Patricia Faulhaber Pulling into the parking lot at Tuscora Park in New Philadelphia in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, one would never know what is just around the corner in the amusement park rides area. Visitors to the 113-year-old park are first treated to a beautiful view of a serene pond with ducks, geese and seagulls. Next, they see wonderful manicured green spaces with rock walls lining the walkways. Plus, visitors can enjoy a swim at the public swimming pool or get an ice cream cone at the concession stand or some of that fluffy candy wrapped around a paper cone at the cotton candy stand. When visitors get past all of those amenities, they will start to hear the music coming from one of the eight vintage rides located in the middle of the park. The music is from a 1928 Herschell-Spillman vintage carousel. It was the first ride installed at Tuscora Park in 1941. It has been well maintained, so much so that it looks brand new. In 2016, Patrick Wentzel of the National Carousel Association (NCA) presented the park with a Historic Carousel Award plaque for the year 2015. The NCA works to keep America’s remaining carousels in operation. The organization’s census has the carousel listed as a Spillman Engineering, classic wood carousel, circa 1925-1928. It is one of only 16 listed in their database. Rich Geib and Carey Gardner are members of the RTY nonprofit organization that operates and maintains the carousel and other vintage rides in Tuscora Park. The city of New Philadelphia maintains the pool, pond and other aspects of the park but the rides are operated by RTY. “We have eight vintage rides in total, with the carousel being the jewel of the park,” Geib said. “The park officially opened in 1906 as a private park. The first ride was installed in 1941 which was the carousel. All of the rides are functional and both Gardner and Geib said only one or two are for the little riders while the rest are open to adults. Geib said, “Most of the vintage rides have a weight limit so as long as riders are under the limit, adults and kids are welcome to ride. Visitors can ride for $1 a ride or 10 rides for $8. And many days throughout the summer, we have special pricing for the rides.” In addition to the carousel, other vintage rides include flying airplanes and flying sky fighters (both circa 1940s-1950s); swings (1950s); a C.W. Parker Ferris wheel (1945); a Little Dipper roller coaster (1954); a train ride pulled by a vintage locomotive (1954) and dune buggies with flashing lights (1970). The horses on the carousel have colorful glass jewels lining their saddles and bridles. The carousel has three rows with 36 jumping horses and two chariots. Each horse is hand carved from wood and hand painted. “There are only a few hundred of the carousels remaining.Some people buy them and break them up and resell the horses because the horses are works of art and have become collectible,” Gardner said. There is a museum in Sandusky, Ohio, where one can learn about the long history and about the art form of the carousel. It’s called The Merry-Go-Round Museum and can be found online at www.merrygoroundmuseum.org/tour. Visitors to the museum will find plenty of painted ponies and other hand carved carousel animals on display. The carousel at Tuscora Park was built as a portable unit and can be disassembled for storage or to move from place to place in a traveling carnival. RTY decided they would like to keep it up year-round instead of tearing it down every year. The organization received donations from local businesses and foundations to build a permanent structure that fully encloses the carousel and locks it up tight for winter storage. In the late 1980s, RTY had the horses refurbished. An artist who was working at the Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio sand blasted each horse and repainted each to its original color. “The rides are maintained for safety, they have to comply to state regulations,” Gardner said. “They are inspected every year and are always in perfect condition.” Gardner added, “Given that we probably give tens of thousands of rides each year on them, the rides wouldn’t survive without updates and maintenance and the care we give them. Our ride manager, Bud Schoelles, has contacts all over the country that he can call on to help him find parts. The rides are so old, sometimes we have a difficult time finding parts and have to have parts made. The local machine shops, manufacturers and contractors most often will donate parts and labor to help us keep the rides in top condition.” In the middle of the carousel is a 153 Wurlitzer Band Organ manufactured in 1923. It is a separate piece from the carousel but is meant to work in tandem with the magical wooden horses. Geib said that both were made in Tonawanda, N.Y., which was considered the carousel capital of the world. RTY had the band organ refurbished earlier in the year. It plays 150 different songs including God Bless America. Mechanicalmusic.org reports that “The popularity of this organ is thanks to its attractive carved façade and full rich sound.” It goes on to say the 153 Wurlitzer were equipped with Wurlitzer’s duplex roll system allowing for continuous music. As with most of the Wurlitzer band organs, the one at Tuscora park has a drum on each side of the large middle section. Along the top of the middle section and along the outside section of the carousel, there are nature scenes from national parks hand-painted on canvas. This carousel is worth a trip to the park for any avid carousel enthusiast or hand carved carousel horse collector. It was manufactured by the Herschell-Spillman Company in New York. According to nyheritage.com, the company was owned by Allan Herschell and Ed Spillman. The company manufactured carousels, engines and amusement rides of all kinds through 1926 and would become the world’s largest manufacturer of such rides. Allan Herschell left that company to start his own company called the Allan Herschell Company. There is a Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum in North Tonawanda, NY which can be found online at www.carrouselmuseum.net. “I’m often asked the question of why it’s important to save carousels,” wrote Wentzel from the NCA. “At one time there where as many as 3,500 pre 1950 vintage carousels. Today there are less than 300 in operation and storage. For nearly the past 150 years, carousels have been a part of the social and cultural history of our country. It is imperative we preserve these pieces of our American heritage for future generations. The Tuscora Park carousel is a wonderful example of a well preserved and maintained operating vintage carousel.” While viewing the unit is entertaining in and of itself, for anyone interested in vintage amusement park rides or vintage carousels, it is an absolute must to ride the carousel. It offers a slow, smooth ride and the band organ provides pleasant background music. After finishing the ride, another must ride is the C.W. Parker Ferris wheel. It provides a lovely view of this wonderful old park. |