My son recently confessed to me. Back in about 1977, he stole some of the Spokane Carrousel rings and kept this one all these years. What was I to do but smile and grab the camera!
Our Spokane merry-go-round opened in 1909. Besides riding round-and-round-and-up-and-down in wooden animals, a rider could stretch and reach for a ring with each circuit. If you got The Gold Ring, you won a free ride! If you plucked a dull-metal one, you tossed it into the clown's face and tried with the next go-round. If your aim was good and you got it into the clown's mouth, a bell would ring!
Did you know that about 200 American towns have carrousels? The significant ones are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.... as is our Spokane Looff Carrousel. Binghamton, New York, is billed as the Carrousel Capitol of the World because they have SIX working wooden carrousels.
There are still rings to grab for but nowadays they're plastic (much safer for tossing) and are often colored for the season.
Want to know more? Click to www.carrousels.org.
Do you remember reaching for a gold ring on the Spokane carrousel? I'd love to hear your story!
As for my son and his ring; he's put it safely in his keepsake box of treasures. Rightly so.
No comments:
Post a Comment