Amusement on a Sunday Afternoon
By Marianna Heusler

With the arrival of Easter Sunday came the opening of one of my favorite places on earth.

The amusement park.

We didn’t actually go on Easter – too busy with the Easter parade and my parents thought it was too cold. But from that day forward we would beg my father – when can we go – when can you take us? My mother stayed home with my two younger siblings, probably happy for a little peace and quiet.

I’m not sure why an amusement park is such a magical place for children (and for some adults as well). Maybe the rides, the noises, the smell of food makes it difficult to think of anything else, so for a little while, time is suspended.

My father would buy a row of paper tickets and divide them equally between myself, my sister, Martha and my brother Joey. He made plans to meet us at the pavilion, where all the parents waited for their children. He instructed us to stay together and we reluctantly agreed, although we were interested in different rides.

Although we all loved the Merry Go Round, or as it was known in our amusement park, The Happiness Machine. The ride lasted four minutes, around and around, while I sat on one of the painted horses (never in a chariot), listened to the organ music and waved to strangers and to some of my friends, the elevation making me feel somewhat superior.

That was the only ride we agreed on.

No way was I boarding the Ferris wheel. Fearful of heights, I wasn’t comfortable when the ride stopped and I was on top, swinging back and forth in that wide open little cart. I didn’t like the satellite jets or the airplanes either. Especially not the roller coaster. This fear turned out to be well founded when a few years later my brother, Jamie, got stuck on the top and actually had to climb down. He thought it was an adventure, even when a dog ripped his pants from behind. My mother wasn’t as thrilled.

My brother, Joey, loved the dodgem cars, which were simply electrical bumper cars, operated remotely by a distracted teenager. Which might explain why Joey’s car somehow went off the track and he ended up face down in the bushes. He wasn’t seriously hurt but, after that – well, driving has never been his favorite thing.

For myself, I liked the Twilt a Whirl and the Whip. I loved the speed, starting off slowly and then spinning faster and faster. Now I would probably throw up.

There were two fun houses, one you rode through, the other you dared to walk into or rather be pushed into by rambunctious kids behind you. Of course, I opted for the ride, where spooky figures popped up at you and screamed like banshees. Having once got lost in the house of mirrors – well, I preferred to ride.

We had a little money of our own and we couldn’t resist the barkers, who screamed out that just for 25 cents you had a good chance to win a stuffed animal or a crudely formed ceramic vase. All you had to do was throw a ring and encircle a clothes pin. I can’t tell you how many times I tried. I never won anything.

Finally we would meet my father at the pavilion, where he could buy a beer for a quarter and us a sandwich for 35 cents. The band played so loudly we could barely hear one another, which was fine. We didn’t really have much to say. On Friday nights the pavilion would turn into a record hop, where teenagers could dance away until midnight. Our local amusement park also had an outdoor theater and several years later, Martha and my cousin, Marilyn, and I became ushers. We had the good fortune to meet Arlene Dahl, Caesar Romero, Hal Holbrook, Kathy Crosby, Martha Raye and even Tallulah Bankhead.

By the time I reached my teenage years, our little amusement park closed its’ doors. It couldn’t compete with the larger parks, which had more space, more dangerous rides, more challenging games, and more international food. Shortly after most of the park was destroyed by a fire. 48 horses from the carousel were saved, repainted in the art deco style and stored away.

Our local amusement park was not just a place to go when you wanted a thrilling ride, or some fresh cotton candy, or a chance to win a stuffed animal. It was a place to sit down and chat with the neighbors, a brief respite from what we thought was a crazy, busy world, where people didn’t have enough time to actually interact with one another.

Little did we know how complicated our world was about to get.                                                                                                         




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