Life, 1919-06-05 · page 18 of 46
Life — June 5, 1919 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains satirical descriptions of five fictional summer resorts, each mocking real vacation destinations of the era. The humor derives from inverting expectations: resorts advertised as luxurious retreats are revealed as uncomfortable, disease-ridden, or otherwise unpleasant. Examples include "The Swellview" (a rickety structure on a malaria-infested river), "Hotour House" (an imitation hotel with corrupt musicians and condemned boats), and "Lots-o'-Fun Lodge" (overcrowded, hot, and morally questionable). The satire targets both the false advertising of resorts and the gullibility of wealthy vacationers willing to pay for substandard accommodations. The page also includes unrelated jokes about politics (Burleson and cable lines), gender dynamics, and wealth display—typical *Life* magazine fare mocking contemporary society and pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SRE Well Known Summer Resorts HE SWELLVIEW: This top-heavy log struc- ture is perilously located on the soggy bank of the Rottentree River, and is justly famed for its malaria germs, millers and moths, All the rooms to be had for less than twenty-five dollars a week, be- sides being perfectly air-tight, are pitch-dark, and, as a consequence, offer unlimited opportunity for bumping one’s head against the ceiling. Churches of all denominations fifteen miles up the mud road. Hotour House a small scale in the heart of. the / An imitation city hotel on dirondacks. Ruthless band of din-dispensing musicians en- gaged by the season. One-chair bar- ber shop, souvenir robbery and lop- sided bowling alley in the basement. Condemned excursion boats dock every hour, Wustune Inn: A clapboard cu- pola boasting all the comforts of home, but possessing none of them. Entirely surrounded by virgin pines and virgin mosquitos. An ideal retreat for fog, monotony bitter Plenty of solid, in- lovers of and drinking water. digestible cooking, tardily served. LoutawHite - py - THR- Waves: The summer tryst of all the riff-raff of Bigburg, accommodating four people to the square yard of bathing beach. Hot as Hades, and exposed all day to the blinding sun. Just the place to acquire a coat of blisters and a per- petual squint. Noisy amusement park close by Lots-o’-Fun Lopce: Open from June to October, but deserving to be closed “A perfect woman, nobly planned, To warn, to comfort and command” “I'M SORRY YOU'RE LEAVING ME, BELINDA, 1 HOPE YOU'RE MARRYING A coop MAN.” HE AIN'T DE BEST DEY IS, MA’AM, BUT AN’S GWINE TER MAKE HIM DO FOH DE PRESED for all time. Among the attractions are bar, free-for-all dancing, and moonlight spooning parties in leaky motorboats. Guests are expected to leave their manners and valuables at home. Edmund J. Kiefer. High Time “IT WONDER why Burleson decided to turn the cable lines back.” “Perhaps he tried to cable to some- one. Defined OTHER, what is propaganda “ Propaganda, child, is the bunch of compliments your father pays me on my old’ hat, when he knows T am thinking of a new one.” HE new millionaire who has his framed income-tax receipt hanging in the parlor is in the same boat wit! the Wall Street lamb who papers hi room with pretty oil certificates.