Pixieland, Oregon's Brigadoon

   Brigadoon, a mythical magical place that appears for a short time, then disappears, not to be seen for another 100 years. In 1969 Pixieland appeared near Lincoln City (Otis) on the Oregon coast, and a short four years later...disappeared. We have quite awhile to wait and see if that 100 years thing holds true, but Pixieland still appears in the memories of the folks that visited. I was one of those lucky few. I was born at the right time, and had wonderful Grandparents that liked to travel around the state with me in tow. I only remember small snippets of things about Pixieland, the train, the log ride, an odd bear dark ride, getting rock candy at one of the shops, and the surreal calm that the place seemed to exude. That calm, in adult terms, translates to "very few customers" possibly explaining Pixieland's short life. It now just rides around in my head as a happy childhood memory...or does it?

   My collector's mentality won't let it just stay a simple memory, I wanna own it, see it again, get the T-shirt, and stick a snowglobe on the shelf. One could argue that all collecting is just that, that need to have the past be more than a memory, a thing you can see, touch, and never lose. So I collect Pixieland memorabilia, no surprise. There are figurines, metal trays, postcards, keychains, all the classic tourist items. I have many and most (not all), and always enjoy the thrill of the hunt. The one thing I hoped I'd find, is photos of my own visit, but haven't yet. My Grandma took pictures everywhere, but I have yet to run across any of Pixieland. In fact, if you search the internet, there are very few photos other than the sold postcards, or publicity shots that everyone seems to have.

   That is going to change though. I recently purchased a private collection of slides from the '50s, '60s, & '70s, and guess what...2 rows are marked "Pixieland". I'm excited for people to see some shots of the magical place that are not the same old postcard shots. I need to change them over to digital photos, and I'm still deciding the best way to present them. In the slides I also got a bunch of different vintage Oregon locations, parades and such....perhaps a CD with vintage Oregon attractions will show up in the near future. I don't want to be too protective, because I know there are folks who love Pixieland, but I also don't want a group of photos that I own to become plastered on every "Oregon of the Past" website or article. Stay tuned, Oregon's Brigadoon might be showing up here again realllll soon.


   On a side note, another love of mine is the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, and I just purchased two different groups of personal snap shots from it, fabulous Kodachrome. Those will be next.