Sunday, October 27, 2013

Bad postcard of the week: Pistols, petticoats and mysteries at Stagecoach Stop


There’s so much wrong with the front of this week’s bad postcard, but it was the back that sparked my curiosity.

“The Stagecoach Stop in the Irish Hills of Michigan. Pistols and Petticoat Room.”

And that’s it.

What, exactly, went on in the “Pistols and Petticoat Room?” Women shooting it out? A place to buy frilly clothes and firearms?

The photo offers only a handful of clues. We see an Indian headdress hanging on a harp – yes, that is odd – and a member of the Solid Gold Dancers. The dancer isn't dancing, she’s just standing there staring off. 

She’s no doubt thinking “I see neither pistols nor petticoats.”

Of course, the whole thing is cropped poorly and too dark, so they might be there. We just don’t know.

Over her shoulder we see a mannequin wearing what might be a frilly nightgown. And in the lower corner, we see Chewbacca’s knee.

I did some searching on Stagecoach Stop. Turns out it was later called Stagecoach Stop USA and was a Western-themed amusement park. There were stagecoach rides with robbers and everything. But there is no mention of the Pistols and Petticoat Room, so our imagination will have to do.


Alas, those were simpler times there will be no stagecoach rides these days. The park, and neighboring Prehistoric Forest, closed down in 2007 after 43 years of thrills. The land was auctioned in 2012.


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