Editor's Message - Reprinted from the Spring 2007 Merry-Go-Roundup

Time Flies When You're an Editor

By Cyndy Hanks, MGR Editor

Can you believe, it's been nearly 15 years since I became NCA editor? Of course you can - the years "sneak up" only on the retiree. So now you have it: I will retire from this delightful responsibility once the Autumn 2007 issue of Roundup goes to press (around mid- August).

My editorial years have flown, because Roundup has been a labor of love. And because I've made many great friends at NCA conventions and tech conferences, as well as via e-mail, snail mail, and phone; these friendships will continue.

So many unforgettable memories - one that stands out was the time an agreement between Noreene Sweeney (Carousel News & Trader) and I backfired; we used to share our extra film or batteries as needed at conventions and conferences. That day it was Noreene who ran out of film, so I gave her a roll. When our pictures came back, she had double exposures, and I was missing one roll of important shots - the roll I'd given her had already been taken. We colluded on what remained, however, shared our pictures, and pulled it off.

Another was my weekend with NCA cofounder Fred Fried at his apartment in New York City in 1994, just two weeks before he died (little did we know). He and I had become dear friends as kindred spirits/writers. I miss him still. He was on dialysis and in his 80s then, but still riding his bike in Central Park. He showed me the room that would be mine for the weekend and pulled out from under its bed the huge, grinning Steeplechase facade he had rescued. And we played with his monkey organ ("YOU be the monkey!"), with me clanking the little monkey cymbols to the tune of Sidewalks of New York, Fred's all-time favorite [Winter 1994 Roundup].

He shared his greatest wish with me, that someday there would be a central repository of carousel history, where researchers - and the general public - could access carousel history. His dream has come true. We now have www.nca-usa.org, as well as a physical home for the NCA Archives, which are stored, catalogued, and accessible at the C. W. Parker museum in Leavenworth.

My favorite NCA convention? Without a doubt, Binghamton 1993. The NCA co-founders, including Fred, all showed up, and we visited the Schenevus track machine, whose winsome horses, with their beautifully combed rope tails, and impassioned owners captured my heart. Yes, I confess to a "favorite" machine, and this is it. (There's another, to be revealed in the next issue.) While there, a man jumped on our bus and suggested we take a side trip to an old amusement park nearby. We did, and discovered an amazing collection of vintage rides, as well as an old Stein & Goldstein carousel (sans some horses).

Favorite steeds? Herschells, I love them, probably because as a child I rode the singular Boulder Park carrousel (Allan Herschell, 1920). My 2003 book, Boulder Amusement Park: The Biography of a Carrousel, tells the history of that ride.

I tried retiring once before, to free up time to complete that book. Coincidentally, I was working full time, and my father was seriously ill. It didn't seem possible to manage those responsibilities and still produce Roundup. But there were no takers. So several NCA Board members (primarily Bette Largent) pitched in and wrote some articles, despite their own heavy schedules, and somehow we all made it through that time. Sadly, my dad passed the week the book was due to the printer, and although he was my staunchest supporter for that project, he never got to read it.

That failed attempt at retirement was four years ago, and I count myself blessed that my editorship continued beyond it. Thanks, NCA friends.

Trends I've experienced? At first, in the early 1990s, successful "saves" of hand-carved wooden carousels were a rarity. The collecting craze had just peaked, with carousel figures reaching world record prices, and there was rivalry between the NCA and the American Carousel Society over preservation vs. collection. Over time, however, inspired by communities and Friends groups that campaigned to save theirs and succeeded, more and more supporters have rallied to save their whirling treasures - with some amazing last minute victories. To list them all now would leave some out, but Cafesjian's Carousel comes immediately to mind.

Biggest surprises? Well, the top three were discoveries of carousel figures I'd been hunting for at least a decade, figures from the Boulder Park carrousel that had been lost to auction. An NCA convention in St. Paul took place at the same time a traveling international exhibit of carousel figures was on display. We viewed it, and there in front of me stood the camel. Shock and awe.

Then, prior to an upcoming auction of some carousel figures at Sotheby's (May 2005), Tobin Fraley e-mailed me that the long-sought giraffe would be there. I called Sotheby's, secured permission to see and photograph the figure, and provided its history. That resulted in a one-day flyer to New York. One of my most prized possession is the Sotheby's catalog for that auction, with its glorious photograph of the giraffe and its complete history as substantiated by my research. Who purchased it remains a mystery, but at least I know it still exists and have learned its history up to the auction.

The NCA convention in Bristol, Conn., was a riot, we had such fun. As we toured exhibits at the New England Carousel Museum, I stopped short in front of a deer with real antlers; it was the deer from the Boulder Park machine. Another joyous reunion. These three "finds" were all verified with original factory photos.

Heartbreaks? The complete destruction of the Seabreeze Park carousel, PTC #36, by fire. I live not far away and was calling the park that day as the carousel was burning, wondering why no-one was picking up the phone, so unusual. My dad called that evening with the sad news. I drove there the next day and joined the crowds of people lining the fence, tossing roses over it into the rubble, all of us grief-stricken. The loss of a carousel cuts deep.

Funnies? Initially, I confused readers with a name change. A family researcher had discovered our last name, Hennig, was actually Hoenig, so I made the change. Later, when she was proven wrong, I changed it back. To complicate matters, in 2000 I married, and Hennig became Hanks. So there weren't three editors all this time, just me. About the raised-eyebrow comments, "All those men (tsk tsk)....," I still chuckle.

Personal history? For more than 20 years I worked as a director of public relations and medical writer (R.N.) within an advertising agency environment. After the massive Kodak layoffs dried up the local need for medical writing, I wrote about various corporations. products and services. When those companies shut down, I ended up in marketing/sales. A couple years ago, still missing the medical environment, I completed a refresher course in nursing and have worked quite happily ever since as a nurse manager for St. John's Home in Rochester, N.Y., which seems like a mix of nursing home, hospital, and Disney World. We have a lot of fun there. The residents love merry-go-round music and sometimes share their own carousel histories.

From personal experience, I can tell you that if something, or someone, is to survive, you must hang in there. Over the past 15 months I've had a couple adventures with breast cancer and its subsequent treatments. At this point, I'm thankfully still a "survivor." Sears gave me a free picture for that - which prompted me to immediately identify with our "saved" carousels, haha.

Speaking of NCA friendships, I was recently deluged with yellow rubber ducks, from NCA Board members/friends. Seems they wanted to keep me laughing and let me know they care about my survivorship. Every few days, ducks in the mailbox. Thanks, y'all. And Rich and Carol Kenyon surprised me by showing up at a special event, driving several hours from Schenevus to be there. This is what NCA people are all about.

What will I do after retirement? Nothing would make me happier than to continue researching and writing about carousels. And visit, ride, and photograph carousels. Perhaps write even another book. About carousels.