Carnivals
On today's "Anything Goes Saturday", I have two photos featuring vintage fairs or carnivals - locations unknown, unfortunately. But they are still fun to look at.
We'll start out with this scan, from a slide date-stamped "September 1963", with a lot jam-packed with classic rids. There's the Sky Wheel closest to us (yes, I can read).
As for the others, my knowledge is rudimentary at best. Like my tail. I see what I believe is the Paratrooper to our extreme left, jutting partly into the frame. Closer to us might be a Herschell Looper. As for the others... well, lucky for me I have some of the smartest readers. Just sayin'. Notice that the boy to the right is wearing a shirt that says "Register and Tribune", which is likely a reference to the Register and Tribune Syndicate, a syndication service based out of Des Moines, Iowa. It was acquired by King Features in 1986.
Next is this October 1976 photo, showing a happy boy aboard the "SWI...". What could it be? Swine? Swivel? Switchblade? Swirl? No one will ever solve this mystery. In the background, a few kiddie rides, the kind that go around in little circles. And there's a Ferris Wheel. Let's go get some cotton candy! Or maybe a funnel cake.
19 comments:
Funnel cake! YES! :oD
Funnel cake! YES! :oD
Stupid cell phone.
Let's go get some cotton candy and a funnel cake, and then go on The Zipper!
Hi Sue, is that you?
I have always wanted to go on a Herschell Looper, ever since I first saw one on the opening/title segment for The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Then I had my chance to go on it at the Los Angeles County Fair, but the friend I was with was afraid to go on it, once he saw the "vehicles" going upside down. Then I had a chance to go on one in Japan, but it didn't happen there, either....and for the same reason! Feel sorry for me, please.
Thanks for the trip to the vintage carnival, Major.
Yes, TM! It’s me. If I was 40 years younger, I’d go on the Herschell Looper AND Zipper with you. I can’t handle those anymore. But I can still eat cotton candy and a funnel cake!
Sue
Major, in addition to the rides you named, in front of the "Looper" are, what we always called the Squirrel Cages, I forget the actual name. It was shown, and discussed, here a few months ago. Behind the Sky Wheel ticket booth is the Flying Coaster. I can't tell what that red and white candy cane-striped ride is behind the Flying Coaster, perhaps a Flying Scooter or a small version of a chair swing? And at the back is the old reliable Rock-O-Plane.
In the last photo, on the extreme left, behind the trees, is a yellow-colored ride, maybe the Zipper. I can't tell if the kid in the SWI is having fun or grimacing and hanging on for dear life. Maybe both.
Too bad about the SWI unidentification. One of the Universe's unknowables, for sure.
"Anonymous" is reeeally into funnel cakes. Too bad we'll never know who. Another one of the Universe's unknowables. ;-)
Tokyo!, how tragic for you!
Sue, your big-nosed emoticon gave you away. :o)
Thanks for another fun-filled day at the carnival, Major.
Sue, I would join you on everything except the Zipper! I used to go on anything and everything, with just that one exception. I was never brave enough to go on the Zipper, but loved the Rock-O-Plane. That one wasn't as wild and violent, and you had control over whether or not your vehicle was going to go upside down.
JB, thanks for sympathizing with my plight!
Oh, man - I love vintage rids! There’s the one that does that one thing, and there’s that other one that had that special way of doing its stuff. Oh - and there’s a thingummy that whatsajigs!
I sure hope Ken and/or Andrew chime in to make sense of what I just said. My mom warned me that my limited vocabulary would, um, something.
I bought a funnel cake once. It came apart when I tried to use it to add oil to my car’s engine. It turned out to be an expensive mistake. Have you seen how much they charge for funnel cake at a local carnival?
The sign on the last one actually spells “S-W-I-C,” which stands for “Southwestern Illinois College,” our local junior college. It’s an inexpensive place to start your post-secondary education, knocking out your basic curriculum before transferring to a four-year institution. Like all junior colleges, though, there are always some students who just can’t seem to make up their minds and commit, going round and round in circles until they get sick of school. Hence the name of the ride.
TM! & Sue, I was terrified of the Zipper for years, then finally managed to bolster the courage to ride it to impress a girl. And I found it was fun (the Zipper, I mean; impressing girls remained terrifying).
Anonymous, DULY NOTED!
Anonymous, But how do you really feel??
Anonymous, my cell phone is stupid too, we must have the same phone.
TokyoMagic!, I always thought that the name “The Zipper” was pretty cheeky. Maybe I am just deranged.
TokyoMagic!, you need to have daredevil friends, like I do. I wonder where they filmed that opening scene for “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”? A local carnival? Beverly Park? Do you have any idea?
Sue, I suspected that “Anonymous” was you! I’d still go on a Herschell Looper, consequences be damned.
JB, ha ha, “The Squirrel Cages”. There’s nothing more fun than a cage! I’m going to be no help in ID-ing the other rides, we’ll need Ken Martinez for that. I have only had a funnel cake once in my life, it was good. Even sharing it with my niece, it was more than we could eat. Have I mentioned that I have never had a s’more either?
TokyoMagic!, our local carnival used to have a Zipper ride, it was kind of intense. I seem to remember mostly trying not to bash my head on a metal bar in front of me. But it’s been a long time. Now all of the fun old classics at that carnival are gone, replaced with little plastic rides for babies (except for a Ferris Wheel).
Chuck, as you have observed, I spell “rides” in the classic French manner. Many people don’t understand it, and I pity them. I expect that Ken will check in eventually and give us his expertise. It sounds like you made the common funnel cake mistake, to use it for oil changes you have to fry it “extra crispy”. Southwestern Illinois College”, I’ll bet that was fun. I’ll take an astronomy class, and an art history class, and maybe a ceramics class too. Why ever leave junior college? Those carefree days.
Ah, these are photos of a real, gritty carnival, no “attractions” here, only rides, and not a trash can in sight!
I’d have a funnel cake with y’all.
Cheers Major, thanks for the info on the newspaper, and Chuck on the college. JB has the rides all figured out.
JG
@ TM!/Major-
There was a Herschell Looper at Beverly Park-? That's news to me.
It seems there was an unlimited location budget for The Courtship of Eddie's Father, as virtually every episode had a different main title sequence, but... the first episode and some others, used footage shot at Beverly Park, Major. Also seen was Travel Town, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, LA Zoo, Paradise Cove Pier, several bodies of water, including Lake Hollywood Reservoir and the Pacific Ocean, [probably] Lots 3 and/or 5 at MGM, etc., etc.
Love it! I would definitely prefer to visit the first carnival, haha. What JB called the "Squirrel Cages" is actually the Looper, and the upside-down ride behind it is the Loop-O-Plane. I don't know of any classic Loopers still operating other than the one at Knoebels, and believe me, you will have no trouble getting that one to go upside down.
I am at a loss when it comes to the red-and-white striped ride. I need to know!
You can ride the last Flying Coaster here in Pittsburgh at Kennywood, where it was brought back last year after outrage over its removal. Note the decorative "crown" of fluorescent tube lights; this piece of the Kangaroo was missing last year, but just yesterday, I saw it lit with LEDs for the first time in years! This ride also holds personal significance to me because I was operating it when Kennywood's non-fatal shooting happened last year.
Thanks, Major, for a fun post.
Look at the SKY WHEEL ticket booth!! It’s kinda creepy and kinda cool… interesting there was an attempt of design done in a late deco -moderne feel. The lady ticket taker is peering out of the mesh caged porthole trying to get the photographers attention … “help me! Please help me”
Growing up we had traveling carnivals come thru - usually in the fall and again coinciding with the famous LAKESIDE RODEO. We would get excited and eve up there with friends or our families. One year on a SPIDER RIDE there was an accident …. A carnival employee replaced a broken or missing metal part with pieces of folded cardboard ….there was a pretty big accident with a ride bucket and arm breaking off then it caused other arms to fail as this thing was spinning around .. lots of riders and bystanders were hurt and two people severely hurt and one death. That was the last year our parents let us go to traveling carnivals or bolt -and - go amusement parks .
Chuck, I liked your funnel cake, oil change joke. Not sure if I laughed, but I did smile... a little.
Major, I've had/made s'mores a couple of times in my life, on camping trips. I could never understand the appeal. They're waaaay too sweet; unrelentingly so. And I have a serious sweet tooth. The grahams, toasted marshmallows, and Hershey bars are better when eaten separately. Others may disagree.
I only rode the Zipper once. It was more uncomfortable than fun, IMO. Plus, the change fell out of my pockets.
I think I've had a funnel cake before; topped with powdered sugar. I know I've had an elephant ear.
Andrew, I rode the Flying Coaster several times at our local county fair. From the late '50s to the mid '60s. Then it disappeared. It's a simple ride (or "rid", in classic French), but enjoyable.
Mike, I remember worrying about the safety of carnival rides, but it didn't stop me from going on them. Being on a ride when a tragic accident happens is sort of like being struck by lightning, or a meteor, it seem to me.
I was on the Round-Up ride once, when I noticed that one of the inner railings, near the center, was banging back and forth several inches as we went 'round and 'round. I mentioned it to the ride operator when I got off. He gave a dirty look. I don't think he did anything to fix it.
"SWI" ride is Swinger...
http://www.boomerevents.com/carnivalridesgames/swinger-carnival-ride.html
link
JG, somehow I don’t even think that these carnivals look that gritty! They look fairly neat and tidy, not dirty and kind of scary. Maybe I’m alone in feeling that way. Glad you liked these!
Nanook, I have no idea if there was a Herschell Looper at Beverly Park, I was just trying to think of where in SoCal they might have filmed that “COEF” scene. It’s been so long since I’ve seen an episode of “Courtship” that I barely remember it.
Andrew, it’s crazy to think that so many of these rides could once be found all over the country, and now we’re down to one working example. Thanks, Knoebels! At least they are keeping the flame going. Whoa, wait, I missed something. A) You worked at Kennywood as a ride operator? B) There was a non-fatal shooting there??
Mike Cozart, I was thinking the same thing about that ticket booth, if it was black lacquer with mother of pearl accents it would look like a relic of the 1920s. And seeing the lady’s face reminds me of the Disney character costumes where you can see the performer peeking through the mesh. Replacing a metal part with a piece of folding cardboard… that was my idea! “What’s the worst that could happen?”, I said. I now design rockets for Space X.
JB, I have no doubt that a s’more would cause instant cavities, but I still feel like I am missing out. A friend said, “You could just make one on your stove”, but come on; that’s not the same at all!! Money falling our of pockets is a risk at many amusement parks, including Magic Mountain. I remember feeling my car keys moving, and had a vision of being stuck at the park until two hours after closing while they looked for the keys.
LTL, thank you, though I was sort of kidding! The link is great though.
I thought the ride just behind the ticket booth is a Scrambler.
Those swing rides always make me feel like I'l going to go flying out of them, despite being "secured" with the little chain. Even the one at Disney California Adventure made me feel like I'd go flying out into the lake at the middle.
I wonder where they filmed that opening scene for “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”? A local carnival? Beverly Park? Do you have any idea?
Major, I don't know. I only went to Beverly Park once, and there was a giant mall there. And a Hard Rock Cafe. And maybe Bette Midler and Woody Allen. I wonder if it could have been filmed at the Pike? I know POP would have been closed by the time the show debuted.
Nanook, I never thought about how the opening scenes were always changing. I think back then, I thought I was just seeing different episodes from different seasons. I only watched it in reruns. Speaking of reruns, what's happening? Or should I ask, what's happening now? I know, groooooooan!
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