The poetry of Don Blanding / Vagabond's House

What, no guesses on Joe Chastek's third restaurant?

Here are some close-ups of my new postcard.

And a really cool Christmas matchbook that Cheryl Crill posted in her Matchcover newsletter.

Finally a screen grab from a 1964 episode of Burke's Law that shows the Vagabond's House building.

DC

Joe Chastek's second nightclub was the Tradewinds, and it's driving me nuts that I can't find any photos or ephemera of the place (on line or anywhere).
How about you Dusty? Any images?
aloha, tikicoma

On 2012-11-15 20:02, tikicoma wrote:
Joe Chastek's second nightclub was the Tradewinds, and it's driving me nuts that I can't find any photos or ephemera of the place (on line or anywhere).
How about you Dusty? Any images?
aloha, tikicoma

You are correct sir! An yes I have some paper on the Trade Winds. Will post soon.

DC

Here is the link to the Trade Winds thread I started.

Trade Winds

DC

Picked up this old news wire photo showing a more "mature" Joe Chastek and the interior of the Vagabond's House.

Joe is the second from the right. The other gents are baseball men from the Minnesota Twins who were in town for the first ever game played by the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles in April of 1961.

DC

A menu cover I saw some time ago, nice one.

DC

...the Dayak design of which was discussed on page 1 and 2 of this thread:

And here is a nice little pocket puzzle, with some wonderful Polynesian pop poetry:

You can read some more about Blanding's design work for Vernon Kilns at http://www.replacements.com/thismonth/archive/v1011d.htm

The handpainted aquarium design is very rare. http://www.don-blanding.com/vernon.htm

A company called Hawaiian Islands Tea Company puts snippets of Don Blanding's poems on some of their boxes of tea.
Such as:
"So many days throughout the year I drink my cup of herbal cheer. It warms the body and calms the soul. No fragrance, tint or taste is missed, in Nature's wonderous teatime gift." Adapted from My Hawaiian Garden by Hawaii Poet Don Blanding.

Aloha,

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii. Mahalo Don Blanding where ever you may be...

I just spotted the Vagabond's House in a 1964 episode of "Burke's Law" entitled "Who Killed WHO IV" (the show that of course also featured Don the Beachcomber bartender Leon Lontoc).

Incidentally, I know my parents went there some time in the early 60's, because my mother brought home a couple of matchbooks which I still have:

Caltiki Brent

Here is something fun for my Tiki/Hawaiian collector friends out their that are always going to thrift stores and enjoy the hunt to preserve our Tiki/Hawaiian History.
This last week I found 20 Sealed copy"s of Don Blanding "Vagabonds House". Published in the mid-1950's on Red Wax.
He was considered the Original Tiki Poet.

Wow - excellent! I sure would like to buy one are you going to put any up for sale?

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

On 2014-02-06 15:47, DJLee wrote:
Wow - excellent! I sure would like to buy one are you going to put any up for sale?

Yes! This!

On 2014-04-19 13:57, Wildsville man wrote:
This will be the first Tiki Marketplace that Tiki Caliente will be vending at,and we will not disappoint. Some Items that we will have for sale.
Send me a P.M. if you would like to pre-pay for limited inventory pieces or to request me to bring a certain size tee.

1. Original still sealed Don Blanding Vagabond Red Wax LP from the 1940's for $25.00 Cash (plus fee's for paypal) I will only bring 1.
   Check out the History here or look up the article by Kari Hendler in an old article of Tiki Magazine.
   http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=28990&forum=1&start=0&hilite=don%20blanding
   

See you in a week,
W

You should have been at the Tiki Marketplace last Saturday!

I wish I had been! But it's 800 miles away from me, and my feet hurt.

On 2012-09-24 00:28, virani wrote:
In this great article "I'll be your tiki server" by Charles Perry, from 2001, the author shares your theory about Don the Beachcomber beign influenced by Don Blanding for picking his stage name. Very interesting. Sven, were you interviewed for this article ?

http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/17/food/fo-13069

it says :

In 1934, when he opened his original Don the Beachcomber bar in Hollywood (it started serving Chinese food in 1937), he'd never been to the South Pacific, so he was probably under the spell of Don Blanding, a writer popular in the '20s for his poems about Hawaii. Certainly Beaumont-Gantt didn't name his restaurant Ernest the Beachcomber.

Just adding to what Phil said. Donn's older brother, and the wealthiest of the family (he was Donn's partner in most businesses), Hugh Gantt owned and ran a pottery company in Hawaii called "Hawaiian Pottery" in the 1920s. Hugh's wife was the artist. I believe this was where the mugs came from as they had no marks on their works, only on the molds themselves. It was through his brother Hugh that Donn visited Hawaii.