We’ll be puttin’ into dock shortly

On the Mark Twain Riverboat docks, inside Disneyland Park, are a few crates worthy of recognition. One is outfitted for a mischievous scamp and his friend across the river, while the other is a mystery in the making.

This crate must be headed for Tom Sawyer and is knock around pal, Huck. Since they make it a habit of losing their paintbrushes it appears that Aunt Polly has fixed them a supply to last them into the next century. It’s a shame that these brushes haven’t made it down south to Florida where they could be of use, as I hear that Tom and Huck misplace several brushes every day.

The second crate presented me with a bit of a challenge. Francis H. McQuinn is a name that doesn’t appear on any search I have done, anywhere, entrepreneur or not, and I have been searching for a couple of weeks now. Knowing that this crate was placed here on purpose, I felt that the crate had to have a relevance to. However, after some digging, I found several possible leads that may or may not be the Francis McQuinn in question, and if neither is right, I enjoyed the search, and it gives the Disney Gurus of the world something to do some digging on as well.The most likely of these was the Francis McQuinn that is a cattle company in Stanberry, MO. While there seems to be no history available on the company, this option does provide a connection to the second piece of the box. An entrepreneur in Frontierland, or the American Frontier, would definitely dabble in cattle. Some other possibilities included tin smiths and housewives, but nothing that led me to believe that they were any more likely than the cattle company.

So, there you have it, some fresh from the docks, to your door, Disney Details.