Скачать или смотреть Naval Construction Battalion Center / Disneyland by Richard Struik - Spring of 1967

Spring of 1967
We start of the ‘Vacations’ set of films with something a bit different: a wonderful snapshot in time of both the naval base at Port Hueneme and Disneyland in California - courtesy of my Dad, Richard Struik! This film is something of an anomoly in the collection because it wasn’t filmed by either Robert or Phil Van Dyke, and Dick had not yet met my Mom, Coryne Struik (Van Dyke) and joined the family! It had been included in the collection of Van Dyke home movies that I’d inherited - leaving me to believe that at some point Dick had brought it over to show the family on the Van Dyke projector, and simply left it there! It’s also not, strictly speaking, a ‘vacation’ film, as you will soon discover below….

Richard had enlisted in the Navy during the Vietnam War and found himself at the naval base in Port Hueneme, California for basic training in April / May of 1967. He had purchased an 8mm camera, and used it briefly before decided to sell it while in Vietnam. His footage is in two parts:

Part 1: “The Grinder”
“The Grinder” is what the recruit companies called the parade grounds on which they were made to march and undergo physical training. Dick is filming an exercise from the barracks area that overlooked the parade ground. He would ship out to Vietnam shortly afterwards, and be back Stateside in June of 1968; having been a proud member of the Seabees.

Part 2:
Dick visits Disneyland; where he gets some fantastic vintage footage!


A wonderful snapshot in time of Disneyland in California. None of the family appear in the film, but it would have coincided with Bill and Pam Beckwith (Van Dyke) moving the family to California.

0:00 The Naval Construction Battalion Center parade grounds - known as “The Grinder”.

2:27 The original Matterhorn Bobsled ride! I don’t believe any of the Beckwith’s are in this car…

2:53 The “Patrick Henry” - one of the original ‘nuclear subs’ in the Submarine Voyage ride - which lasted until 1998.

3:59 The Autopia car ride!

4:08 A view of the Monorail with the Matterhorn Bobsled ride in the background.

4:10 The Disneyland Steam Train station.

4:29 A great new of the now demolished Skyway ridge as it passed through the Matterhorn.

4:33 It’s a Small World!