MGR spring 08 - ChasingMerryGoRounds.com

VOLUME 35, NUMBER 1
SPRING 2008
OFFICERS/DIRECTORS
President - [email protected]
Bette Largent 509 466-3186
10009 N. Moore, Spokane, WA 99208
Vice President - [email protected]
Jo Downey 719 348-5562 (h), 719 348-5562 (w)
PO Box 66, Stratton, CO 80836
Recording Secretary - [email protected]
Tom Allen 206 860-6167
511 Lakeside Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98144
Executive Secretary - [email protected]
Norma Pankratz 719 346-7246
PO Box 382, Burlington, CO 80807
Treasurer - [email protected]
Nancy Morris 509 775-3096
PO Box 607, Republic, WA 99166
Past President/Director - [email protected]
Brian Morgan 818 986-5984 (h), 310 553-2606 (w)
17188 Escalon Dr., Encino, CA 91436
Archives Chairman - [email protected]
Jerry Reinhardt 913 897-2521
18770 Metcalf, Stilwell, KS 66085
Census Chairman/Director - [email protected]
Patrick Wentzel 304 428-3544
2310 Highland Ave., Parkersburg, WV 26101
Merry-Go-Roundup Editor - [email protected]
Dennis Towndrow 303 956-2806
6800 Osage St., Denver, CO 80221
Web Site Designer/Director - [email protected]
Tommy Forney 704 484-6811
Shelby City Park Carousel, PO Drawer 207,
Shelby, NC 28151
Photoshow Chairman/Web Technican
[email protected]
Gary Nance 509 928-2849
1104 N. Dorn Court, Spokane Valley, WA 99212
Directors (not noted above)
Sharon Black 810 736-6416
[email protected]
6336 Lucas Rd., Flint, MI 48506
Mark S. Chester 800 626-1665, x 5168
[email protected]
124 Washington Ave., Phoenixville, PA 19460
James Hardison 781 925-0472
[email protected]
c/o Paragon Carousel
PO Box 100, Hull, MA 02045
Rich Kenyon 607 638-5656
[email protected]
PO Box 31, Schenevus, NY 1215
NCA Archives - [email protected]
320 S. Esplanade, Leavenworth, KS, 66048
VOLUME 35
NUMBER 1
SPRING 2008
“The purpose of the NCA shall be to promote conservation,
appreciation, knowledge, and enjoyment of the art of the classic wooden carousel
and especially the preservation of complete wooden carousels.”
—NCA Constitution, Article II
President’s Message (Page 3)
Carousel News from Around the World! (Page 4-9)
Welcome Aboard Norma (Page 10)
Where the Buffalo Roam and Round (Page 11-14)
Story City to Host 2008 Tech Conference (Page 15, 17)
C.W. Parker Carousel Museum Is Moving Up! (Page 16-17)
The NCA Photo Show Project (Page 18)
Northwest Carousel Adventure (Page 19-22)
Memorial Donations & Those Gone Glimmering (Page 23)
CREDITS
Front cover: Our “newly appointed” Executive Secretary, Norma Pankratz, aboard PTC
#43, Western Washington Fair, Puyallup, WA, during the 2007 NCA Convention.
Photo courtesy of Dennis Towndrow. Back cover: Uncle Sam Chariot on the Main
Street Carousel, Story City, Iowa. Photo courtesy of Pete Tekippe Photography.
Publication design, layout, copy and photo editing by Dennis Towndrow. Printing by
EPI Printing & Finishing, Rochester, N.Y.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Merry-Go-Roundup, an official publication of the National Carousel Association, Inc., is
published quarterly and distributed free to members. Contents © 2008 by the National
Carousel Association, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the
written permission of the NCA. Request permission in writing to Dennis Towndrow,
Editor, Merry-Go-Roundup, 6800 Osage St., Denver, CO 80221, or send an e-mail
message to [email protected].
MEMBERSHIP
Annual dues: $47 in U.S. and possessions, $53 for foreign surface mail. Membership runs
from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 and includes four issues of Merry-Go-Roundup. Please make
checks payable to “NCA” and send with name, address, and phone number to: NCA,
Norma Pankratz, Exec. Secretary, PO Box 382, Burlington, CO 80807-0382
[email protected] - 719 346-7246.
Visit the NCA Web site at www.nca-usa.org
2
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
President’s Message: We have “people” …
By Bette Largent
Just in case you noticed, there are a few new things
happening with the National Carousel Association. For
the Merry Go Roundup it began with the census
produced for the Winter 07-08 issue. Credit goes to the
great efforts of Pat Wentzel, Census Chairman, and
Dennis Towndrow, our new editor. Upcoming issues will
feature new additions and stories which are the results
of the input of our members.
You have received your 08 membership cards with a
new Executive Secretary’s name on the envelope. In
this issue we will introduce you to Norma Pankratz. I
would also like to recognize Amy Mossman who
volunteered to revamp the entire NCA data base. With
the information now in an Access format, we can
produce numbers, reports, and even know when you are
enjoying the sunshine in Southern exposures. Norma
and Amy continue to fine tune this important tool to the
daily operations of the NCA.
The www.nca-usa.org website has a new look and
even more great information on carousels. It is more
user friendly and new member friendly. More and more
carousel enthusiasts are joining us via the web and I
just want to say, “Welcome to the National Carousel
Association”. It seems that every single morning I start
my day with an email from a non-member who has
discovered us this way. Often they have questions that
are routed to one of our special committees, such as
“identification” or “mechanical” or we have even asked
permission to post their questions on the open forum of
the Bulletin Board so our carousel membership can
assist in their inquiries. What effect does weather and
humidity have on a carousel? Or how about carousel
physics for the classroom – or how do you resilver
original jewels? You will find these questions posted on
the member forum. Password protected, this forum is a
private members only discussion group and is a service
that can become what you need it to be. Maybe it’s to
find a gift shop item for resale or the nearest dealer for
machine lubricants or new sweeps. It’s your private online communicator to our carousel family.
Is your Merry Go Roundup missing or do you need to
change mailing information or have other membership
related questions, contact our new [email protected]
which is guaranteed to get you the answer in 24 hours.
Four Board members receive your message and if they
don’t know the solution they will network and find out.
With so many gorgeous pictures of carousels in our
Photoshow Program, we now have a Carousel of the
Month. Visit this home page attraction and view the
featured monthly carousel. The photography of our
carousels presented by our members is outstanding!
You will read in this issue how easy it is to add your own
photos to the website from the Photoshow program’s
creator, Gary Nance, and a star contributor, Jean
Bennett.
Adjacent to the Carousel of the Month is a spot for
news and updates. With our publication schedule we
often can’t get the news out to you as quickly as we
want. This new feature helps us do just that. Check it
often or contribute anything you would like to share.
Also convention and conference information is posted on
the web first for those of us who plan months in
advance. We hope this helps you to plan ahead to
attend a convention or conference. Dates and location
are added with updates, prices and downloadable
registration forms as soon as available.
This also leads us into the subject of junk mail.
Everyone who has an email address has seen this
problem get bigger and bigger as the Internet expands.
We have changed our policy on email notifications due
to this. We will and do communicate with our members
via their email addresses but we have a policy of not
using mass email mailings – just one on one for
confirmation and other personal feedback. Although we
do post information of upcoming events and renewals
on the web, we will continue to use the postal system
and the Merry Go Roundup to communicate with all of
you!
Sadly, we often must announce in our Gone
Glimmering section the loss of members passing.
Please share this news so we can honor them and also
their stories and your memories of them as well. These
predecessors have contributed in special ways to the
building of our organization. We want you to be able to
reminisce about the good times spent with them, which
allows the rest of us to know them better as well.
Communication is the key in all that we do. We hope
we have made it easier to keep in touch with you and
we hope you will continue to let us know how we can
improve. When you put that membership card in your
wallet, we want you to feel like “you have people” that
stand behind it. But unlike the popular ads that tout
this slogan, remember the first one in our network of
NCA people is you!
It is Spring! Gather you favorite pal or loved one and
find yourself a carousel to ride. There is nothing like it
on a warm, sunny day – the wind in your hair, the music
in your ears, the sights and sounds of people around
you enjoying the best journey in the world. It is a ride
that circles without beginning or end, and sometimes if
one isn’t near by, you can visit the website of the NCA
and imagine you have a ticket to ride them all.
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
3
Carousel News from Around the World!
Updates and Current Events
As a true carousel nut and editor of this
publication, one of the things I like most is
being exposed to all the momentous
happenings in this dazzling world of merry-gorounds and carousel art. And, I bet if you
asked our president, Bette Largent, she would
say something similar. Therefore, one of the
actions I would like to take, as the new editor,
is to share those stories right up front with NCA
members. In fact, I would like to lead off with
the following email, which came to Bette last
October:
SUBJECT: M. C. ILLIONS
Hello. Perhaps I have spoken with you once
before, however, I'm always looking at Carousel
sites and came across the pictures you have.
My Great-Grandfather was Marcus Illions,
although I never had the chance to get to know
him, I wanted to thank you for keeping his spirit
alive.
My name is Sue Illions-Miller and live close by
to you (I'm in Southern Oregon).
Thank you again.
Look forward to always seeing ... folks that
appreciate what I was lucky enough to grow up
in. - Sue Illions-Miller
temporary building can be seen from a nearby
road and has been christened “Wilhelm’s
Cathedral” by Hanau residents.
There are three access levels within this outer
building – ground floor level, a platform at the
rim level (rounding board level on a more
modern carousel) and a top platform above the
carousel roof level. The underworks mechanism
remains accessible from the entrance into the
pit under the carousel.
The last of the horses and the two coaches of
the carousel were removed for restoration in
August 2007.
THE RESTORATION OF THE HANAU
CAROUSEL UNDERWAY
The total estimate for restoration of the
animals, coaches, building and turning
mechanism is now over 2 million euros (2.7m
dollars), but sufficient funds have now been
raised to commence restoration.
The carousel had a very lucky escape from
major damage during the 2006 winter when a
major storm felled a number of trees close to
the building. The trees nearest the carousel had
only been felled a few days before, in order to
make space for the temporary wooden building,
which was erected by April 2007 to enclose the
carousel.
The total wood used for this is thought to be
equivalent to that used in 15 houses! This
4
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
Photo above, by Brian Steptoe - Please
visit the NCA website to view more of
Brian’s fantastic Hanau photo show.
SHELBY CITY PARK CAROUSEL
"Ten Year's A-Leaping"
The town of Shelby, NC celebrates their
carousel’s tenth birthday with a new slogan and
well deserved 2007 NCA Historic Carousel
Award.
Tommy Forney reminisces about how they got
to this point:
I think of the first Tech Conference I
attended in 1990 in Raleigh, then
Indianapolis and Meridian. Pulling hundreds
of nails, doing research and all the
mechanical details. Through it all, we had
friends standing behind us encouraging and
providing other contacts and information.
That was the NCA.
Thanks for believing in Shelby as you've
done for so many communities. We couldn't
have done it without the energy and
collective talents of this group.
- Tommy Forney, NCA Webmaster and
Director
In other correspondence to NCA directors,
Tommy reported that the plaque presentation
and festivities went quite well. There were
former volunteers, donors and board members
present. The Park’s director, Tommy, and others
made brief remarks. Tom also handed out some
NCA web pages and a list of past Historic
Awards winners, while explaining the criteria for
the award. He also informed onlookers:
The NCA has supported Shelby in the
restoration and maintenance of the carrousel
since the early days. It was the convention in
Burlington and Raleigh that first sparked the
project. They even sponsored one of the
horses just like local folks. They believed in
us and encouraged at every step.
There are quite a number of folks,
organizations, and even businesses that we
couldn’t have done without. One of the most
important and visible, was the Shelby City
Park Carrousel Friends, who raised money
and awareness, and let the community and
the city know that folks would stand behind
this. The team of painters was responsible
for the “look and feel” that we see today. Our
architect also played a large role. The city
assembled a final team of experts from
several departments. All of this was
engineered and looked after by the Friends
group.
We’d be remiss not to also mention the
largest single donor to the pavilion project,
the Dover Foundation, resulting in naming
the facility the Anne Dover Bailey Carrousel
Pavilion. - TF
Next Tommy asked current, and former board
members to please stand, while he introduced
one of their most recent board members: “...
Travel and Tourism Director, Jackie Sibley.”
SANTA CRUZ BEACH BOARDWALK’S
CAROUSEL BUILDING GETS A FACELIFT
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s antique
carousel is not only beautiful, it’s a National
Historic Landmark. This year the interior of the
Santa Cruz Boardwalk’s carousel building has
been remodeled to accommodate two amazing
band organs: a rare Wurlitzer 165 band organ
that once played at San Francisco’s Playland
amusement park, and the Boardwalk’s original
organ, a Ruth und Sohn organ built in 1898.
The Ruth organ has recently been restored,
giving it a showy new façade to keep up with
the glamorous Wurlitzer. Both organs will soon
play together, thanks to the efforts of Don
Stinson. The building’s facelift includes a new
clown’s face to catch rings from one of the last
of the working carousel ring machines.
- Brigid Fuller, Publicist, Santa Cruz Beach
Boardwalk
Look for a full article on this amazing carousel
in an upcoming Merry-Go-Roundup issue.
TOWN DAMAGED BY HURRICANE TO
RECEIVE DENTZEL CARVED BY STUDENTS
The Port Townsend High School shop and art
students, located in Washington state, are
putting finishing touches on a 10 person
wooden carousel 16 years after construction
began. Unable to find a location in their town,
the carousel will go to Waveland, Mississippi, hit
hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The Hurricane Katrina Sister City Project,
spearheaded by Bill Dentzel, 57, 5th generation
of Dentzels to be in the carousel industry,
began the project with the students in 1991.
Dentzel estimates over 1,000 students have had
a hand in building the carousel.
Scheduled to be delivered in February, The
Carousel of the Olympic Sea found Waveland
city officals happy to accept the gift.
- Bette Largent
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
5
KENNYWOOD PARK IS SOLD
(According to Screamscape.com)
In a shocking bit of news, Kennywood has sold
all its theme park interests to Spanish-based
Parques Reunidos (now owned by English
equity company, Candover). The deal not only
includes Kennywood, but also Idlewild /
SoakZone, Castlecastle, Lake Compounce and
Story Land. – Lance Hart
LIBERTYLAND’S GRAND CAROUSEL
MAKING A MOVE TO MUD ISLAND?
(According to Screamscape.com)
A new website has launched showing off not
only a proposed indoor theme park inside the
Memphis Pyramid building [Mud Island], but the
entire proposed Pyramid Harbor area that will
include a resort, amphitheater and more, near
the Pyramid and the Harbor Island area
(http://pyramidharbor.com/).
The Ericson Group, who are behind the
Pyramid Harbor proposal have now teamed up
with the Save Libertyland Group who have
agreed to let them move and restore the Zippin
Pippin wooden coaster to a new location within
the Pyramid Harbor project on Mud Island.
Ericson has also stated that if things move
forward, they would also love to make a deal
with the city to move the nearby Grand
Carousel to Mud Island as well.
– Lance Hart
Don’t miss your chance to see this great
carousel at the 2008 NCA Convention!
GEAUGA LAKE CLOSES BUT THEIR
CAROUSEL LIVES ON
Jennifer Harney shares her memories of this
great carousel:
Growing up in the Cleveland area, we were
always within a close proximity to a lot of
great classic machines ....
I was lucky enough to work on the
restoration of the Geauga Lake Illions
Supreme Carousel back in 1994. Needless to
say, it was the best job of my life.
The Geagua Lake machine has always been
6
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
a personal favorite. I was so pleased to see
on the NCA site that the machine had been
secured and wouldn't be auctioned off. It's a
beauty.
NEW ORLEANS IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
For months after Katrina, they were only able
to place lights on the carousel building, like a
ghost of a carousel. All major repairs finished,
they cleaned and dusted everything in the
building, covered it with plastic and then did the
final mold cleaning of the ceiling. They found
very little or only minor spots of dry rot in the
ceiling boards. After they removed the
scaffolding, took off the plastic, they opened
with a pre-party to celebrate their 100th
anniversary on November 18th, two years
behind schedule. The carousel was open again
for the holiday season "Under the Oaks", a New
Orleans traditon. - Beau Bassich
*****
Greg Nance, son of Gary, presented an NCA
century plaque to the New Orleans carousel at
their pre-opening party. Beau was really excited
that we had someone there representing the
NCA. Greg takes fantastic pictures and with
Gary’s influence, has photographed a few
carousels for us in the past few years,
sometimes not in the best of lighting or
conditions.
Terry Blake was able to get some of the same
plaques that were made in Evansville, IN and
presented to other carousels. Charles Blake,
Terry’s father, and longtime NCA member,
shipped one to New Orleans just in time for the
celebration. Gary was able to print 8x10
images from the New Orleans Photoshow, an
amazing show done by Jean Bennett (see lion
featured on the cover of the last Merry-GoRoundup census issue). We also had one 8x10
left of the original ones Beau sent to Bette just
prior to Katrina, which she mailed to Greg as
well. All the records and history of the New
Orleans carousel were lost in Katrina. We sent
copies of our information in the NCA archives
on their carousel to them in 2006.
The NCA participated in this restoration in the
form of a grant from the Frederick Fried Fund
to replace the carousel's deck. This is just
another example of our efforts to keep these
carousels running! - Bette Largent
especially loved hearing the “I remember”
stories from the passers-by. We wished we
could have told them all that we remember.
- By Dee Lynch
MOUNT ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY PARK
AND RIDE TRAIN STATION
Famous Local Illions Carousel Remembered
Little did I realize two years ago when I
started answering phone calls and e-mails from
artist Stacey Farley from Garrison, New York
about my late parents’ Illions Carousel, formerly
housed at Bertrand Island Amusement Park in
Mount Arlington, New Jersey, that I would be
providing information for such a beautiful
project.
The project is part of New Jersey Transit’s
“Transit Arts Program” – a state mandate
passed in the 1970’s that says “whenever a
transit center is built or substantially renovated
in New Jersey, a percentage of construction
costs must go to public art.”
Stacey was chosen by a committee of over
100 other artists for the project. She’s been
collecting information from research and from
community members about Mount Arlington’s
history. She said nearly everyone with whom
she spoke mentioned the Bertrand Island
Carousel, so she knew it had to be included in
the project.
We shared information back and forth and
Stacey decided to use two of the Illions’ horses
for the tunnel entrance. One was the American
Beauty Rose Horse and other was a stander
that she especially liked. She decided to carve
them in bas-relief tile and paint them in candycolored pastels. She also decided on several
photo tiles for inside the tunnel of other rides
and boardwalk scenes.
Stacey prefers tiles because they are
touchable, reflect light into dark places, and
can last thousands of years.
My family and I were honored to attend the
dedication and to meet Stacey and her family.
It was also a thrill to see the several hundred
attendees at the dedication. My sister and I
Artist, Stacey Farley
NEED A HISTORICAL GRANT FOR YOUR
CAROUSEL OR COMMUNITY?
The American Association for State and Local
History (AASLH) is thrilled to announce the
2008-2009 Save Our History Grants! The Save
Our History Grant Program, available to AASLH
members and the field at large, provides
funding to history organizations that partner
with schools on a local community preservation
project. Since launching the Save Our History
Grant Program in 2004, The History Channel, in
partnership with AASLH, has awarded over $1
million in grants. During the 2008-2009 school
year, The History Channel will again award
grants of up to $10,000 to historical
organizations to fund hands-on, experiential
educational projects that teach students about
their local history and actively engage them in
its preservation.
For guidelines and criteria, important dates,
and to apply, visit www.saveourhistory.com, and
click on grants. Applications are due Friday,
June 6, 2008. Or get more info by writing, or
calling: 1717 Church Street, Nashville, TN
37203-2991, 615-320-3203, Fax: 615-327-9013,
E-Mail: [email protected]
- Barbara Fahs Charles
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
7
JEWISH CAROUSEL CARVERS ON
DISPLAY IN NEW YORK CITY
"Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The
Synagogue to the Carousel," on display at the
American Folk Art Museum has been a thrill
according to messages sent in from NCA
members. A “must-see,” it provides a surprising
revelation of the link that was forged between
the synagogue and the carousel as immigrant
Jewish artisans transferred symbolic visual
elements into carousel carvings. On display are
carousels figures from private collections done
by Illions and Carmel. On exhibit October 2,
2007 - March 23, 2008, at the American Folk
Art Museum 212 265-1040, 45 W. 53rd St., New
York City, NY -- For more information go to:
www.folkartmuseum.org
PLEASE NOTE: The Gilded Lions and Jeweled
Horses exhibit will be moving to the Fenimore
Art Museum in Cooperstown, NY from May 24Sept 1, 2008. For more information go to:
http://www.fenimoreartmuseum.org/node/586
EUCLID BEACH – PTC #19 CAROUSEL
Bette has been corresponding with Rich
Wickens on PTC #19’s return. Basically, as we
all know, it has been stalled with several
attempts to get it in place. The horses, which
we viewed at the Cleveland convention, have
been sitting in storage, and protected in bubble
wrap.
The carousel was turned over to the Western
Reserve Historical Society in 2005. The new
director, Ms Gainor Davis, has been faced with
budget difficulties. The Society has already
been forced to sell its antique car collection to
achieve funding for other projects. A campaign
has been launched to proceed with a building
and location for the restored carousel. Letters
of encouragement may be sent to: Ms Gainor
Davis, Executive Director, Western Reserve
Historical Society, 10825 E. Boulevard,
Cleveland, OH 44106, and City of Cleveland,
Chief of Regional Development, Chris Warren,
601 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44114
- Bette Largent
8
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
“HOMEMADE MERRY-GO-ROUND”
UPDATE
In [1995, Merry-Go-Roundup (spring edition)]
published an article entitled “The Carousel on
my Porch.” Fred Fried instigated the piece after
stopping at my home in Middlebury, Vermont in
1993 when he saw a 4 animal merry-go-round
on my front porch. He sent the NCA photos of
it. My 4-year-old son had "commissioned" it. I
carved and constructed it. I thought your
readers might like an update on the merry-goround.
When I lived in Middlebury in a big old house,
the merry-go-round fit ideally in a semi round
corner of my front porch. The merry-go-round
pivots on an axle mounted to the ceiling and
floor. The mechanism works by the poles the
animals are attached to, pivoting on the ends of
a double set of see-saws. Attached to the
bottom of the poles are old roller-skate wheels
which ride up and down on a track mounted
below the circular platform (one side of a very
large electric cable spool).
I have since built myself a new house and
moved to nearby Cornwall, Vermont. With no
porch to conveniently attach the merry-goround to, I built this custom gazebo for it.
I also have a gallery exhibiting my paintings
and sculptures at my home -- and a garden
with lovely views across fields, orchards, and
the Adirondacks. I welcome visitors Saturdays
10 to 2 May to November and by appointment.
My phone is 802 462 2509
- Timothy Fisher
ONTARIO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ANNOUNCES MUCH-ANTICIPATED BOOK
Roseland Park: Playground of the Finger Lakes,
1925–1985
by Lynda McCurdy Hotra & Sherman Farnham
While the Canandaigua, New York, amusement
center closed on September 2, 1985, thousands
of people still share memories of happy days
spent in this magical lakeshore park. This
historical chronicle takes readers back in time to
learn about Roseland’s varied rides and
attractions, including the dance hall, miniature
golf course, free acts, midway games,
Philadelphia Toboggan Company Carousel, and
Skyliner roller coaster. To purchase book: call
585 394-4975 go to:
www.ochs.org/Roseland/buy.html
town while Charles pointed out landmarks he
remembered from days gone by. That evening
we sat up late and talked about anything and
everything. He mentioned that he loved the way
our deaf cat Toby swaggered like a lion when
he walked.
The next morning we had breakfast on our
porch. Homemade waffles topped with fresh
fruit and the newest love of his life, maple
cream.
The visit would not have been complete
without a ride on the Toll House merry-goround -- a basket case we found in a dump and
spent two years and two months restoring.
These little horses now have a permanent home
in our play room.
- Catherine and Charles Crawford
A MEMORY OF CHARLES WALKER
We first met Charles Walker on a bus at an
NCA Convention. We were seated across from
him and Mary. It was an instant friendship.
What an interesting individual we thought. Little
did we know just how interesting Charles was.
We stopped by his place in Griffin, GA. one
year while traveling back from visiting family in
Florida. We had lunch at one of his favorite
places: The Biscuit Shack, where their specialty
is grilled peanut butter sandwiches. He and
Mary toured us around their town. We loved our
visit and made plans to return the end of 2008.
During the “hot” summer of 2006, Charles was
heading off for a gathering of one of the many
organizations he was a member of, The Reed
Organ Society. Mary had decided to sit this one
out. Attending hours of organ music in hot non
air-conditioned churches in August was not her
“cup of tea.” The group met in Saratoga, New
York, just a few hours north of us in Highland.
We extended an invitation for Charles to stay
the night with the two of us and our cat Toby.
He accepted. So, we had the privilege of having
Charles as our guest. Charles had lived and
worked in Kingston in his youth, just 20 miles
north of us. We had lunch at our favorite
eatery, Sea’s Deli for Fish and Chips, not quite
as fancy as The Biscuit Shack. We drove around
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
9
SAY! HAVE YOU SENT IN YOUR 2008
TECHNICAL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
YET?
IF NOT, THIS PICTURE MAY INSPIRE YOU
TO DO SO ASAP.
Bette spotted this poster on the Missoula
carousel carving shop wall. Can you see some
safety issue with this practice? If you come to
the Story City conference in May, you could
learn about all sorts of safety issues just like
this one. And, if that isn’t enough to whet you
appetite, we will also be discussing historic
topics, like what type of machine is in the
photo, how old the photo is, and where it was
taken.
In case you can’t read the caption under the
picture, it says “Janitor’s Lazy Susan.”
See page 15 for a great story on the Story
City Carousel, and upcoming conference
details.
The 2008 NCA Technical Conference is being
held at the Main Street Carousel in Story City,
Iowa on May 2, 3 and 4!
For more info go to:
www.nca-usa.org/2008tech.html
10
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
THE NCA HAS A NEW EXECUTIVE
SECRETARY, NORMA PANKRATZ
Norma was one of the founding members of
the Kit Carson County Carousel Association and
has been involved with its restoration and
preservation since 1975. She is the summer
operations manager for the carousel and
assisted in the development of the Carousel
Museum in Burlington, Colorado.
Norma retired five years ago as Director of
Social Services for the county. She serves parttime as the liaison between the City of
Burlington and the private correctional facility
that is sponsored by the City. She is also active
in the community: a volunteer at the Colorado
Welcome Center; member of the Burlington
Rotary Club, past President and past Assistant
District Governor; and past member of the
Toastmasters International Club, which was
located in Burlington.
Norma has two married daughters and three
grandchildren. And, according to Jo Downey:
“She is a great reader and loves great books
(especially novels). Her cooking skills are
extraordinary and she occasionally teaches a
nutrition class for the local Community College.
Chocolate bribes are always welcome!! She is
over 45... but under 100.”
The A.B. Dow Museum at the Midland
Center for the Arts (Midland, MI) will be
hosting the Perron Carousel Exhibit
April 12-July 13, 2008.
For more info go to:
www.mcfta.org/A_ABDow/#carousels
The Perrons will also be promoting their
traveling Int’l. Museum of Carousel Art
at the American Association of Museums
Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo™, in
Denver, April 27 - May 1 .
For more info go to:
www.aam-us.org/am08/
Don’t miss the latest information about
the 2008 NCA Convention on the
wrapper of this Merry-Go-Roundup!
Or go to:
www.nca-usa.org/2008convention.html
WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM AND ROUND
Edward Buff And The Carousel Bison
By John V. Goff
One of the most uniquely American animals
was, and is, the bison, commonly called the
buffalo. Millions ranged the Great Plains of the
West and they became dear to Americans in the
19th and early 20th centuries, even at one
point hunted almost to the point of extinction.
Here we will focus on rare antique wooden
carvings and carousel portrayals of American
bison or buffalo.
Prior to 1980, an extraordinarily rare and
exceptional antique Charles I. D. Looff merrygo-round operated at 191 Fort Avenue at the
Salem Willows in Salem, Massachusetts, north
of Boston. Surprisingly, it had two large hand
carved wooden buffalo, or American bison, as
features in its outer ring. My father Roy Goff
was the sales agent for this antique machine in
1975-76. At that time, he went over all the
animals to study their condition. He noted the
machine was 48-50 feet in diameter, and the
four-abreast’s outer ring displayed 18 animals:
9 large wooden horses standing A-B-A-B in
alternating order with nine more exotic animals.
The two buffaloes were on nearly opposite
sides of the machine, so as one watched the
parade of critters spin, counter-clockwise in
plan around the center pole, the sequence
included two strings of lions, dragons, dogs
(and some camels) each headed by a buffalo.
The rarity of the double buffaloes was not lost
upon my father. In 1970s sales literature, he
boasted of the “2 Buffalo[es]” and that “only
one other [carousel buffalo was then] known to
exist.” In later press pieces, he came to
describe the dragons more as “Sea Monsters”
explaining they “look like hippocampi [Greek
mythological half horse, half fish creatures]
except for their dragon-like heads.”
When he began to assess the most valuable
carvings, my father listed the buffaloes first.
Writing to a fellow classic carousel enthusiast
(Larry Dodge in Michigan) he noted “Sea
monsters, buffalo, etc. are extremely rare and
collectable.” It appears he also discussed the
machine with the late Frederick Fried, carousel
authority of New York, who was equally
impressed by the buffaloes. In a revealing
piece of writing, Dad cheerfully noted this
Salem machine had:
“two buffaloes (and one of the foremost
collectors and national authorities has stated
only one other is known to exist—his own
buffalo!)”
In an illustrated sales brochure, Roy Goff
showed one of the two Salem Willows buffaloes
was an ornery sort of character: fuzzy headed
and bullish in appearance, although bedecked
with a carved wood saddle and blanket. In his
final brochure describing all the horses and
exotics, he advertised:
“All in excellent condition. All rare museum
pieces. Some like buffaloes and sea monsters
[are] exceedingly rare.”
Yet one thing that bothered Dad most about
the Willows Looff carousel was his inability to
precisely date it. A series of U.S. Presidential
portraits rimmed the circumference, at cornice
level, and he thought this might provide good
clues. My father observed:
“Especially in this bicentennial [1976] period,
the scenery is very exciting. Eighteen early U.S.
Presidents from Washington through McKinley
are each portrayed in oil on the cornice shields
in oval panels surrounded by elaborate wooden
floral and dolphin scrollwork, in beautiful
condition…”
Roy Goff tried to date the Salem carousel from
the dates of office of the Presidents portrayed
in the portraits. Writing to Al Klyberg, then
Executive Director of the Rhode Island Historical
Society, on October 2, 1975, he explained:
“On the outer cornice, the last president
portrayed is W. McKinley, who left office in
1901. The paintings on the cornice do not have
T. Roosevelt. This factor plus the purity of the
scrollwork…would indicate that the merry-goround was manufactured when Looff was at
Riverside, R.I. and the first decade of the
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
11
century, before he moved his factory to
California in 1910.”
In subsequent professional literature, and
evidently based on these observations, the
Salem Willows carousel was proposed to have
been built (and figures carved) “ca. 1900.”
It would appear that my father seized on the
evident pre-1910 date to argue for the
machine’s retention in New England. In his
RIHS letter, he continued:
“Where Looff was the only New England
[carousel] manufacturer, this carousel should
stay in that area…”
Here my father revealed his early training in
psychology, and was perhaps slightly spinning
some of the known “facts” in an attempt to
hook a qualified New England museum as new
preservation-minded owner. After all, Looff did
build many machines in New York before he
moved operations to Rhode Island. Lesser
known carousel carvers such as Joseph Brown
had also worked in Salem, MA—always
considered part of New England.
With regard to using the Presidential portraits
to date the machine, it should be noted that
McKinley was the 25th U.S. President (not the
18th) so an edited group of early Presidents
had been chosen for the portraits. The number
18 evidently derived from the fact that there
were 18 major structural sweeps in the
carousel’s architecture and structure (as also
there were 18 major animals in the outer rim,
and 18 horizontal “spanner” paintings between
the Presidential portraits.) So it is not as if a
continuous series of early Presidential portraits
was begun, that stopped with the final year of
office of an 18th President-- reflecting the
“present” when the machine was carved. To
the contrary, all the Presidential dates really tell
us is that, if the McKinley portrait was as old as
all the rest, the machine must have been carved
in or after 1897, McKinley’s first year of office.
Otherwise, no one would have yet known he
would be President. However, the non-portrayal
of Theodore Roosevelt could also suggest a pre1901 date of manufacture—indicating the
machine was built and animals carved between
12
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
1897 and 1901.
My father’s research and marketing work of
1975-76 resulted in the Willows machine being
kept in Salem, and in 1976 being sold to a
Mr. Gray Tuttle, from South Carolina. Over the
next 20 years, between 1976 and 1996, a few
more curious facts were learned about rare
carousel buffaloes, and the buffaloes of the
Salem Willows machine. In 1986, for example,
William Manns, et al, in Painted Ponies, learned
of other carousel buffaloes carved by the
German descended Gustav Dentzel—and of two
buffaloes (or bison) surviving on an early
Dentzel machine in Largo, Maryland. With these
two added to the three known by 1976, it
would appear that five (5) carousel bison or
buffalo had been nationally identified—a small
but significant herd.
c. 1905 Dentzel Carousel at
Watkins Park - Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Yet arguably the most exciting carousel buffalo
discovery occurred in 1992. Antique carousel
enthusiast Karen McCarthy discovered that one
of Looff ’s carousel carvers was a German
immigrant in New York: Edward Buff. Buff
carved buffaloes as well as fanciful and exotic
hippocampus or dragon-headed sea monsters.
His stylistic “fingerprints” were all over the
Salem Willows machine. McCarthy suggested
Buff carved not just both bullish bison for Looff,
but other features, such as saddle ornaments
and floral decorations on many of Looff’s horses
from the Salem Willows carousel. Carousel
News and Trader magazine was so taken with
the McCarthy discoveries, it printed a McCarthy
article as a feature of the May 1992 issue, and
illustrated one of Buff’s bullish buffaloes from
the Salem Willows on the magazine cover.
Buff Saddle Ornament
(“Perrons’ Barn” - 2007 NCA Convention)
McCarthy admitted there were many facts not
yet known about Edward Buff and his wooden
buffaloes. Yet through family records,
interviews, study of old photographs and
comparisons with other family held Buff art, she
demonstrated quite convincingly that Buff
carved the Willows buffaloes. Buff was known
for carving emaciated rib-showing buffaloes
with “boomerang” curves near their hind legs,
in non-carousel work. The similarity with the
Willows buffaloes was indeed striking.
Currently, one of the biggest remaining buffalo
mysteries in the antique carousel world appears
to be: Why were the Dentzel buffaloes generally
portrayed as healthy, full, quite hairy, and
happy in appearance, while Buff’s buffaloes
carved in and out of the Looff shop were
emaciated, forlorn and bullish?
I believe the answer to this question may
relate to the simple fact that the Dentzel bison
were carved in Pennsylvania, after photographs
or examinations were made of healthy wild
Western buffalo brought in from the Great
Plains. Lacking access to such good buffalo
models, the Looff carvers further east, including
Buff, were situated in metropolitan New York
City. Their chosen model for a good buffalo
happened to be the nearest living one: “Black
Diamond,” an emaciated and notoriously
difficult animal who between 1899 and 1913
became a celebrity at New York City’s Bronx
Zoo.
New research undertaken on Edward Buff in
2007 suggests that he was born in Germany in
February, 1845. Perhaps he was raised in North
Germany, near the Danish border where Looff
grew up: the Schlesweig-Holstein province. In
Geman, “holz” means “wood” and the name
“Holstein” is said to derive from Old Saxon
“Holsteta Land” meaning “those who dwell in
the wood.” Buff, by training, was a professional
woodcarver. He shipped out from Bremen,
Germany for a new life in America in 1879,
when he was 34 years old. He secured a ticket
for Fall passage on the 1870s steamship ODER,
named for Germany’s Oder or Odra River. On
the multi-masted vessel, he sailed with just one
brief stop at Southampton, England, and arrived
in New York City near the future site of the
Statue of Liberty on October 19, 1879. Other
Germans (such as Looff) had started carving
carousels in New York City in 1875, just before
the U.S. Centennial of 1876. Buff likely left his
Fatherland to escape harsh crackdowns
implemented by Kaiser Wilhelm I in Germany
after two 1878 assassination attempts, as well
as to prosper as a talented new American
woodcarver.
Although much early documentation is still
lacking, by 1900 Edward Buff, then 55, resided
with his first wife Kate at 427 East 17th Street
in Manhattan. The Buffs lived there with two
Russian candy store owners, Harris and Ida
Mirman. The Mirmans were evidently of a
Russian Jewish background, and spoke Yiddish.
The store likely attracted great crowds of
children and families. Perhaps some of Buff’s
sea-life carvings evolved out of creative word
play and sketches for children involving candies,
dolphins, mer-maids, mer-men and Mrs. And Mr.
Mirman. In the same house lived Otto Schotte
(b. 1860, a “contriver”) with his two daughters
Louise (aged 14) and Gussie (aged 10). Likely
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
13
the neighborhood kids loved the fact that
Edward Buff worked carving carousel animals.
Joint outings to a zoo or to other working
carousels might have combined business and
recreation.
In 1968, Paul Simon of New York penned “It’s
all happening at the zoo”—and indeed, New
York’s Bronx Zoo which opened in 1899
evidently proved to be a great educational and
recreational resource for the Buffs, Mirmans,
and other turn-of-the century New Yorkers.
New York historians noted:
“Bronx Zoo director William T. Hornaday had a
deep interest in the American bison. Bison,
once numbering 50 million in North America,
had been decimated by [late 19th century]
hunting and westward expansion of the U.S.
population. In October 1899, Hornaday
acquired bison for the Bronx Zoo and began to
build the zoo herd. In 1905, with fewer than
1,000 American bison left in the wild, NYZS
[The New York Zoological Society] sponsored
the founding of the American Bison Society at
the Bronx Zoo’s Lion House. With Hornaday as
the bison group’s president, the organization
was instrumental in securing national protection
for the bison and rangeland for the
establishment of new herds.”
Shortly after it opened, one of the Bronx Zoo’s
leading bison celebrities was Black Diamond. He
had been bred and raised in captivity from
American buffalo who were paraded across the
U.S. in Barnum & Bailey’s famous circus. Yet
between about 1899 and 1911, he wasted away
from a weight of more than 1500 pounds to a
literal skeleton of his former self. Difficult and
hostile, he was considered the “contrariest
animal in a New York zoo” before he was seized
upon as a symbol of America’s wild spirit and
quest for freedom in 1911. Bison specialists,
like Time magazine reporter John Cloud (Why
the Buffalo Roam, Time, March 15, 2007)
explain:
“Bison are leaner than cattle because they are
still wild animals who range and eat grass; they
do not tolerate confinement well, and so they
can not be fattened the way we do cattle…”
Edward Buff’s fondness for carving emaciated
14
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
buffalo in wood all but proves he was using a
confined animal as a model. Black Diamond, the
“hardest” of the American buffaloes to tame,
became nationally discovered between 1911
and 1913. Seeking an iconic American symbol
to balance out the idealized Native American
portrait on the head of the new Indian Head
nickel, American and Wild West Artist James
Earle Fraser (1876-1953) visited the Bronx Zoo
and after some difficulty, accurately recorded
the sad, drooping, forlorn rib-bared and
boomerang stretched skeletal New York beast
for the “tail” side of the new Indian Head nickel.
Minted between 1913 and 1938, the Indian
Head or Buffalo nickel proved to be one of
America’s most cherished coins, and a means
for every American to contemplate national
freedoms and heritage by looking upon images
of Native Americans and wild animals.
The precise year of the Salem Willows buffalo
carvings is still unknown. However, they were
likely cut within 10 or 15 years of November 8,
1899, when the Bronx Zoo opened with 843
animals and a new goal to “advance the study
of zoology, protect wildlife, and educate the
public.” The dispositional differences and
boniness of Mr. Buff’s buffalo evidently derived
from Buff’s New York City place of residence
and work about the year 1900, and the
personality and early 20th century appearance
of Black Diamond in the Bronx.
Salem no longer has its extraordinary wood
buffaloes and they appear never to have been
carved in Rhode Island, after all. But Black
Diamond’s unique appearance was further
immortalized
and
preserved
in
a
commemorative U.S. gold coin minted in 2001,
and also on a one ounce fine $50 gold bullion
coin, “the gold buffalo” or “American Buffalo”
first offered for public sale by the U.S. Mint on
June 22, 2006. Edward Buff died after 1920 in
the Hudson River town of New Baltimore, NY,
where he lived with his second wife, Caroline
Falk. But the legacy of the bony Bronx bison
still endures. Magic and mystique once spread
by parading Barnum & Bailey circuses and
active American carousels is now available as
gold bullion coin.
STORY CITY TO HOST 2008 TECH CONFERENCE
By Karen Hermanson, Story City Carousel
Story City, Iowa, will serve as host for the
2008 NCA Technical Conference, May 2-4. With
a can-do attitude, this Midwestern town of only
3000 people will roll out the red carpet to
welcome carousel lovers from across the
country. “We are so proud of our carousel, and
how the community accomplished its
restoration in the midst of the farm crisis of the
80’s. We anticipate hearing stories of carousels
from all parts of the country and learning
everything we can absorb in one
weekend…”says Carolyn Honeycutt, Greater
Chamber Connection Executive Director.
Story City is home to a 1913 HerschellSpillman Carousel. How it came to be located
in the community is a story in itself. Originally
owned by Mr. T.P. Gifford of Grundy Center,
Iowa, the hand-carved wooden carousel was
part of a traveling farm exhibit. Gifford had built
an animated farm on a large truck to take to
fairs and celebrations. He would let down the
sides and back-end of the truck and a fee was
charged for people to walk through and view
the animated farmers, animals and machinery.
The carousel, a two row, county-fair style, also
traveled from fair to fair, being assembled and
disassembled at each destination. The
menagerie had a distinct, rural flavor with its
pigs, roosters, and dogs, alongside the
galloping horses. It is believed T.P. traveled with
this agriculture carnival through several
Midwestern states, until 1938, bringing the
excitement and fun that only a carousel can
bring to towns of all sizes.
Story City has always had a tradition of
celebrating holidays and its heritage. In the
1920’s and 30’s, The GCC (Greater Community
Congress) -- later to be the Chamber/Main
Street organization), alternated hosting a 4th of
July celebration with Lake Comar, a spring-fed
resort lake/entertainment park located south of
Story City. In 1938, Story City unexpectedly
found their community taking it on after Lake
Comar declined. The portable carousel they
usually rented was committed to another town
for the holiday. T. P. Gifford, owner, informed
the GCC that the only way he could break the
contract was if Story City would purchase the
carousel. Mr. Gifford was in his seventies at the
time and was anxious to dispose of it. Traveling
the country setting it up and taking it down had
become strenuous.
So for $1200, the GCC became carousel
owners with a $200 down payment and the
balance due on July 5th. On July 4th, 1938, the
carousel ran from morning till midnight bringing
in a total of $900 at 10 cents a ride.
For decades, the carousel was brought out
each summer and operated in the downtown
retail business area and was a favorite of July
4th and Scandinavian Days celebrations.
Eventually, time and wear took their toll and the
battered steeds were forced into retirement in
1977.
Community leaders considered the carousel a
significant part of the community’s history.
With much pride and many fund-raising efforts,
the carousel restoration was underway. Joann
Barker, of the Country Shop Antiques, did
research from coast to coast and documented
the carousel as a Herschell-Spillman, c. 1913.
All restoration was done locally in their shop,
with talented local artists. The project was
completed with the construction of a pavilion in
Story City’s picturesque North Park. The
carousel reopened to the public on June 4th,
1982 and was placed on the National Register
of Historic Places in 1986.
Continued on page 17 .....
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
15
C.W. PARKER CAROUSEL MUSEUM IS MOVING UP!
By Jerry Reinhardt
The C.W. Parker Carousel museum in
Leavenworth, KS has been in operation for
almost three years now.
It has been
expanding as fast as possible, within the
constraints of money being available. The party
rooms on the ground floor have been a great
addition, and have been a fantastic source of
income for the museum.
We have 3 rooms for parties. A small,
decorated room for birthday parties for kids,
usually has constant bookings, and is always
busy. We have a private room, called the
“Parker Room” that will hold about 100 people
and is popular for wedding receptions, reunions,
private parties, and unit parties from Fort
Leavenworth. Then we have the Carousel
Room, with our 1913 Parker carousel in the
middle of it. It will hold about 150 people. It is
available for parties after museum normal
hours.
We have averaged over 20,000 visitors a year
since we opened. We have now had visitors
from all 50 States, and 51 foreign countries.
Tour buses from all over arrive on a regular
basis. Our museum area is getting clogged
with donations of artifacts and exhibits. We
need more space!
We had a second floor built in when we
constructed the building 4 years ago. But we
couldn’t allow the public up there till we had an
elevator installed for the handicapped. We had
a donor give us the money for the elevator this
year, and it is now in and working. It is small,
but a wheelchair can be lifted up to the second
floor.
We usually do most of our work with
volunteers, if we can. We have been building
walls upstairs to enclose the second floor for
about 6 months. When it is finished, it will give
us almost double the museum space we have
on the ground floor. The NCA Archives will be
moved to the Parker Carousel Museum from its
present location, at the Harvey House Museum,
where it has been for the last seven years. This
will allow easier access to the archives by
16
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
everyone, but it will still be by appointment
only. The archives will be in a “Carousel
Atmosphere” at last. I am sure you will be able
to listen to carousel music from the band organ
while you are digging for obscure facts in the
files of the archives.
We normally close the museum in January, to
do necessary maintenance and construction.
This January, we partially took down our 1913
Parker carousel to work on the crankshafts.
The gears on the end of the crankshafts had
been working loose because of a worn keyway
that held them on. One gear had come off last
summer while the machine was running, and
caused a lot of damage to gear teeth and
sweeps.
The crankshafts on our machine are 18 feet
long, of solid steel about 2” in diameter, and
with the gear on the end, weigh over 200
pounds each. They also happen to be 14 feet
in the air and above all the support mechanism
on the carousel. It is also very greasy and hard
to hold onto. There are fourteen of them on
our machine. There wasn’t a man in our allvolunteer crew that didn’t find some very sore
muscles the next day.
We repaired the keyways on the gears, and
the next week we had to put them all back up
again. Did I mention that if you take a
crankshaft down, you also have to remove all
the horses from the machine first? We are
getting good at that. It takes five of us old
geezers to lift it off the crankshaft, one has to
be on top to take out the locking pin, and the
other four are just muscle to lift and carry.
Old Carry-Us-All number 118 was built in 1913
as a portable carousel that could be moved at
least once a week to a new location. According
to C.W. Parker, our machine could be set up and
operating in about four hours by four good
men. - - I would like to see what those “four
good men” looked like! A dozen of us took
most of the day to just hang the crankshafts
and horses. We left the mechanism, platforms,
rounding boards, and upper sweeps and
spreader bars in place. I think Parker may have
been exaggerating again!
The NEW NCA archives will have all new
furniture and files – donated by Grumman
Corporation. We hope to have it carpeted, and
it will be on one side of the upstairs museum
area, and be about the same square footage as
the previous home – for those of you that have
visited it. Marilyn and crew are in the process
of boxing up the archive files and material –
getting ready to be moved down those narrow
stairs at the Harvey House and over to the new
home. We are hoping that we can get some
prisoners from one of the local prisons to help
with this moving. For those of you that have
not visited the archives, there is a LOT of
material. Hauling boxes up and down those
narrow stairs at the old Harvey House is not
something that would be any fun.
The new address is:
NCA Archives
C.W. Parker Carousel Museum
320 S. Esplanade
Leavenworth, KS 66048
[email protected]
The NCA Technical Conference will be in
Story City, Iowa on May 2-3-4, this year.
If anyone would like to see the NCA
archives and the improvements to the
C.W. Parker Carousel Museum in
Leavenworth, it is about a 4 hour drive
from Story City, down Interstate 35, and
Missouri 92. At this point in time, space
for archives is not finished. But they will
be open Wednesday before the
conference, and Monday after to visit.
Story City - Continued from page 15 ....
The splendid, hand-carved, poplar figures
(twenty horses, two roosters, two pigs, two
dogs, two chariots including Uncle Sam, and a
whirling tub) are believed to be all original. It
also retains a hand-painted center mural, handcarved gargoyles, outer frieze, and is joined by
a 1936 Wurlitzer 105 military band organ. The
original stencil patterns were discovered during
restoration and were duplicated and applied.
The carousel recently celebrated the 25th
anniversary of its restoration. And to quote a
cliché, “She’s still looking good for her age!”
Story City is located 45 miles north of Des
Moines, Iowa on Interstate 35. The antique
carousel is open noon daily from Memorial Day
through Labor Day (Mon and Tues 12-6 p.m.;
Wed-Sun 12-9 p.m.) and weekends only May
and September (12-8 p.m.) Rides are $1. For
more information about Story City, the carousel
and other historic sites, check out
www.storycity.net, or contact the Greater
Chamber Connection, 602 Broad St., Story City,
Iowa 50248 -- ph. 515-733-4214.
Visitors to the 2008 NCA Technical Conference
will also be treated to tours of two other sites
on the National Historic Register. The Story
Theatre/Grand Opera House, built in 1913, is
Iowa’s oldest continuously operating theatre.
First-run movies are still shown every weekend,
while the fully-restored stage is used for live
theater performances during celebrations and
festivities. The Bartlett Museum, a restored
1903 Queen Anne Victorian home, showcases
early Iowa life. It has just been joined with the
latest, exciting project of the community: the
construction of a 1500 sq. ft. carriage house
which will house collections, and provide display
and archival storage for historical projects.
You are invited to come share your carousel
story at the 2008 NCA Technical Conference in
Story City, Iowa May 2, 3, and 4th.
The
conference will include sessions on such topics
as carousel mechanical maintenance, gift shops,
planning those celebrations and special events,
restoration and organizing volunteers. The
conference provides a valuable opportunity to
share knowledge and network with fellow
carousel operators. Story City will be sharing
its story of becoming a Main Street Community
and how historic preservation is a key
component of the program.
Also please note: Story City, Iowa will be the
featured Carousel of the Month for May.
An updated schedule of conference events
will be posted on the NCA web page:
www.nca-usa.org/2008tech.html
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
17
THE NCA PHOTO SHOW PROJECT
By Gary Nance & Jean Bennett
Did you know that a collection of more than
2000 carousel photographs is available online
today on our Website?
For almost three years now, we've been
collecting carousel pictures from volunteers
around the country (and even around the world)
for use in the NCA Photo Show Project. There
are now pictures from more than 70 operating
carousels in the U.S and Canada available for
online viewing, as well as another 10 shows for
carousels (and gallopers) in Europe and
Australia!
To look through these pictures, visit our
Website at nca-usa.org. From any page on our
Website, you'll see a menu selection named
"Pictures." When you click on this link, you'll get
a listing of all of our photo shows. The most
recently added shows will appear at the top of
the list, so check back often for new shows.
You'll also find links to our European and
Australian shows on the "Pictures" menu, so be
sure to visit them too.
If you're interested in making a submission for
a carousel that's not yet represented in a photo
show, you can find answers for most of your
questions online at nca-usa.org/NCApsp.html.
And if you've never created a Web page before,
that's not a problem. Our online application will
guide you through the process of sending your
pictures and creating the show. - Gary Nance
Think it’s hard to do?
Jean Bennett doesn’t think so!
This is a brief introduction to the NCA
Photoshow project. On the NCA website, as of
Jan. 2008, you will find photoshows for
approximately 100 different carousels. This is a
great resource to see what a particular carousel
looks like.
You may be wondering how these photoshows
are put together. Ordinary people (if you can
call carousel enthusiasts ordinary) like you and I
download pictures that we have taken of
carousels. First, you email Gary Nance and he
sets up a workspace for you to use. The
directions are fairly easy and Gary is very quick
to answer your emails if you have questions.
After you have uploaded your pictures to make
them available, you can rearrange them, delete
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Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
some of them, edit them and type descriptions
of them. This process is not as time-consuming
as it might seem at first. Then your photoshow
goes through a review by an expert committee
and hopefully makes it onto the website. Your
photos are copyrighted for you and any
requests to publish them will go through the
NCA first.
You might think that only people with a digital
camera can help with this project. I thought that
also at the beginning. Then, I learned that you
can get negatives copied onto CDs. In my area,
Target will copy up to 100 negative images onto
a CD for only two dollars. I think this is a great
deal for carousel photos and other special
negatives that you want to keep safe. Once you
have the photos on the CD, you can put them
on your computer and edit them. Even pictures
that were only average can now be wonderful. I
have used this service to put many of my old
carousel photos onto a CD. You can also now
share them with other people by email. One
thing to remember when uploading from a CD
that was made from negatives, is that the date
of the photo will be shown as the date that the
CD was made. It will be necessary to go into
each photo and retype the date.
There are approximately 250 wooden
carousels now in existence, including new
carvings and antique ones. I think it would be
wonderful if, in the next few years, we could
have a photoshow for each one of them. I,
myself, have about 20 photoshows that are now
available. Gary and the committee are working
hard to get many more that are in process
reviewed and available. They are also trying out
a new concept by combining photos for a
carousel taken by more than one person.
Another possibility is showing the current
condition of a carousel and older photos, as in
the Shelby, NC machine.
If we could each send in photos of the
carousels in our area or other places that we
have visited, soon photoshows for each
carousel in the census would be available on
the NCA website. I sincerely hope that each of
you will consider spending a little time on this
great project. – Jean Bennett
NORTHWEST CAROUSEL ADVENTURE
By Lyn Brown (Photos By Dennis Towndrow)
Two states, seven carousels, a barn full of
animals and three private collections! What
more could you ask from a NCA convention? A
lot more it seems: like a tour to the world's
second tallest waterfall and a historic volcano.
All these adventures in five short days!
Wednesday, September 12th, was arrival day
and the early birds toured either Seattle or the
Boeing plant.
Registration over, we met to socialize, eat and
be educated about carousels from Germany and
Katrina-plagued New Orleans. Displayed at the
Round-About Faire was an unusual little handcarved, hand-cranked carousel featuring
woodland animals (top left). It was produced
and is operated by Peter Newland, and was
carved by Jim Toner.
Puyallup Fair and PTC #43 were our first stop
Thursday (below). This 1917, 44-horse,
“wagon-mounted” carousel is owned by the
Western Washington Fair Association and runs
at the Puyallup Spring Fair and the Washington
State Fair. It is accompanied by a Wurlitzer
#145, one of only four of that style remaining in
operation. Colorful and well maintained, it was a
delight to ride (bottom left).
Our second stop of the day was Point Defiance
Zoo. Their carousel is a result of over a decade
of hard work by the WACS (Washington Antique
Carousel Society). Given a worn-out mechanism,
they proceeded to restore it and populate it with
Parker-style, hand-carved horses and various
endangered species, such as a frog, a whale
and a wolf -- just to mention a few (top right).
Our group really appreciated the great effort
WACS dedicated to this project.
While at Point Defiance Zoo, we also met up
with Shirley Jones (long-time NCA Board
member and treasurer) and her husband
Howard -- posing here with NCA co-founders,
Rol and Jo Summit, and Barrbra Charles.
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
19
Then off to Oregon, with a
stop mid-way at Mt. St.
Helens, the still-active
volcano that erupted in
1980. A dynamic ranger talk
explained the worldwide
effects of the huge eruption
and the new understanding
of volcano action that was a
benefit of observing it. Rain
clouds parted and allowed
us good views of the scenery in the Cascade
Mountains.
Just across the Columbia River in Portland,
Oregon, we found the large (72 horses, four
rows, 67 foot base) and colorful 1921 Parker
Supreme carousel, which runs at Jantzen Beach
mall (photo below), and there we spent the rest
of our evening before adjourning to our
Portland hotel.
What a variety of sights we had on Friday,
beginning with an unusual Herschell-Spillman
menagerie carousel. The 1912 machine runs at
Oaks Park, a small amusement park in
southeast Portland. Owned by the Bollinger
family from 1925 until 1985, the park is one of
the ten oldest amusement parks in this country.
This is one charming carousel, with roosters,
dressed-up frogs, a couple ostrich, a sea
monster, a kangaroo and giraffes. Purchased for
Oaks Park around 1923, it has survived several
major floods, due to its location on the
Willamette River, which often overtops its
banks.
An interesting sidelight to the convention is
the connection that the late Robert Bollinger
had to three of the carousels NCA visited in
September.
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Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
The Bollinger family, of Portland, Oregon,
owned Oaks Park from the 1920's until 1985,
when Robert Bollinger gave the Park, including
the carousel, to a private citizen board, forming
a charitable entity and stipulating that it must
remain an amusement park. The value of his
gift was five million dollars.
Robert Bollinger also owned the 1917 PTC,
which we saw at the Puyallup Fair. It was a
traveling machine that he purchased and then,
in 1983, donated to the Western Washington
(Puyallup) Fair Association.
I met Bob Bollinger in 1995 at the NCA
convention in Portland. The NCA honored Bob
and his generous gifts at a luncheon at the
Puyallup fairgrounds, where we rode the PTC,
of course. He was a gentleman and at that time
was 86.
Lyn Brown On the Oaks Park Carousel
The track carousel at Bickleton, Washington
operated at Oaks Amusement Park from 1905
until around 1929, so it also was owned by the
Bollinger family. The Alder Creek Pioneer
Association of Bickleton purchased the carousel,
the band organ and the steam engine that
drove it, for $500.
Bollinger died in 2004. He was a philanthropist
who was of great value to the carousels of the
Northwest. If you want to learn more about him
please visit: www.rbollinger.com. His short
autobiography is under About Robert Bollinger Family info.
Next, we headed for Multnomah Falls,
on the Columbia River, east of Portland.
It is the second-highest falls in the United
States. We rested our eyes and exercised
our legs before proceeding to Parkdale
and the International Museum of
Carousel Art. The wild bus ride through
pastures and across streambeds made us
realize we were in cowboy country.
The depth and breadth of this collection,
owned and managed by Duane and Carol
Perron, is hard to imagine until you see it. The
large warehouse-type barn is chock full of
carousel animals and objects, on two levels (an
upstairs loft runs the length of the barn on each
side). Animals in all conditions -- the restored and
the injured -- rest against each other and beside
each other, waiting their turn to go round and
round once again.
Duane explained his plans for an international
carousel center and for expanded membership in
the museum. The Perrons own and operate eight
restored carousels, which they lease to public
places. And while all the separate pieces probably
can't be counted, they number in the several
hundreds. Much of the restoration, fund-raising,
and general nitty-gritty work is done by
volunteers, including Colorado Carousel Society
members Earl and Shirl Vitus of Grand Junction,
who spend summers working in the Museum.
During lunch in the park-like setting, real live
horses came begging for a handout.
A long ride through mountainous southwestern
Washington brought us to the town of Bickleton,
population 113, forty miles from nowhere and
perhaps our most memorable stop. We were
warmly welcomed by the entire town at Cleveland
Park, the site of the Bickleton Rodeo and home of
a c.1900 Armitage Herschell/ Herschell-Spillman
track machine which runs once a year, during the
annual rodeo in June and is then stored in an old
bank vault in town -- except for this year, when
Bickleton set up the machine again just for the
NCA visit.
The 24-horse track machine originally ran at
Oaks Park, in Portland and was powered by
steam. There is no overhead mechanism; the
carousel is belt-driven and runs on wheels on a
track beneath the deck. It is a special experience
to have a whole town turn out to greet you and
feed you a steak dinner with homemade ice
cream. We felt as if we'd experienced
"Brigadoon," and were reluctant to board the
buses for the long dark drive back to Seattle.
Saturday morning's stop was at Wild Waves,
Enchanted Village in Federal Way. In this cleanlykept amusement park, the 1906 Parker portable
carousel sits on a slight hill overlooking the rest
of the rides (see top left of page 22). The
mechanism is in need of repair, and only a few
lucky riders got to finish their ride.
Continued on page 22 ....
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
21
items, but also other collections of all kinds. At
Tom and Linda Allen's home, we saw 26 animals
including a hippocampus, camel, rabbit and goat
as well as beautiful horses. After a ferry ride
across Puget Sound, we visited the Murphy
residence on Bainbridge Island, where a stablefull of beautifully restored figures waited for us.
Thanks to the owners of all three collections for
making us welcome. As well as, a special thanks
to Linda and Tom Allen and their hard-working
group for providing a well-organized and
memorable convention. - Lyn Brown
In 1999, Linda and Tom Allen, Seattle residents
(Tom also serves on the NCA Board), purchased
PTC#45 from Great America Corporation. It had
run at Santa Clara, California, until the owners
chose to put the great old machine into storage.
Dedicating huge blocks of time and resources to
the project, Tom and Linda labored to bring back
to prime condition the Zalar-carved carousel,
which was built in 1918.
Bette Largent, NCA President and noted restorer
put the horses back in shape. Brad Perron, Hood
River, worked on the carousel’s mechanics, and
International Leisure Company of Seattle, WA
was in charge of machine set-up at the zoo. The
Allens then donated the antique machine to
Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, where it is housed
in a state-of-the-art octagonal building.
The generosity of all involved in restoring and
placing this great carousel is much appreciated
by Seattle residents and the staff of the zoo, as
well as the NCA. We enjoyed the dedication
ceremony and the ride. A box lunch on the
grounds, and time for touring the zoo, rounded
out the day.
At Saturday evening's banquet, Round-About
Fair and annual auction, it was announced that
$7,922 was raised during the convention to add
to the NCA's preservation fund.
After the annual meeting on Sunday morning,
NCA members were invited to open houses at
three collectors' homes. The Hoelscher collection
in Redmond delighted us by featuring not only
ten carousel animals and many carousel-related
22
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
PTC #45 At Woodland Park Zoo
Memorial
Donations
2007-2008
In Memory of Charles N. Walker
Jean Bennett OCharles A. Blake OMark S. Chester OChattyCollier ORichard Concepcion
Art Curtze ODannielle Dimeglio OPeter & Leah Farnsworth OTodd Goings OGail H. Hall
Noel Hinde OLouis Klemp ODon & Bette Largent OArt & Nancy Morris
Jerry & Marilyn Reinhardt OPaul J. Senger OBill & Rita Sharkey OBarbara A. Tousignant
Karen Van Sant OTom & Kay Van Sant ORichard & Kathy Wickens Jr.
In Memory of Monica Angster
Edward Angster OMelba R. Clapp
In Memory of William F. Mangels IV
Willia & Dorothea Mangels ODon & BetteLargent
In Memory of Marilyn Blake
Charles A. Blake
In Memory of Wallace W. Elton
Judy Elton
In Memory of Darwin D. Stombaugh
Maureen A. Stombaugh
Those Gone Glimmering
H e l e n N u n e s , of Ventura California, died in January 2008. Helen was NCA Treasurer from 1983 through 1987.
Helen's daughter, Barbara Willimas served variously as editor, Archivist and Director. Both are long time NCA members and
founders of the Friends of Santa Monica Pier carousel
W i l l i a m F . M a n g e l s I V 6 0 , S on 0f William F. Mangels III (still living) died Feb. 2, 2008, at Genesis Hospice,
Morrison House. Bill was a former executive secretary of the National Carousel Association.
Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2008
23