A couple of weeks ago, my family was looking for something to do, so we took the drive out to New Philadelphia, Ohio to enjoy some time at a small amusement park, Tuscora Park. It's been open since 1907, and although it's not a lot more than a collection of family rides, this park was nonetheless an enjoyable place. And unlike a lot of amusement parks, there's other "park" amenities, too - a swimming pool and playgrounds, for example.
Tuscora was a trolley park way back when, and it's not difficult to imagine people clambering down these old stone steps, ready for a day of fun.
By far the highlight of the park is this classic carousel; I wasn't expecting it to be as nice as it was! Made by Herschell-Spillman, it was built in 1928 and came to Tuscora Park in 1942.
Here's a closer view of this awesome three-row machine. The horses are all in immaculate condition. But wait... what's that in the center?
Yes folks, it's nothing else but a mint-condition Wurlitzer 153 band organ! This organ was even completely restored this year. It's always fun to stumble upon such a nice machine like this!
I still have some other Tuscora pictures that I'll be sharing eventually.
10 comments:
What a nice carousel in such a charming small park setting. I like the panels containing the artist paintings as well.
To me, the carousel/merry-go-round is the heart and soul of an amusement park.
When I worked at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, my favorite ride to work on was the Looff Carousel. Even above working on the roller coasters. Some ride operators didn't care for it because of the constant exposure to the band organ or calliope music. I loved it and never tired of it. It was magic to my ears.
Thanks, Andrew.
Every time I've gone to New Philadelphia, we've always focused on the Amish stuff and this place never popped up on the radar. Will need to fix that.
I agree with Ken about carousels & merry-go-rounds. They are possibly the first ride most kids ever experience at an amusement park, and the emotions around that experience can stay with you a lifetime. I know it has for me. Part of what I loved about Cedar Point growing up was that they had not one but four of them in those days.
I would've like to have seen other things in the town, but we had to be heading home.
Carousels are the rides you make the first memories on as a kid, until you become "too cool" for them, so I guess it's always nice to know that they have some of the most concrete places in any park. You can make memories at any age!
Painted panels are always one of the nicest things about carousels, especially when they're in such good condition like this one. I've seen some pictures where parks have painted them over; a shame!
I'd love to operate a carousel just to listen to the music! I know the Santa Cruz carousel is one of only a couple machines left that have a working ring machine. Did you operate that part of the ride?
The machine that fed the ring mechanism was in another area (room) that we checked in to punch the time clock. I remember hearing it working constantly to fill the mechanism with rings that would cross over to the carousel room. My boss at that time would feed the machine every so often to make sure it never ran out since it was his office. He'd just dump a big box of rings into the bucket every so often and the conveyor would pull them through to the mechanism for riders to grab.
The one problem we had which I'd have to scold riders for is trying to pull two rings at once. That was dangerous because you could injure your arm if you were too far past the ring dispenser when pulling the second ring. I'd catch them most of the time, but usually someone sooner or later would injure their arm by trying to pull the second ring. Their finger would stick and yank their arm hard while the carousel continued to rotate. Needless to say they learned why it was a bad idea the hard way.
I can tell you that every ride cycle several riders would keep some of the rings as souvenirs by hiding them in their pockets as they exited the ride. I didn't bother collecting them from the riders. I figured, why not have a souvenir of their memory.
That band organ is a real beauty! I'm a big fan of mechanical music, and it's always gratifying to hear of an old machine being restored.
Wow! Thanks for the fascinating info. I've seen the Santa Cruz "ring mechanism" you describe on the PBS documentary "Great Old Amusement Parks." Great stuff!
I'm going to the only carousel with rings here on the EAST coast tomorrow - Knoebels, so I'm super excited about that. On my last visit there three years ago, I was just getting the hang of it, but I feel like I'll be more lucky now.
I saw a commercial for Knoebels once where a family was looking at a "scrapbook" of their trip, and included in the book was a carousel ring. I thought it was weird that the park was supporting(?) the taking of rings as souvenirs. Like you said, I think it's nice for the people that do it, but I personally would feel strange taking one.
Band organs rock! It's a shame when a carousel doesn't have one and an even bigger shame when a ride does, but it's not working.
I grew up going to Tuscora park. The carousel was pure magic. I’ll give you a tip… ALWAYs choose the horse that stops in the highest position. They’re the fastest!!
Thanks for sharing that memory, Moravian1415! I will be sure to take your advice on my next visit!
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