President's Message - Spring 2004

By Bette Largent, NCA President

Clean Off Your Desk Day

It was one of those many national days proclaimed for one reason or another, Bette Largent "National Clean Off Your Desk Day." And it was in January. Iif you started now, you could start the new year with a clean, organized slate. HGTV, a national television station, even offered a helpful program— Mission Organization!

First I confronted the necessary transition from my old computer to a newer one. I set the two computers up side by side in my small office and proclaimed my own "Clean Your Office Month," knowing it would take that long. Albeit unpleasant, this task helped me face a second necessary transition, from vice president to president of the National Carousel Association. My plan: Implement the 3 Ds — do, dump, or delegate, and FAT — file, act, or trash.

I started with a pile of quotes, notes, and snippets of information. One tattered note proclaimed, "Goals can change your life," and urged, "Choose your goals, your mission, your purpose, and your team. Plan and implement."

My, what lofty intentions. Would they work? I tacked the note up on the wall and started a list. I wrote, "MY MISSION" at the top, and below it, "Save, preserve, create, and educate." These responsibilities were important to me: to help those saving and preserving carousels and creating new ones, to increase awareness of the importance of our carousels in today¹s fast-paced society (especially among our youth), to educate the public about the impact of carousels as an industry and the carousel as an historical art form, and to assist the successful operation of all carousels.

In other words, my mission mirrors the mission statement of the NCA — I want carousels to be appreciated as important creations of early American folk art, not mere packages of individual pieces and parts to be disposed of when one tires of them. I want to help carousels become so viable and successful that their existence will never be in jeopardy.

Boxes of newspaper clippings and old files destined for the Spokane carousel archives caught my attention. The box obviously had to go, to free up more space to work in. I decided I would make copies of all the contents for the NCA Archives and then file the originals elsewhere. While sorting through the contents of the box, I came across a letter to the editor of the Spokesman Review — our local newspaper — from the 1960s. The writer was responding to the community¹s efforts to save the "old wooden merry-go-round" that had entertained generations of visitors to Spokane';s Natatorium Park.

"The Nat" was a trolley park that opened in the l890s, when Spokane was experiencing a boom. The park and its carousel had already survived two World Wars, the Korean conflict, and part of the Viet Nam conflict, but like many such parks in America during the 1960s, its days were numbered. The old amusement parks were being replaced by new attractions, arenas, and drive-in movie theaters.

As I read the clippings, one major factor became obvious. The park's battle was all uphill, and there were no local or national carousel organizations to fall back on for advice, assistance, or money. There were no new marketing strategies, technical conferences, or opportunities to network with other American communities with endangered machines.

Among the items, I also found photographs of happy times from the previous 60 years, when Looff's daughter and her family ran the park. I found myself reading each and every clipping. I read stories from 1964, of the pending and completed sale of the park to the local El Kalif Shriners. Some clippings revealed that the park operated for several years while the Shriners debated whether to put a Shrine Temple on the site, and then that the Shriners had put it back on the market.

Their plan was to either develop a retirement community there or sell the land to the Spokane Parks Department. After the latter declined the opportunity, the Shriners called an auctioneer and began planning for a new retirement park, to be called San Souci. How ironic. Bill Oliver, who had inherited the ride from Lloyd Vogel (it was never owned by the Shriners), refused to let the carousel be auctioned, to keep it in Spokane.

In 1968, the parks department supervisor, Bill Fearn, had an idea — have the Park Foundation purchase the ride and put it in a different city park. Around the same time, Spokane won the bid to host a World¹s Fair, Expo '74. Fearn believed once the fair ended, the reclaimed river area and falls would make a marvelous park, like Niagara Falls. The carousel could be placed there for all to see and ride.

He talked the Park Foundation into buying it, although he had nowhere to put it. It became known as "Fearn's Folly." Any progress was a rocky road, I learned, as some didn't want the old relic of carved wood and bric-a-brac. Other communities and dealers wanted it included in an auction of "outdated" rides. Disney even made an offer.

But all this is history. The clippings revealed how the community won, the carousel was saved, became successful, and is still being loved and preserved. I copied that letter written so many years ago, enlarged it, and posted it on the wall next to my list of goals as NCA president.

The letter reads: "More power to Harriette Gnagney in her public spirited offer to preserve the famous landmark of Natatorium Park, the old merry-go-round of German (sic) vintage. May I add my voice to the urgency of her plea.

"Although 36 years have passed, it seems only yesterday (1932?) that my wife and I beheld the thrill of our three-year-old son as he was drawn irresistibly, despite his timorous caution, from one tree to another, by the alluring music of the carousel with its galloping horses.

"The old merry-go-round should be preserved, but not as a museum piece. It should be kept active somewhere, somehow, with its music to gladden the heart of childhood. Its powerful melodic strains can never be equaled in thrills by any blaring of the best radio over the loudspeaker.

"Let me close by saying: Let the merry-go-round go on and on; Let its stirring music play until the laughter of children has forever passed away "

Joseph Jantsch, Spokane, Wa.

To our entire membership, I say, I'm glad you joined the NCA team. Your membership shows that we have common goals. Foremost among them is our goal to preserve carousels, "until the laughter of children has forever passed away."

Reprinted from The Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2004 (Quarterly publication for NCA members.)

Current President's Message
Current NCA Projects and overview
Summer 2002 President's Message
Spring 2002 President's Message


	President's Message - Spring 2004 By Bette Largent, NCA President Clean Off Your Desk Day It was one of those many national days proclaimed for one reason or another, "National Clean Off Your Desk Day." And it was in January. Iif you started now, you could start the new year with a clean, organized slate. HGTV, a national television station, even offered a helpful program— Mission Organization! First I confronted the necessary transition from my old computer to a newer one. I set the two computers up side by side in my small office and proclaimed my own "Clean Your Office Month," knowing it would take that long. Albeit unpleasant, this task helped me face a second necessary transition, from vice president to president of the National Carousel Association. My plan: Implement the 3 Ds — do, dump, or delegate, and FAT — file, act, or trash. I started with a pile of quotes, notes, and snippets of information. One tattered note proclaimed, "Goals can change your life," and urged, "Choose your goals, your mission, your purpose, and your team. Plan and implement." My, what lofty intentions. Would they work? I tacked the note up on the wall and started a list. I wrote, "MY MISSION" at the top, and below it, "Save, preserve, create, and educate." These responsibilities were important to me: to help those saving and preserving carousels and creating new ones, to increase awareness of the importance of our carousels in today¹s fast-paced society (especially among our youth), to educate the public about the impact of carousels as an industry and the carousel as an historical art form, and to assist the successful operation of all carousels. In other words, my mission mirrors the mission statement of the NCA — I want carousels to be appreciated as important creations of early American folk art, not mere packages of individual pieces and parts to be disposed of when one tires of them. I want to help carousels become so viable and successful that their existence will never be in jeopardy. Boxes of newspaper clippings and old files destined for the Spokane carousel archives caught my attention. The box obviously had to go, to free up more space to work in. I decided I would make copies of all the contents for the NCA Archives and then file the originals elsewhere. While sorting through the contents of the box, I came across a letter to the editor of the Spokesman Review — our local newspaper — from the 1960s. The writer was responding to the community¹s efforts to save the "old wooden merry-go-round" that had entertained generations of visitors to Spokane';s Natatorium Park. "The Nat" was a trolley park that opened in the l890s, when Spokane was experiencing a boom. The park and its carousel had already survived two World Wars, the Korean conflict, and part of the Viet Nam conflict, but like many such parks in America during the 1960s, its days were numbered. The old amusement parks were being replaced by new attractions, arenas, and drive-in movie theaters. As I read the clippings, one major factor became obvious. The park's battle was all uphill, and there were no local or national carousel organizations to fall back on for advice, assistance, or money. There were no new marketing strategies, technical conferences, or opportunities to network with other American communities with endangered machines. Among the items, I also found photographs of happy times from the previous 60 years, when Looff's daughter and her family ran the park. I found myself reading each and every clipping. I read stories from 1964, of the pending and completed sale of the park to the local El Kalif Shriners. Some clippings revealed that the park operated for several years while the Shriners debated whether to put a Shrine Temple on the site, and then that the Shriners had put it back on the market. Their plan was to either develop a retirement community there or sell the land to the Spokane Parks Department. After the latter declined the opportunity, the Shriners called an auctioneer and began planning for a new retirement park, to be called San Souci. How ironic. Bill Oliver, who had inherited the ride from Lloyd Vogel (it was never owned by the Shriners), refused to let the carousel be auctioned, to keep it in Spokane. In 1968, the parks department supervisor, Bill Fearn, had an idea — have the Park Foundation purchase the ride and put it in a different city park. Around the same time, Spokane won the bid to host a World¹s Fair, Expo '74. Fearn believed once the fair ended, the reclaimed river area and falls would make a marvelous park, like Niagara Falls. The carousel could be placed there for all to see and ride. He talked the Park Foundation into buying it, although he had nowhere to put it. It became known as "Fearn's Folly." Any progress was a rocky road, I learned, as some didn't want the old relic of carved wood and bric-a-brac. Other communities and dealers wanted it included in an auction of "outdated" rides. Disney even made an offer. But all this is history. The clippings revealed how the community won, the carousel was saved, became successful, and is still being loved and preserved. I copied that letter written so many years ago, enlarged it, and posted it on the wall next to my list of goals as NCA president. The letter reads: "More power to Harriette Gnagney in her public spirited offer to preserve the famous landmark of Natatorium Park, the old merry-go-round of German (sic) vintage. May I add my voice to the urgency of her plea. "Although 36 years have passed, it seems only yesterday (1932?) that my wife and I beheld the thrill of our three-year-old son as he was drawn irresistibly, despite his timorous caution, from one tree to another, by the alluring music of the carousel with its galloping horses. "The old merry-go-round should be preserved, but not as a museum piece. It should be kept active somewhere, somehow, with its music to gladden the heart of childhood. Its powerful melodic strains can never be equaled in thrills by any blaring of the best radio over the loudspeaker. "Let me close by saying: Let the merry-go-round go on and on; Let its stirring music play until the laughter of children has forever passed away " Joseph Jantsch, Spokane, Wa. To our entire membership, I say, I'm glad you joined the NCA team. Your membership shows that we have common goals. Foremost among them is our goal to preserve carousels, "until the laughter of children has forever passed away." Reprinted from The Merry-Go-Roundup, Spring 2004 (Quarterly publication for NCA members.) Current President's Message Current NCA Projects and overview Summer 2002 President's Message Spring 2002 President's Message