Fifty years ago, construction began on one of the many roadside attractions that once lined the highways of America. However this wasnt another Mystery House, or even a dinosaur park, it was the Aquarama - an underwater mermaid show located in Osage Beach, Missouri. The show opened to the public in May of 1964 and quietly closed in 1973. In the years that followed, the memories of the show slowly faded away from the general public and the former performers tucked away their experiences and moved on with their lives. Seven years ago, we were at an antique show and ran across a stack of vintage brochures. The one that jumped out at us was a simple black and silver brochure with the word Aquarama on it along with the silhouette of a mermaid. We thought it would be a fun addition to our line of t-shirts so we bought the brochure and started our normal historical research for our website and the history tag that comes with each of our shirts. Initially, we didnt find much history and thought we might have to be satisfied with the few things we had uncovered. We were disappointed we couldnt find more, but sometimes, without a trip to the local library or historical society of the town the attraction was located in, the trail simply disappears. About a month after listing the Aquarama shirt on our website we got an order from a customer in Osage Beach, MO. We hoped that they knew of the Aquarama and that the shirt might bring back a few fond memories for them. A week or so later we got an email from the customer, Janie, letting us know how much she liked the shirt, wondering if wed have any interest in learning a little more about the Aquarama. Needless to say we were like kids on Christmas morning! Thanks to Janie, the door to the Aquarama had just cracked open for us. This was the first of what would become many discoveries as we worked to gather as much history as we could. Janie helped us identify several of the former performers and was the first Aquamaid we interviewed for our blog. That interview led to a comment from Pam, the granddaughter of the couple that built the Aquarama, letting us know we should get in touch with her uncle Marc as he could tell us just about everything we could ever want to know. Marc proved to not only remember just about every detail from the show, but also still had many of the original costumes, cast photos, and even the narration soundtrack from the show. (We bet that at this point weve spent more than 100 hours on the phone with him asking every question you could ever imagine relating to the creation and execution of his familys underwater show.) The first task we set for ourselves was to try and learn the names of all the former performers that had worked the show. The next logical step for us was to see how many of them we could locate. This would turn into a seven year quest as we worked our way through every resource available and finally, in April of 2013, we had a great phone conversation with our last-to-be-found Aquamaid. We can vividly recall our first contact with each person - well admit its a lot of fun to call someone out of the blue and say, "Were you by any chance a mermaid at the Aquarama in 1966?" The reactions are something well never forget, including those of the people who had no idea what we were talking about. Those years have given us great memories of phone calls, emails, shared souvenirs, and meeting the original Aqualad, Marc, and the original Aquamaid, Barbara, as they each passed through Portland, Oregon. Meanwhile, while we were looking for everyone, or mermaid wrangling as we liked to think of it, we thought, "Wouldnt it be great if someday there could be a reunion similar to the one held every few years at Weeki Wachee?" After talking about it for a couple of years we decided the time had come. We knew the location needed to be in Osage Beach and began the process of planning it from here in Oregon. Aquamaid Marlen was an invaluable help as was our friend Todd from over at Neato Coolville. The plan for the reunion was to get as many people together as we could for a Friday night dinner and an all-day picnic on Saturday. Everything came together smoothly and we counted down the days until the event. We kept an eye on the temperature in Osage Beach and things were rolling along in the 70s and 80s until three days before the picnic when we were faced with the one thing we couldnt control - the weather. The day we were flying out to Missouri was spent lining up an indoor venue for the picnic when thankfully Dean at the Tan-Tar-A Lodge came through with a wonderful gathering place. Friday and Saturday ended up being somewhere around 40 degrees so being outside would have been less than ideal for everyone! We arrived in Kansas City Thursday morning and headed for the Lake of the Ozarks. The plan was to have dinner with Marc and the original head Aquamaid Barbara that evening to kick off the weekend. While we had been lucky enough to have met both of them previously, Marc and Barbara had not seen each other since the end of the 1964 Aquarama season. It was incredible to see the Matador and the Bull from the 1964 postcard together again after 49 years. Dinner was fantastic, and we have to admit, the margaritas werent too shabby either. Fridays dinner was held at the Blue Room inside the City Grill and the time had arrived to finally meet all of the people we had spoken to on the phone and traded emails with over the years. The room was the perfect setting for everyone to catch up with each other and share memories of the show. We spent most of the evening thinking to ourselves how amazing it was to be sitting at dinner with the people we had only known from photos (that were now over four decades old). One of the highlights of the evening was the wonderful memorial display honoring Marcs parents, Wally and Nola, created by Marcs wife, Ann. The years quickly melted away and three hours seemed to pass in a matter of minutes. The evening ended with countless smiles and hugs and plans to see each other again the next day. Saturday found us at the Tan-Tar-A Lodge, which had become the host to our (thankfully now heated and dry) picnic. We brought a selection of the original costumes, played the slideshow from our Aquarama history presentation, and in the background, the music and narration from the 1965 and 1966 Aquarama shows. We had also brought scrapbooks we created containing original cast photos, newspaper clippings and advertisements from the show which we gave to everyone who came. Much of the day was spent signing each others books, sharing more stories, and posing for photos. Again the hours seemed to rush by. We ended the day trading more stories (and a great beer) with Aquamaid Judy who had made the trip from Texas to attend the reunion. Then, in what felt like the blink of an eye, the weekend was over. While we know well never have the experience of the first-ever" reunion again, were content in the knowledge that this was just another chapter in the story of the Aquarama...a story, and a group of people, that will always be a part of all of our lives. This event would not have been possible without the tremendous help of many people. Wed like to thank Marc and Ann for sharing their familys story with us, Janie for finding us and setting this entire experience in motion, Pam for pointing us toward her uncle Marc, Marlen for advice on local gathering spots, Todd for logistical support, Joe and his staff at the City Grill, Dean at the Tan-Tar-A Lodge, Lois at the Scottish Inn, Amy at Subway of Osage Beach, Spree from The Lake Sun News, Barbara from Rural Missouri Magazine and KRCG Channel 13. In closing, wed like say thank you to all of the Aquamaids and Aqualads that came to the event and warmly welcomed us to the family: Marc, Barbara, Janie, Quinetta, Judy, Sharon, Art, Daniel, Jim, Liz, Marlen, Marion, Kae, Sandra, Ginger, Wanda and Pam. And to those Aquamaids who couldnt be there - you were all missed tremendously and spoken of fondly. Jeff & Kelly Vintage Roadside

Weve had quite a few requests for our sold-out Caspers Alligator Farm t-shirt so we decided to reprint it just in time for the holidays. And, to add a new twist, weve decided to print it up on a one-time only Moss Green shirt. We just picked them up from our screenprinter and they turned out amazing.

Have you ever looked at a vintage postcard and wondered what the story was behind it? Whos the person in the photo? How did they end up there? What became of them? Being history geeks we end up asking ourselves these questions over and over as we look through the postcards, brochures, newspaper articles and promotional photos weve gathered as research for our line of t-shirts. With the release of our limited edition Atomic Tunnel t-shirt we decided to dig back into our research and see if we could uncover any new clues to the story behind "Floridas Biggest Little Attraction." The Atomic Tunnel was built by W.R. Johnston and offered guests the chance to see exotic birds, tropical fish, monkeys and the opportunity to be photographed as an Orchid Queen - all while wandering through a circular tunnel pierced with porthole windows. In addition to three wonderful brochures, the Tunnel also offered the staple of every roadside attraction - postcards. After several years of research weve come to the conclusion there were a total of three postcards offered in the few short years the Tunnel existed. Our favorite has always been the one showing a woman admiring one of the many orchids on display. Over the years weve looked at the card and wondered who she was. Did she work at the Tunnel? Did she have memories of the attraction? And the biggest question of all - was she still out there somewhere? All those questions, and more, were answered today in an amazing 90-minute phone call. The woman in the photo is Joy, an 87-year-old resident of Daytona Beach, and her appearance in the postcard was her second job as a model. Her first modeling job was appearing in a promotional brochure for the Elena Village Country Club, a post-WWII development in Daytona Beach. That work, which also included her two-year-old son, led to her being asked by a local marketing firm if she would be interested in working with the Atomic Tunnel. She remembers the Tunnel as being quite beautiful, with gorgeous birds and tropical fish, and how wonderful all of the orchids were. When asked about the red sweater she wore she remarked that red always makes her happy...and the one in the photo was very tight! :-) It was also quite an occasion when the photo was featured on the cover of the Sunday supplement that appeared in numerous Florida newspapers in May of 1955. We also talked about her family, a little about what we do, and all of those unrelated things you talk about when you meet someone for the first time. It was exciting to discover a shared love of history, of having traveled to some of the same places, and her involvement with the Daytona Beach Red Cross Volunteer Lifeguard reunions. But for us the most rewarding part of our conversation is that now, when we look at the postcard, we dont have to wonder who it is - its our friend Joy. And thats probably a pretty good way to explain why we do what we do. Jeff & Kelly Vintage Roadside

Weve got a couple of great limited edition t-shirts currently available over at the Vintage Roadside website! First up is the 2012 Jake the Alligator Man t-shirt. Each year Jake has an amazing Bachelor & Birthday Party up in Long Beach, WA and this is the fourth limited edition t-shirt weve created to honor the birthday boy. Limited to just 36 shirts, we currently have Mens Small - XL available here. Happy Wednesday! Jeff & Kelly Vintage Roadside

You know those days where you crave nothing but a real drive in cheeseburger? Not something from a chain, or that fancy "sit down" place, but a burger grilled just for you and, more often than not, with some sort of catchy name that makes it just that much better. And while youre at it you might as well throw in an order of fries and a milkshake, you know, as a way of showing further support for mom & pop businesses. They appreciate it and youll sleep even better after the meal. Heres an example of what were talking about. Ladies and gentleman exhibit A: Before we talk about the food we wanted to share a bit of the Big Tom history. For us the only thing better than a great roadside business is one with some history behind it and we were lucky enough to hear some of that history from the owner Michael. Originally founded in 1948, the Big Tom is the oldest "drive thru" restaurant in Washington state. Heres a look at the original building on the site:

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Photo courtesy of Eastside Big Tom_

Around 1960 or so the building was upgraded and locals were lining up for the "Big Tom" burger at the Eastside In & Out.

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Photo courtesy of Eastside Big Tom_

In 1969 the Fritsch family purchased the business (after working there for several years) and a new chapter was born with the Eastside Big Tom. In 2008 Michael Fritsch purchased the business from his parents and has devoted himself to quality food, great customer service and a welcome sense of humor as evidenced by this photo of him gamely posing with our mascot Stinky.

By now youre all asking, "How was the food!?" Were happy to report it was seriously one of the best drive in meals weve ever had. Wed also like to point out the customer service was completely on the ball and the entire place was spotless. And as any local drive in should, they do have their own special ingredient used not only as a dipping sauce, but also as a burger dressing. The name of this wonder ingredient - Goop! Weve enjoyed many special sauces over the miles but this one was unlike any wed had before. Heres a photo of Goop in action (in a Big Tom compostable container none the less):

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Photo courtesy of Eastside Big Tom_

Another great feature of the Big Tom menu is the amazing selection of milkshakes and malts. We went with the root beer milkshake on our visit and now have plans to work ourselves through the entire menu. We also enjoyed the atmosphere of the place - it felt like a roadside attraction and thats always a good thing!

The Eastside Big Tom is located at 2023 4th Ave East in Olympia, WA. Open 7 days a week, they accept cash or checks only but do have an ATM on site. For all of us who live out of the area, but still enjoy looking at photos of great drive in food presented with a bit of humor, you can become a fan of their Facebook page here. Until next time Big Tom...

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