My mother just showed me some photos that she bought on her first visit to Marvel Cave on Aug. 5, 1952. I posted them here: http://goo.gl/3uOli (http://goo.gl/3uOli)
She had just graduated high school at the time (Humansville High School, Humansville, MO - go Tigers!). She visited Marvel Cave and the Shepherd of the Hills area with a group from a church camp at Hollister. She said there was no tram yet, no Hospitality House, and of course no Silver Dollar City.
The copyright mark on the photos appears to say 1951, so these photos were very recent when she bought them.
Really cool pictures. My folks were there in the summer of '52 as well...on their honeymoon.
Dang! Them are great! Thanks for sharing.
Some things never change. The pile in the Cathedral Room looks exactly the same 60 years later. Thanks for sharing!
Did you notice the WOODEN entry tower and the WOODEN stairs at various points...then just walking on the cave floor instead of concrete walkways with metal handrails? This is the way the cave looked just a couple of years into the Hershend lease, almost the same as when the Lynch Sisters had it. Great photos, thanks for sharing.
Not to mention Junior the fact that the folks are leaving the cave in the Cathedral Room-Look closely, they are walking UP the hill towards the tower to leave the cave for the fact that the cave train was not in operation until 1957, and by the looks of these photos (with mixed dates) range from 1934-1951. Before the train was installed, the cave route was an out and back, both entering and leaving on the same path.
Rube, I hadn't noticed that the copyright dates were different for some photos. Nor had I noticed that the visitors were walking up towards the tower. You have a sharp eye!
Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing.
Where are the Kewpie pools in the cave? Are they part of the tour and I just know them as a different name or are they not part of the tour?
Wow, incredible photos! I know it's a bit cliché, but those are literally snap shots in time. It's amazing what bits of history can seep up from family albums.