Frontier Village - The Last Day (2014)
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2014
- Extremely rare film of Frontier Village in San Jose, California. Frontier Village is a gone-but-not-forgotten charming regional theme park. In September of 1980 Carol and I went to the park several times during the last few weeks of its existence. We captured the very last day with Super 8mm Sound movie film on September 28, 1980. Everything you see here was happening for the last time at the park, including the popular gun fight. The production has been 34 years in the making! What set things in motion for me to finally complete the video was quality digitization of the Super 8mm Sound movie reels. My sincere thanks to David Manzo of the 'Lost California' TV series for accomplishing that. Set your computer or TV to the highest resolution it will allow (hopefully 1080p), sit back and enjoy! I hope you enjoy this jump back in time, many of us still miss the charming little park. In fact, in 2000 I created and premiered www.frontiervillage.net, the Remembering Frontier Village website. That website resulted in annual Frontier Village fan/employee reunion picnics at Edenvale Park, for which I am extremely proud! If you enjoy the film, please feel free to explore my channel by clicking on my name above. Subscribers are welcome, I have many more films and videos to come!
Appearances in Last Day 8mm film:
3:05 Time jump to September 28, 1980
3:36 Carol Stephens in striped top, entering turnstile. (now Carol Pedersen)
5:09 Bart Biaggi in blue shirt opening the car doors of Lost Dutchman Mine Ride
5:34 Stunt Show-The Fall Guys: Chuck Lowe, Randy Mitchell, Bill Perry, Yogi Bear (Mike K.)
8:35 Silver Dollar Saloon musicians-The Gaslite Gang: Kevin McCabe, Debbie Hartford-Weitzel, Bruce Jolly, Scott Hartford
8:41 Last gunfight: Marshal Tim Cole (wearing light beige and yelling at 'J.Lee.')
8:55 Fall Guy Chuck Lowe walks by in cowboy hat, helping with crowd control
9:05 Villian #1-? (red scarf & suspenders), Villian #2-? (in black, white scarf), Villian #3-? (in black, with eye patch)
9:15 Watching gunfight: Ed Hutton, President & General Manager (red name badge, holding cup), Joanie Schuller (to right of Ed), Larry Schuller, Director of Marketing (to left of Ed), Clyde Adamson (turned to his right), Bill Perry (with beard & cowboy hat)
9:53 filmmaker cameo (a few years prior to going veggie!)
My grandfather helped build Frontier Village. We used to go all the time when I was a youngin'.
Holy crap!!! I’ve had this half memory in my head for decades of fishing in a crowded pond as a little kid, but I could never remember where it was. And no one in my family seemed to know either. After watching this and seeing the fishing pond with the fountain in the middle, now I know where it was! :-D
RhonyLynn that's so cool!
Ahh - Frontier Village - my home away from home! Before the park had anything but trees and shrubs I walked the site with Marshall Ron - swam in the trout pond on several hot San Jose days - visited the animals collected for the exhibit mainly the bison because we welcomed him upon his arrival to California - Bambi, first penned dear was bottled fed in my yard until he could go to the park. My sisters and I ran the streets of the Village during the early summers and performed in the saloon and on the outdoor stage. We marveled at Indian Jim's stories, we knew all the "bad guys" as Mr. so-and-so, we anxiously watched Len Johnson, the stage coach driver, as he handled the horses and burros, just waiting for our turns to ride.
We made lasting memories those first few years - so much so that I returned as a sixteen year old to work as the ticket taker for the train and merry-go-round.
Frontier Village was a kids dream and there is no place like it and never will be!
Thanks for the memories!
One more thing: watching this film, it is astonishing how many rides and attractions they managed to squeeze into such a small parcel of land.
My job had their company picnic there in 1978, so I got to see it near the end. 1st time I went was around 1965 when I was five. I still have the paint "spin-art" I made there at the time.
Thank you for the memories. I was 9 when it closed but remember it perfectly. We still have the dot matrix print out of our faced framed and hanging up at Mom's house.
if i ever become a billionaire because its so dam expensive to live their i would bring it back 100%,i sure do miss them days! i rememeber santas village on top of the hill on hwy 17,sad when these 2 closed.
I miss Frontier Village, I had many many great memories there!
The best days of my youth in the summer.
I loved Frontier Village , Santa Village, and The Fun House on Santa Cruz Boardwalk.
I still have 8mm movies taken here. So many great memories. I loved the lost dutch man mine ride, always jumped at the falling rocks, lol
First time I went to F.V. was in 1966, when I was 4 y.o. We would spend all day there, and it was so fun. I have a few pics of that day, and others. My dad & uncles had many company picnics there. That place was magical to me. Thank you for the film, though it is very bittersweet to watch, as my dad and uncles are all passed away now.
John Smith Thank you so much for sharing your story. Good memories are a wondeful thing!
I feel you. My Grandmother used to take us kids there all the time. Watching this brings back so many memories of her.
Loved that place. Wish it was open for my son and Grandkids to experience.
Cannot say enough good things about Frontier Village. It provided lots of good jobs to our High School students, who learned a lot about hospitality and good wholesome fun as they all looked after the "Lil Pardners" who had the run of the village. Whenever they got where they shouldn't be, the PA would let Mom and Dad know where to find em. My daughter Jeri ran the Mine Ride (& many other things) and Robert entertained as Yogi Bear (loved the hugs) and was part of many of the staged gunfights. Many thanks to Kim Pedersen for sharing his video.
Thanks for the memories. My father was in charge of maintenance there so I spend my childhood there. Nice seeing people that I have not seen in years.
Wow, hoped that I'd see me and my brother running around in the background someplace. We were there on that last day. Was so sad when it closed, we looked forward to summer coming so we could go there. Lots of fun and good memories.
I wouldn’t change my growing up in San Jose, Ca. for any other place in the world.
In my lifetime I’ve watched in change from nothing, to something special, to the capital of corruption that it is today.
I remember when, “ladies of the night” worked right by the chamber in front of the hotels, Tapestry n Talent was an event you didn’t miss every year. (My mom made me volunteer to work) The Winchester Mystery House was an abandoned farm house. Frontier Village was the place to spend your b-day. Great America was great like America was great. And Santa lived in his Village during the off season.
My mother worked for the Chamber of Commerce for over thirty years up until it was taken over and she was “dissolved” by the corrupt secret society that controls everything today.
Frontier Village & Vasona, was where the company picnic would take place every year. I loved going to those company picnics!
Keith Kittle, Shozo, and many others made San Jose a better place!
This video really hit home for me in so many different ways. Just last Saturday (6-29-24) we had the annual Frontier Village picnic at Edenvale Garden Park. I lead the tour of the site and pointed out what was left of Frontier Village, as always. Ever since my good friend Kim Pedersen passed away a few years ago, I always have a lump in my throat every time that I give the tour. The first few years of the picnics, I actually gave the tour along with Kim. We both had a tacky sense of humor on those early tours that was fueled by our back and forth banter, but looking back, everyone had a great time and everyone always had a good laugh. I miss those days and, truth be told, my Frontier Village tours now are nowhere near as good as those early ones with Kim by my side.
Hearing his voice in this video put a lump in my throat. I miss him and the great times that we had together.
Thank you so much for sharing this video and the rest of Kim's videos with everyone in the world. He will always be missed.
Love to hear your wonderful words about Kim. I’m also glad his videos are still pleasing to watch. There are so many ❤️
this is why our kids are in so much trouble theses days, they don't have fun family places like this any more great film thank you for sharing
Yes that is part of the problem but yet there are places with amusement parks where kids can still go to and there cases with kids starting trouble in the park and even bringing spray cans to graffiti.
I remember this place as a kid. I loved it!
Thank you so much for sharing this awesome video. I worked at FV back in the mid 70's, and went there on the last day. So many good memories of that place.
Hi. I'm glad that there was a little bit of footage of the petting zoo. I had worked there as a teen from 78 to 1980. Out of all the jobs I've worked at since then, I'm glad that this place was my first since it was a very positive experience as a 1st job. I try to apply that positivity to everything else I have done since.
I grew up in san Jose. I remember frontier village. i have so many childhoods memories from there. it was special place. too bad it closed worse that it could not come back
Thanks for sharing this. I love the old footage over just photos. I wish there was more of it out there and footage that showed all the rides and attractions.
This was the best amusement park in the Bay Area. It was always enjoyable and you never had outrageous lines to wait in for rides and attractions. It had a real laid back feel, something that Great America never had. It's a shame that the city allowed local residents that lived next to the park to complain to the point of forcing it to shut down. The park was there before the homes around it were built. That is like moving next to an airport then complaining about the noise and traffic. They decided to move there. They knew the park was there. The city should have allowed the park to expand like they planned rather than basically forcing them to close. You don't find parks with that cozy atmosphere any more...
Aweee I remember... lovely film!
This brought back memories, My Dad job would hold picnic's there every year back in the late 70s, He would be the one to bbq all the meat for his company, Ah the good old days.
OMG! the memories!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Carol! That placed should never have been closed!
I loved this place! My mom worked at IBM, and they had their annual family fun day at Frontier Village every year, so, along with my own visits, I went there often. We only lived a about five miles away. I’m so happy others remember it and posted videos, so we can relive it in a way. Loved it! Miss it!
Thanks for posting! I'd forgotten how much fun Frontier Village was, went there as a kid with my family.
I used to live off Blossom Hill Rd and would go often. I was so angry and sad when it closed... Still get emotional every time I drive southbound Monterey Rd approaching the Hayes Mansion.
Feel the same way about demolishing the significant historical buildings in Alum Rock Park. Upsetting when a few can take away history from all future generations.
Incredible! I miss the old days
I lived on Rue tours Court he live around the corner on the street
Thank you for sharing a childhood favorite of mine!
I can still remember working a guard post at Hayes Mansion prior to its renovation and wondering over to what was left of the village. A sign here or there but that was about it. Still, I would gaze through the chain link fence remembering the fun I had on the other side just a decade before.
What a great video! I really enjoyed watching it but at the same time my heart was crying because I miss frontier village so much! I have a lot of fun memories of the park as a child!😢😢😢
I was 5 at this time and I still remember thanks for the video it really brings back memories.
I was there on the last day with my brother and some friends. We loved that place and lived within walking distance. Good memories of a simpler time in my life.
That was great!! Well done. I didn't work at the park but went with mmy family, neighbors, cub scout pack a couple of dozen times. Nice to see the footage of the park. Exactly how I remember it. Thank you for creating this great piece
Wow!! I truly miss that place. I was born and grew up in San Jose. We went to Frontier Village several times then sadly they closed it for good. Damnit!!! Great memories tho. Thanks for the video.
This is so cool! Sucks that places like these get shutdown and now we have to travel far to go to neat places like these
Great SJ memories! Thank you so much for this wonderful piece of history!
I remember going their with you and your family,you were a foot taller then me back then, (mark)
Thanks for this video! I've only been to frontier a couple of times during the mid seventys. I loved that place
Great video! Thanks for posting. Ain’t nothin like the old days 😥
Thankyou, very much, for bringing back the memories, athough like many, I will never forget everything about all the years we so enjoyed the place. It is missed, as much as my first camaro, i bought at 16 years old
Thank you for sharing this video.....It brought back so many great memories
My grandmother used to take us kids there all the time. I feel a little of her spirit every time I see footage and pictures of the park.
***** That's wonderful, thank you for sharing that.
Thank you for putting this together and sharing it with us! Great memories.
Until I saw the Ferris Wheel, I remembered that Frontier Village's Ferris Wheel was my first ever ride on one.
What great memories were made here at Frontier Village! Thanks for sharing!
Me and my childhood friend Jackie lived a few blocks away his mom work there we would sneak into the park and jump on the train and then jump off
Thank you for the memories, caught A lot of fish in that pond! I was about 8 years old then.
Great film.
Thanks for sharing this movie with us. I was born in 1953 in San Jose and lived there for almost 60 years before moving out of state 10 years ago. I went to FV several times and my visits were ok but overall, I found it sort of boring, even though I hated to see it close. The appearance of Great America in 1976 in nearby Santa Clara took away a lot of FV business and that was the beginning of the end for FV just 4 years later. There were a group of people in the area who put up quite a fight to save FV but their efforts were futile in the end. I enjoyed the nearby Frontier Drive-In Theater more but I think it closed before FV did since the drive-in theaters were dying out in the late 70's in the Santa Clara Valley. 😎
that was awesome! Thanks for the memories!
One of our favorite places to visit as kids!!! Thanks for this amazing video.❤👍❤ I remember catching my first trout at Frontier Village.
Thank you for sharing that!
Thank you for sharing, great video!
Thanks for this! I never even took any photos. Love the images of the current annual gathering; I'll have to check it out.
My compliments on that very nice now-to-then transition, and the film more generally. As much as I have enjoyed Great America over the years, I have always felt that losing both Frontier Village and Santa's Village was a bit too high a price to pay.
Robert Anderson Thank you Robert. That transition scene certainly took some effort, and it is my favorite part as a result. A jump back in time!
I caught my first fish there! Thanks for the memories.
Nicely done.
Cool video filled with many memories. I also remember El Sito Mysterio where small people became big and big people became small! Also, water in a trough ran uphill!
Thanks for sharing, a real treat!
We jumped the fence and sneaked in thru the group picnic areas, then would sneak onto the rides until we got caught and booted out....harmless fun it was!
this was so great to watch! I loved going to frontier village when I was young. thank you so much for sharing this!
+Debbie Ierano Thanks kindly, I really appreciate that.
This video was SO special to watch. I went to Frontier Village many times as a kid. We lived not too far from it. Always loved the place.
It was a great place to be able to be where you could be free and have the best adventures. Spent a lot of time at Frontier Village.
My parent's dated at Frontier Village back in 1966. It was the 2nd marriage for both of them so us kids were already there in tow. I have fond memories of the place.
I remembr visiting it in 1978 or so...fun place. The Dutchman ride, i can still hear his voice at the beginning...
The world is a much sadder place without all of these smaller family oriented parks. I was fortunate enough to have gone to this one in the 70's, along with Playland at the Beach, Santa's Village, The Ponderosa Ranch, at Incline Village......
It brings back child hood memories during company picnic day with Beckman Instruments with my dad. Thanks for sharing.
I worked here from 1978 to the last day at the petting zoo. It was the best place for a first time job as a teen. I sure miss it
Loved this Kim. Thank's so much for posting.
Great footage! Thank you for the upload. :)
Bravo!! Nice to see the park in color with sound! Love it! Thank you!
Never got to see this park. Thanks for sharing! Looked like a fun place to take your family!
Train town in Sonoma, blast from the past, popular as ever. Great film, brings a smile to my face GOOD TIMES!
For the memories a Heart-Felt Thanks!!!
I moved to Monterey in 1978 and saw the FV commercials a lot (including the last roundup), but I never got to go. Thanks for the info.
I'm crying right now! So many memories!
I remember going there as a kid and seeing huckleberry hound. Thanks for sharing this video!
Thanks for sharing
Well done. Great footage.
Rod Chatfield Thanks kindly Rod, glad you enjoyed it.
Parents: if you have several children who are several years apart, and have taken the older ones to all the local attractions, please remember that the younger ones have not been there and try to take them, too. My older brothers got the best years of Frontier Village, Santa's Village, the Boardwalk, etc. and by the time I came along my dad was pretty much "done" with them all, so I only very rarely got to go, usually if friends had birthday parties there. I think I was at FV only once, because all the noise bothered my dad. I wish Mom had been able to drive; she and I would have had such fun.
I wasn't even born while the park was open or when it closed but seeing all of the videos of Frontier Village makes me wish they would've kept it around. The Bay Area could use an actual "theme park"!
Wasn't Great America considered a "theme park?" 🤔
@@DougCelesteMarine World too lol
I was 8 years old and remember the last days of Frontier Village well; parents were not happy with it's closure...
@@tailgatecarpenter26 Why did they regret the drive each year after?
I remember when my mom took us kids to Frontier Village the western gun fights reenactment looked so real . fond childhood memories.
Hard to believe that California was once a fun place for families to visit. Now, if we hear gunfire, it's from gangmembers doing drive bys. Last time I visited the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose just before the pandemic, it was surrounded by homeless. Sadly, the family who parked next to had their van broken into, and their posssesions stolen. This year, it was my turn at a rest stop on the I-5. Well, at least Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm still survive.
The first time I French kissed was on the lost Dutchman mine from when I was 12.
No one calls it French kissin anymore. It’s swapping spit. Get it right 😂
@@silkoakranchpitchforkranch1205 I like "French Kissing" better.
Been there many times school field trips. Moved out of state back in 1984 like so many others. Now live in the Appalachian mts where down to earth women that don't need make-up and plenty to go around. Love it.
If your mom is Mary and you had a sister Linda, then I lived on your street. 👊
I was only 8 when it closed but went there several times. Even have pics of my 3 y/o brother & me there. The Bay Area was so different then. Santa’s Village. Original Marine World. Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Great America (when the name still meant something) Even 94th Aero Squadron for a bite. (sigh) PS: no one’s slapping seat belts & safety helmets on the kids 8 feet off the ground on the roof of the stagecoaches. And we all made it. How’d we allow this society to become this, when we were given places like Frontier Village???
I like how it's assumed that "we all made it" when, unfortunately there are those that didn't thus are not around to tell about it. Just like a friend of mine said how he used to climb all over the back seat in the car and up in the space where the rear window was and when his mother had to slam on the breaks, he was thrown forward but was fine. We are the same age. Now when I was a kid, there were seat belts (early 1970s) and my mother would make me wear them saying that if we get into an accident, I won't "go through the window" (front windshield). Perhaps someone fell off the stagecoach at a different location. Well it didn't happen here" or "that's only one time" could be the narrative. Sometimes all it takes is one, but that's one person who won't be able to tell about it... or may be able to do so but no longer have a limb or the ability to walk.
Nobody (plural) just wakes up one day and decides to start requiring seat belts, helmets, masks, etc.
Yes I liked when I had only a lap bar on the Tidal Wave at Great America and could hold my hands up while barreling through the loop in the 7th grade while some stupid 8th grader would complain why you put your hands up? What if the ride stopped in the loop (not possible)? Are you supposed to land on your hands? Okay so the lap bar may have been enough on that ride but on a different roller coaster where the riders would get "air time", a lap bar was not enough to keep someone from actually flying out of the car and falling to their death. Yes one "freak accident" but that's one too many and even if lawsuits were not as abundant and easily filed as today, you can bet there was some liability that the park incurred.
I also noticed the kids high up on the stagecoach with no barriers to prevent falls. I wonder if any kids or adults did fall off and got hurt. I also noticed the door of one of those cave cars opening up before the car stopped for the passengers to get off. Glad no one fell out.
I remember visiting the very last week of before closing :(
Me too. It was packed with people.
My brother, Ed, and I at ages 10 and 12 took the city bus across town to Frontier Village with no incident. We enjoyed the day then Mom came and picked us up.
I think it was inspiration for creating our own Backyard Roller Coaster: facebook.com/866583590020005/photos/a.866627496682281.1073741828.866583590020005/866632170015147/?type=1&theater
Ah. Back in the day! It was a great little Wild West amusement park! Simplicity at its best! The best part of it that it was not a zoo packed full of people like todays parks.
The train was completely restored and can be seen on you tube "The Story of Burke Junction Railroad" or "Burke Junction Train Inaugural 2010".
Luvd the video❤️❤️❤️👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼❤️❤️❤️❤️👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Does anybody remember the old Frontier drive-in?
I never made it there in all the time I lived there, but at least one sibling did.
They should recreate the concept in Old Sacramento. It could be similar to Santa Cruz where you can purchase amusement ride tickets or just stroll around the compound.
Was the Lost Dutchman Mine ride made by the same people who did the original Cave Train in Santa Cruz? Would be great if someone did a video recreation of it.
The park closed on the year I was born.
What ever happened to the shooting gallery?
went there as a kid no one told me the gunfight was fake messed me up big time wont even hold a toy gun now
Hi what year was this filmed the little boy at 3:55 waiting for the train to go by looks just like me. My mom has pictures somewhere of me in a shirt just like that one.
September 1980, the last 2 days before they closed