clear red record of Elvis singing gospel songs. Which struck me as odd because we were taught that Elvis was a sinful rock-n-roller in 1964.

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  8. we used to ride our bmx bikes back behind the jungle island. it used to be a boat ride that went went back and forth down these channels. it was long closed and drained when we were riding around. we also found the knott's junk pile back in there with old wagons and stuff sitting around

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  9. On a calm night I could lay in bed and hear the seals barking in they're pool. I could smell the cottonwood fire in the wagon train. I grew up listening to the sound of a steam train engine. My dad used to bring our kitchen knives to sharpen on the stone wheel in the barn full of old implements just down from the blacksmiths shop. On a winter night I would go into the general store to buy penny candy, there was a potbelly stove going and local farmers would be sitting around it. I wondered when I'd be old enough to sit in one of those chairs.I remember so much more.I would give a great deal to go back through there the way it was, just once.

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  10. I remember Jungle Island & the boat rides, I recall they were over in the area where now the Independence Hall is. Actually more north of there were they have the Ford run in the big parking lot now. I lived about 3 miles away and us kids could hear the train in the early evenings. The alligator farm was cool, but every time family came to visit we had to go to the Japanese deer park. Anyone remember that place?

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  11. I can only remember in my early childhood Knott's not being fenced in.
    Just before it was fenced, my mother and I would walk to Knott's and as a special treat, she would purchase a ride on the burros for me.
    In later years (80's thru Y2K) I would work at Knott's and hear a lot of the stories that made that place different from just a place to work.
    Some of the particular stories were of Steve Knott having run-ins with biker gangs.

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  12. I too remember Jungle Island. My mom would drop us kids off there for the day to play. We would have so much fun just running wild all over. I also celebrated my 10th B-Day in a tree house at Knotts and the petting zoo. Where we rode the horse swing and on the backs of large turtles. Good times.

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  13. My grandfather lived with us in the 60s and I vividly recall mumerous visits to Knott's because he just adored the can-can girls.

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  14. I too grew up about 3 miles from Knott's. When the fence went up, it was "to keep the hippies out". I lived in the "San Tract" and "Hippie Corner" was Holder and San Lorenzo. Anyone remember? We would go to Knott's to ride the carousel and get cotton candy. Years later, I would take my little sister to the "free side" to ride the train and feed the ducks. We loved the cars at "Henry's Livery"! When we ate at Sambo's across the street, we wished we were driving the cars instead. Remember the Haunted Shack? That was fun, and made you dizzy! What about Gypsy camp, before the Roaring 20s was built in the 70's. The caves with shops and arcades. It was Cheesy.. It was wonderful! In 1977 - a good looking guy asked me to dance, (Cloud 9!) we got married years later. Still get a chill walking through Ghost Town, it's like going back in time.

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