This week we journey through our virtual MOR Showcase with an imaginary drive through Redlands past.
PHOTO BELOW: A clever display that encourages visitors to imagine a drive through Redlands. The exhibit shows a car door, an aerial map photograph of Redlands from 2007, and a vintage laundry press which was converted to show images of Redlands landmarks from years ago.
"What do you see when you drive through Redlands?" A closer look at the car door display show views of orange groves and palm trees in a row.
PHOTO BELOW: The repurposed laundry wringer holds a roll of paper printed with vintage photographs of Redlands landmarks. Photos include: Old Contemporary Club (c1920 - 2nd from top), University of Redlands (1944 - 3rd from top), and a scenic view from around the 1880s (2nd from bottom).
Could you imagine doing your laundry using this?
"I would use a huge wooden 3-foot forked stick to pick the clothes out of the hot soapy water and feed them into the wringer and then fell directly into a big square wash basin filled with cold rinse water. If this was the white clothes, then we'd follow that with a batch of darker colored clothes, same wash water, until you finally got down to the rags and really dirty stuff. Meanwhile, your arms were in the cold rinse water swishing the clothes around to rinse them. You got all the soap off the wringer and started feeding the rinsed batch back through the wringer the other direction. I remember the warning that if your hand got pulled into the wringer, you immediately hit the top covering of the wringer and it snapped a release. It could be back-breaking work bending over the rinse tub and pulling the heavy clothes up into the wringer."
-Shared by Nelda Stuck
Recalling those days around 1940
Phil's Charcoal Broiler
A closer look at the map shows the current location of MOR as well as Phil's Charcoal Broiler. The display reads: "George hired me as a cashier...We had the regulars at 5:30 - come in for dinner - Steaks, Prime Rib, Baked Potato. We had the regulars at the bar...Dick Powell and Walter Bergen (without Charly)...Ava Gardner came in a few times alone - She had a sister in Yucaipa - played Artie Shaw on the juke box. Phil's was on Hwy 99. No freeway at the time. Robert Mitchum was in (once) sat at one of the booths across from the bar window...looking at Redlands Blvd (Hwy 99 at the time). He was so tall his legs almost reached to the bar. President Truman arrived at Phil's one late afternoon around 4:00 with his entourage, so elegant and composed he impressed the Republicans...William Holden stopped in after a beer around 5:00 on his way to P.S. He chatted with Clark DeRoo at the bar."
-Rosemary Whittemore Cashier at Phil's, 1950
EXACTLY WHAT IS THE MOR SHOWCASE?
The MOR Showcase is a temporary construction of a museum gallery inside the old Redlands Daily Facts building on Brookside Avenue. This is the same building that will be completely reconstructed into the permanent Museum of Redlands.
Built in the fall of 2018, the Showcase is approximately 2,000 square feet, which includes galleries and displays to provide a glimpse into what the permanent museum could be like. It uses items from MOR's current collection. The Showcase will be removed once construction of the new building begins.