President's Message - Reprinted from the Autumn 2007 Merry-Go-Roundup

By Bette Largent, NCA President

Timely songs: "In the summertime when all the leaves are green, I'll be blue...," or "Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, those days of soda and pretzels and beer..." As I began this Autumn message, it was the dog days of summer, and I wanted the perfect song to get me in the mood for this President's Message.

I went online and searched "summer time," and up popped all sorts of titles, including "Under the Boardwalk" and "Ride a Painted Pony, Let the Spinning Wheel Spin," but I wanted that one song that would bring me back to memories of hot August days, cool nights, and the long shadows that appear in late afternoon.

I wanted to feel the cooling breeze that comes up after the sun goes down, that suddenly gives you a chill, even though the thermometer earlier in the day was on or at least near the century mark. I wait all winter for these days, these lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer that bring back the memories of my youth - and of taking a spin on the merry-goround at the State Fair. (There were no magical amusement parks in my area, so my memories of bright lights, tasty smells, hawkers, crowds, and music came from that one brief experience at the end of the summer season.)

So embedded in my lifestyle is this farewell to summer that I still have to go to a fair and walk among the pigs, cows, and horses, listen to the bandstand entertainment, cruise the display booths and elephant ear stands, and visit the Grange ladies for pie or at least a smidgen of fudge, which may be all that-s left by the time I get there.

My fix is the Ferry County Fair, where I grab a wooden rocker and sit on the sidelines, watching the beauties twirl by - the four-legged carousel kind, of course, to magical band organ tunes.

Just as that ride was revised, restored and transformed, I'm reminded of carousels across the country that have gone through similar transformations. For some, the battle was won at a hefty price or may still be going on - but a growing number, like this little machine, have fought the fight and now offer an even better ride.

In addition to what's old and what's new, this issue includes perhaps the next chapter in the continuing saga of the American carousel, the growth of the American carousel museums - which, like Paul Harvey, now tell the "rest of the story."

My mailbox has been full of news from museum projects these past few months. Awards like the Best Museum in Bristol (Conn.) ... funding for economic development in Bickleton (Wash.) ... Governor's Awards at Kit Carson County (Colo.), and Tourism Awards in Leavenworth (Kans.). Sandusky (Ohio) make me wish I lived closer, and Crescent Park (R.I.) makes me yearn to finally see Looff history where it can be caressed, read, and ridden. Even the pages of this publication have become a treasure trove of history newly discovered or left untold for decades.

If only ponies could talk, what a tale they would tell. But detectives among us are reading clues, gathering information, and speaking up for those wooden figures. Dentzel will become known through new projects in Oregon, and museums will offer even more glimpses into the talents of the early carvers. Those petite pony voices are swelling to a chorus level, ensuring the survival of the old as well as the new.

But just as there is sadness when the bell rings for that last merry-go-round ride at the fair, or they roll the gates closed, and you stroll down an empty boardwalk feeling the nip in the fall air, this is the last issue for a great editor of Merry-Go-Roundup.

Cyndy has given us 15 years of summer pleasures, the smell of cotton candy, laughter, and art, all wrapped up in facts and photography. She, too, can look back at her season with the NCA and other carousel projects, as well as her personal ride favorites, with pride, fond memories and the knowledge of a job well done.

Her volumes of printed issues will be read and reread, cruised for details, used for research, and even clutched to the heart as they relay sad news of carousels and people gone glimmering.

Thank you, Cyndy, for going for the brass ring. You caught it, and we all were able to share a fantastic ride with you!