For most of these columns, I rely on research I completed years ago—interviews, documents, etc.—but this week I’m delving into a diary that I recently transcribed. I spent a good portion of the past week typing out sections of Ruth Shellhorn’s 1955 diary. One would think that this transcription would go quickly, but Shellhorn’s cramped and personal handwriting was so small and idiomatic that I needed a magnifying loupe to read most every page. It took me about five days of solid effort. You see, Shellhorn was writing a personal diary—with her own abbreviations—that she initially kept for personal reasons, not for publication. But eventually I pulled out about 20k words, which is more or less a novella that documents the construction of Disneyland from March 1955 through its July 17th opening.
So who was Ruth Shellhorn and why was she important?
[...], let me point out the obvious: aside from Walt’s calendar this is the only day-by-day diary that exists from one of the central creative team associated with Disneyland.
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This week, I want to point out some of the highlights from the two months leading up to the opening of the park. Specifically I want to focus on how late some key design elements were developed.
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