THE TRAVELOGS OF YESTERYEAR

As far as I know, the trip to Yellowstone in 1926 was the only time that Ina traveled as a tourist. Other trips were made to visit family, not specifically to see the sights. She traveled by train to Seattle and Portland, except for that trip in 1949 when Uncle Earle flew her to Idaho Falls. Having crossed the Plains in a covered wagon in the 1870s and '80s, it seemed significant that she should experience air travel.   

As Ina and I recuperated from the Yellowstone trip in our respective centuries, I happened to remember her View-Master viewers and travel reels, which continue to be stored in the farmhouse. If you remember the View-Master viewers, you probably think of them as toys, but Ina had two viewers, and her reels were travelogs, not cartoons.

Ina's first View-Master

In the collection are reels of Yellowstone and Teton National Parks. I wish I could post some of these old images, but reproducing them is beyond my capabilities. (Perhaps not possible at all.) And while some images can be found online, I discovered that those Kodachrome colors have deteriorated over time. And the effect wouldn’t be the same anyway. The great thing about the View-Master was the 3D effect in vivid color.

My childhood viewer was a little different. It was manufactured under the name “Tru-View.” The card was rectangular instead of round. My mother often bought “knock-offs,” probably because she shopped through my grandfather’s John Plain discount catalog. I never complained but I saw the View-Master as more desirable. Apparently, the Sawyer company, manufacturer of the View-Master, bought the Tru-View Company and discontinued it. My viewer eventually broke, but I still have the cards, which are useless without the viewer.

I think my 40-something children had a View-Master and cartoon reels, but it just wasn’t the same for them as it was for Ina and me. It didn’t capture their imaginations, and this is understandable. They had television. And today’s children have their tablets.

Here’s a View-Master Manufacturing Timeline

• 1939: Debuted by Sawyer's at the New York World's Fair focusing on travel views.
• 1966–1981: Owned by GAF Corporation, shifting focus toward cartoons and TV shows.
• 1998: Acquired by Mattel under the Fisher-Price brand.
• 2008: Scenic and travel reel manufacturing stopped.
• 2013: Final commercial custom scenic reel production ceased.
• 2015–2019: A modern virtual reality View-Master was produced, then phased out.

KW