Life's a Carousel...

Regina is right. I find I am always on the lookout for ideas for a post.  Pallottine sparked this one yesterday with a comment he made. It reminded me of how much I have always loved old carousels. 

Pallottine: "Oldie But Goodie...The oldest wooden merry-go-round in the United States can be found in Burlington, Colorado. The Kit Carson County Carousel was built in 1906."

You can see the actual carousel turning here. Make sure to turn on the band music. 

It is beautiful- but what's with the zebras and lions? Well, it seems that the Elitch Gardens agent, rather than accept the order as it stood, hand-picked the animals that pleased him from all those on the factory shelves, even though several were not originally intended for this carousel. 

I am a purest. Carousels need horses. Beautiful magical horses. 

I found this perfect quote. 

"... a carousel is more that just a machine...it has been called magical by a friend of mine. I think of it as a spiritual dimension-more than just experience, more than just memories." -Will Morton

Expo 67, Montreal

Fifty-one years ago this summer, I rode on this beautiful carousel at Man and His World. 

"The carousel was manufactured in Belgium circa 1885. After a period of time in the United States, it was brought to Montreal for Expo 67. According to the records of the National Carousel Association it is the oldest merry-go-round in Canada, and one of the ten oldest in North America."

I was sad to read that this beautiful carousel has been stored away and badly neglected over the years. However there are hopes of bringing La Ronde's Antique Carousel back to life. 

Here is another gorgeous antique Merry-Go-Round. I would love to ride on this one. Ah, the places I could go perched atop that beautiful horse in the front of the picture.

Not all my carousel rides have been wonderful. My dad used to show his roadster horse at all the little country fairs. So we spent a lot of our growing up years at one fair or another.

I have a vivid memory of being on the merry-go-round. I was about 5 years old. I was on a horse on the outside of the ride. My younger sister was on a horse beside me. And my mother and baby sister were sitting in a chariot a little way behind. I remember that the ride was going very fast and I heard a clicking sound coming from my horse. Suddenly the horse came out of the tube that was attached to the floor and still hanging onto the horse we were now flying around out at the side of the ride. Luckily, the horse was still attached at the top. I can remember my mother screaming for the attendant to stop the ride. He couldn't hear her at first over the organ music. A father who was with his child on one of the horses saw what was happening and jumped down and ran over to grab the top pole to keep me from swinging outside of the ride and maybe flying away completely. 

I remember that I was terrified of Merry-Go-Rounds for years after that experience. My sister, who was only four, remembers how scary it was. Probably not helped by my mother's panic. I am sure she gave the poor attendant hell. However, I am glad to say, my love for these exquisite machines won out over my fear. 

My sister just told me there is one at Santa's Village where she lives in Bracebridge. I will have to make sure I go for a ride next time I am there. I hope it is an authentic one. With horses.

Love's A Carousel

Thank you, P. ; ))