Carousels

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a_contemplative_life
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Carousels

Post by a_contemplative_life » Sun May 07, 2017 12:58 pm

Take a Spin on the Most Beautiful, Hand-Crafted Carousels in the Nation
For many, carousels conjure up the fondest of childhood memories. The delicate craftsmanship, the bobbing animals and the whistling music all trigger a sensory flashback to a time before jobs, bills and obligations. For president of the National Carousel Association (NCA) Bette Largent, carousels remind her of her mother: “She grew up in Kansas and a Parker carousel would come in on the train and her uncles would take her down … and they would have nickels for her to ride,” says Largent. “[But] it was forbidden fruit for me … my father didn’t approve of them,” she says. “The only carousel we were exposed to was at the state fair. So, [my mother] would get [my father] busy talking in the horse barn and then sneak us off to ride the carousel.”

On July 25, carousel aficionados will unite across the country for National Carousel Day. The annual celebration marks the day William Schneider of Davenport, Iowa, was issued the first American patent for a carousel, in 1871. The holiday was the brainchild of carousel historian Roland Hopkins, as well as Largent. “They have national hot dog day and national ice cream day … but there was no national carousel day … we thought that wasn’t entirely fair,” Largent says with a laugh. First celebrated in 2012, National Carousel Day has been growing ever since, and celebrations are planned this year from Spokane, Washington to Trenton, New Jersey.
Thought you all would enjoy checking out the lovely carousel animals in this article.

If you ever get to D.C. and have the time for a side trip, there is a carousel at Glen Echo Park. I took my kids up there several times when they were little.
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dongregg
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Re: Carousels

Post by dongregg » Sun May 07, 2017 8:43 pm

I don't know if it is an historical carousel, but I used to relax on the one in the Fairfield Connecticut Mall. Parents may have found it weird to see an adult sitting in one of the seats (not on a horse) with no children around him. It was tonic for a stressed out IT consultant a long way from home. :D
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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EEA
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Re: Carousels

Post by EEA » Sun May 07, 2017 10:00 pm

I enjoy the carousels when I was a kid, when I went to the local fair with my family. :)

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a_contemplative_life
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Re: Carousels

Post by a_contemplative_life » Sun May 07, 2017 11:12 pm

This is the one at Cedar Point at Sandusky, Ohio. We would ride it when we visited the park; this was back in the '70's.

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Here's my boys at the one in Glen Echo Park that I mentioned in my initial post. This was taken 7 years ago so, they were a little younger then! :D

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gattoparde59
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Re: Carousels

Post by gattoparde59 » Sun May 07, 2017 11:17 pm

I always enjoyed the music from the carousels found at the shabby old carnivals I used to take my kids to.

This is a fancy double decker-from the Plymouth Meeting Mall. If I recollect correctly this one used to run at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.

I'll break open the story and tell you what is there. Then, like the others that have fallen out onto the sand, I will finish with it, and the wind will take it away.

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a_contemplative_life
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Re: Carousels

Post by a_contemplative_life » Mon May 08, 2017 1:04 am

gattoparde59 wrote:I always enjoyed the music from the carousels found at the shabby old carnivals I used to take my kids to.

This is a fancy double decker-from the Plymouth Meeting Mall. If I recollect correctly this one used to run at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.
Never seen one with 2 stories.

Cedar Point had a second carousel that ran fast to simulate a horse race.
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Re: Carousels

Post by a_contemplative_life » Mon May 08, 2017 1:10 am

Some very old and unusual carousel figures at the DeWitt-Wallace Decorative Arts Museum in Williamsburg, Va.

I think the goat's a little scary.

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