President's Message - Reprinted from the Summer 2010 Merry-Go-Roundup

Volunteer

By Bette Largent

At the end of May, Don and I made a trek across Montana, into Wyoming, and eventually landed among the peaks of the Rockies in Colorado. As we crossed the pathway of Lewis and Clark, we should have called our trek the "Volunteer Trail." I didn.t think of it as such until we returned and I re-capped all the stops at carousels along the way. Interwoven in our visits with new friends and old, there was one reoccurring theme.the value and accomplishments of volunteers.

Often traced back through our country's history in barn raisings, the building of churches and libraries, and the creation of historical societies, volunteering is part of our national fabric.

Our first stop was A Carousel for Missoula, where they were celebrating their first 15 years. The Missoulian, the local newspaper, created a special insert about the history of the carousel and the volunteers who created it and continue to operate it. A plaque at the carousel's entrance states it well: "If magic can happen anywhere, it can happen in Missoula, where dreams are followed and promises are kept, and where people believe in making a life as well as making a living."

Our route then took us on to Virginia City/Nevada City, Montana, an historic and active western mining town/museum. The salvation and preservation of this area was set in motion by Senator Charles Bovey and his wife Sue in 1944. Bovey, originally from Minnesota, adopted his new state and voluntarily began safeguarding its history. The two gold rush towns are now part of the Montana Heritage Commission and are preserved in what is termed "suspended deterioration." For carousel buffs, the Music Hall and other storefronts in Nevada City display the B.A.B. Band Organ Factory's inventory of organs purchased by the Senator in Brooklyn, New York, in 1958, together with many coin-operated machines, nickelodeons, and other mechanical music treasures, and the complete workshop of Joseph Molinari who created barrel organs and street pianos from 1890 to 1912.

The Bovey Collecton once included the Eden Palais Salon Carousel now beautifully restored and owned by the Sanfilippo Foundation in Illinois, and still holds Armitage-Herschell figures and three chariots believed to be from the Central Park, Helena, track machine. The chariots in original factory paint are signed "C.W. Parker" and it is thought that the ride they came from was rebuilt in Parker's Abilene, Kansas, works, ca. 1908.

Nevada City is entirely a ghost town, but you can travel less than a mile to Virginia City and enjoy the historic buildings and the Virginia City Players, who have been performing since 1949. With a population of 150, down from 30,000 in 1865, the whole town volunteers to be part of the historic activities that allow visitors to step back in time.

Stop three was at the base of the Big Horn Mountains in Buffalo, Wyoming. "Steamboat," the legendary horse on Wyoming's famous bucking bronco license plate, first unveiled in 1936, is the featured figure on Wyoming's only carousel. The 1925 Spillman Engineering mechanism, which operated at Gillian's Fun Deck in Ocean City, New Jersey, for 63 years, is stocked with other Wyoming favorites - the 7th Cavalry horse and an Indian pony named Little Soldier. All are reproduced in fiberglass from original carvings by local artist, Bill Jennings.

The Buffalo Cowboy Carousel, originally owned and repopulated by Emerson and Anne Scott, opened in 1989. The Scotts had dreams for the carousel's future and gave the community the first option to purchase it in Emerson's will. This spring the community took to the challenge, a friends group was organized, the carousel was purchased, and volunteers are raising funds to place it in a new downtown park location. The carousel operated this summer at the old location as a way of letting folks know that they will be spinning in their new home soon.

The new owners of the Buffalo Cowboy Carousel had lots of questions on carousel operations and maintenance and my first thought was of the closest Spillman carousel, from 1926, just across the border in Rexburg, Idaho. This is another story of volunteerism. This small community rallied in 1952 to purchase and move a carousel to the small town above Idaho Falls and then rallied again in 1976 when it was caught in the avalanche of floodwaters from the ruptured Teton Dam. They were able to raise funds for its restoration and for the carving of twelve replacement horses. Then they raised funds for a new building and a band organ.

We trekked on to our rocky mountain high in Colorado as the Carousel of Happiness was celebrating its grand opening on May 29, 2010. Scott Harrison spent 25 years carving figures that would delight children of all ages and then placed them on an empty 1910 Looff mechanism that had operated at Saltair near Salt Lake City until 1960 and later at the Utah State Training School until 1986. Harrison added rounding boards from a 1910 Dolle machine, formerly at Silver Beach, Michigan.

He gifted the carousel to the small former mining town of Nederland, 18 miles and 3,000 feet above Boulder, Colorado. The locals kicked into gear raising money for its new home. Now an environmentally green building in the center of town houses the imaginative menagerie carousel, which is further enhanced by a Wurltizer band organ and a second floor puppet theater. Now truly a one-horse town.the carousel only has one Indian pony - it will serves up a western howdy filled with hospitality making it another blue ribbon volunteerism winner.

Our return trip looped back through Boulder, Montana, where we did more research on the hand-cast Boulder River Carousel. Armed with a box chocked full of pictures and newspaper clippings, we dug through the stories of the Montana State Training School Superintendent's drive to create an amusement park not only for the school's residents but also for the children of the surrounding counties.

The Training School's staff was eager to assist in the project and often worked on their own time toward its creation. Area volunteers jumped in to assist as well. However, nearly 40 years later, in the mid 1990s, the amusement rides sat abandoned. Then a second-chance was given to the carousel and the miniature train and along came the needed volunteers. For some, it was their second time around to help. Armed with experience they again began casting new horses from the original Brill molds to replace those beyond repair.

The Volunteer Trail can be found in every corner of our carousel nation. No experience is necessary to travel upon it. The key is to begin the journey. Scott Harrison bought his ticket by carving a rabbit from left over wood and when it actually turned out looking like a rabbit he was inspired to carve again. Chuck Kaparich, leader of the Missoula project, created his first pony with birthday tools that he claims he used to bludgeon his way through the soft wood, as he didn't know chisels needed sharpening.

There are many tales to tell about each of our carousels. The fact is that all volunteers learn as they go and are proud of it. Volunteers are everywhere; sometimes they just need a little nurturing and guidance. They are keeping our carousels spinning in a wide array of ways. Next time you come across one, just give him or her a hug, or better yet, become a volunteer yourself. Volunteers are a great group to keep company with.