Pixy PinUps from Penneys

These cute pictures of little Scotty weren't unfamiliar to me ... I'd seen them before, and they are saved in Dropbox (1964). While going through the "kid boxes" from the folk's house, I stumbled upon the originals. They were still stored in the initial envelope, which added some interesting information ...

Pixy Pin-ups! I did a Google search of Dunbar-Stanley Studios to see what was available about them, and found some unusual results. There were several lawsuits listed, although they all seemed to be the same one (Dunbar-Stanley Studios vs Alabama) dealing with licensing and taxes. There was another article on an antiques/collectables blog that gave some additional information on the company (Portraits by the Pound) indicating a gimmick for sales, where they would weigh the child, and that was the basis of the cost! Looking at the envelope holding Scotty's pictures, it looks like here in 1964 at this location they had switched to a flat rate for said photos. 

Dunbar-Stanley Studios were the exclusive photography studio of the J.C. Penney department store franchise. Some larger stores may have had a full-time photo studio, but the smaller stores made appointments with Dunbar-Stanley to send out a photographer for a few days at a time, several times a year. J.C. Penney actually made the sale, sharing a portion of the profit with Dunbar-Stanley Studios, and all the film was shipped off to North Carolina for processing.

According to an interview in the Victoria Advocate (TX)  in 1960, the business was tightly controlled to make baby photography as effective as possible. 

 The company would only employ “…young and unmarried women, many of whom are recruited from airline hostess schools”, and their training went beyond just clicking a shutter. Training included child psychology, and by the end of their training, whether literally or figuratively, the employees are “required to dismantle and reassemble the camera with her eyes closed.” 

A 1966 “Help Wanted: Female” listing from Eugene, Oregon, listed requirements as “Single and over 18; High school graduate; Have good character references.”

The ad outlines the benefits as well: salary during training, a company car with all expenses paid, and after 3 years a free trip to Europe to employees with ‘satisfactory service’. This army of young ladies, high-tech camera in hand, cruised the backroads of America from J.C. Penney to J.C. Penney, trying to get kids to smile. They were certainly successful with young Scotty!

The ‘Pixy’ name remained well into the 1990s, but the current J.C. Penney portrait studios aren’t run by Dunbar-Stanley anymore. Still, when I Googled "Where can I get portraits taken" today... JC Penneys was the first option to come up!

1964 Summary

What were the big news stories in 1964? Well, in the world, the Vietnam War was going on, there were race riots in many big cities, the Beatles topped the charts, there was a huge earthquake in Alaska, the U.S. Surgeon General reported that smoking may lead to lung cancer, and the Boston Strangler was apprehended. A little closer to home ...  LaMar turned 27 in May, Margie turned 22 in November and Scotty was experiencing his first year of life. The Westra family was living in Richland Village, 2031 Rainier.

From Dad/Lamar's notes:  Easter Sunday was 29 March 1964. Vacation trip to Utah, 22 May to 7 June 1964. The trip to Salt Lake took two days. We stayed at a motel in Ontario, Oregon. The trip back to Richland took two days. We stayed at a motel in Mountain Home, Idaho.  We purchased a freezer, 28 Aug 1964, GE, $225. We still had that freezer until 2010 or so. Bought a Christmas Tree 14 Dec. $1.50 Margie was teaching primary.  Bowling on Tuesdays.

It looks like they got a lot of family visits in during the Utah trip. Pictures with Grandpa Joe and Grandma Lucille (and Cousin Mauri), four generation shots ... Scotty, Margie, her dad Rex and his dad Herbert.  Scotty, Margie, her mom Zada, and her mom Hannah. Apparently the guys (Lamar, Arnold and Rex) had success fishing too! Back home to Washington where Scotty learned to crawl and walk and talk (check out the "When Scott Was Small" blog post for details). 

More Scott pictures from 1964 ...

The Blue Sweater

Uncovering old photographs, this picture of Mom/Margie and baby Scott surfaced. This would have been early 1964. Fun to see Dad/Lamar's shadow taking the picture too. But it was the blue sweater that sparked some memories and conversation.

Margie: Dad(Lamar) had a sweater like that. He can't remember if he got it in Europe someplace (he didn't go to Norway during his post-mission tour) or through his friend Jim Peterson (who went to Norway on his mission) after Dad got home. Soon after we got married, Dad got a contact through Jim, and had a Norwegian lady copy Dad's sweater and make a matching one for me.

Jen: I totally remember that blue sweater - although I didn't know there were two of them, I just assumed you were wearing Dads!

Margie: It hasn't fit me for many many years, so I am not sure what happened to either of them or if they are around here somewhere. Dad's probably fits well since he weighs about 15 lbs. less than he did back then!

 

A Letter from "Scotty"

While the Westra's have had these classic photos of baby Scotty typing away ... until now, it was unknown what exactly he was writing up. That mystery has been solved as this letter was uncovered!

 

I *think* Daddy may have helped with the writing of this letter ... although in future years, we'd see some fun writing from Scott (check out Covid-Free world, Covid Limmericks, 2020 Father'sDay Invitation and Dad's Moles and his new verses to "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"). While many things are recorded in journals and baby books (see "When Scott was Small" for tidbits from his baby book), a little letter like this includes some of the day-to-day things that could easily be forgotten. It's a fun peek at the past! 

Here's a transcription if the typed copy is too hard to read ...

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

This is your little grandson Scottie writing you a letter. I just learned how to type last week so you’ll have to pardon any of my mistakes. My daddy just took a picture of me typing this letter and he said to tell you he’ll be sending it as soon as he finishes the roll.

This has been quite a hectic week for me. My first tooth is still coming in and is bothering me quite a bit. I’m quite restless at night and this cuts into my sleepy time; my folks have been missing a little sleep too. I really enjoy our new air conditioner; it keeps me cool man, cool.

My daddy has a holiday today so he’s been home working in the garden. I’ve been out supervising and helping once in a while. I took my shirt off and have been getting a nice sun tan. Lots of my little friends came to see me while I was outside, and some of us went for a little walk together.

Tonight Vaunn and Laurie next door and I are going to have a barbeque. We’re letting our folks come too, of course.

I like my walker better now; and, boy, can I ever scoot around fast!

We got a jug of root beer yesterday, and it sure is yummy. I didn’t know what I was missing all this time!

We went water skiing today, but my mommy and I were too chicken to try it. My daddy went up twice and got dunked once. My daddy and I both got sunburns. We went with Jeff and Craig Downs, and they brought their folks to help put in the boat.

I got up at 4:00 this morning and made my daddy get up and play with me. He and I typed up some genealogy information for Uncle John and we are enclosing it with this letter. Since I got up so early this morning I’m pretty tired so I’ll hit the crib early tonight. Be sure and return my letter and tell me all the news from Salt Lake.

Love you all,

Scottie

Check out more of what was going on the year this was written

... pictures and recaps in the 1964 Summary.