Carousel Found, Carousel Lost

Where do I get my ideas? From my life.

Previously in this blog, I described how my novelette CAROUSEL MAGIC came into being from my experience and a sprinkle of magic. Rocky Rapids Amusement Park, the setting for both CAROUSEL MAGIC and my novella RESTORE MY HEART, is based on the amusement park that gave me so much joy as a child: Cascade Park in New Castle, PA. As I wrote both books, I often wondered what happened to the park's carousel, and if it had been created by one of the masters, like Gustav Dentzel. The librarian in me took firm charge, and off I went on the hunt.

My mother often shared stories about the glory days of Cascade Park.The park had opened in 1897 and boasted a merry-go-round as well as several other rides, set among the forested hills outside the city and along the gorge formed by the waters of Big Run. In 1908, the Harmony Short Line, a new interurban streetcar running from Pittsburgh to New Castle, opened a station just east of the park. Streetcars brought people from all over western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio to the site, another of the so-called “Trolley Parks,” the turn-of-the-century precursor to the modern amusement park.

In 1922, history sources document that Cascade Park replaced its original carousel (origins unknown) with a "new" one, one it purchased from Idora Park in nearby Youngstown, OH. I then found this intriguing quote in a roller coaster fan's blog:

This [the carousel pavilion at Cascade Park] once housed a Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel, PTC #61, that previously resided at another lost Rust Belt park, Youngstown, Ohio's Idora Park. It currently operates at Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, New York. (Coaster Talk No BS Zone)

I was ecstatic. The carousel that I remember, that I rode, was a vintage carousel, and not only that, the carousel had been given new life when it had been purchased in 1984, restored and re-assembled in New York with its new name "Jane's Carousel". 

My carousel was found!

Last month I met with Todd Goings of Carousels and Carvings for dinner in Burlington, NC where he had been working on the vintage Dentzel machine. Todd has been my go-to research source for all things related to carousel restoration. It just so happened that he knew the family who had purchased PTC #61, and he shared that the carousel now in New York was purchased from Idora Park, not from Cascade Park. So PTC #61 could not be my carousel.

No! Say it isn't so! 


I wanted to cry out, but we were at dinner, so I kept my dismay to a lower "No, really?"  

Yes, really.

Back to the hunt.

More internet searching, more comparison of records, more reading. What I've learned is the following:

• The origin of Cascade Park's first carousel is unknown to me so far, but it operated in the park from 1897 to 1922.
• I do know that in 1898, in the first season of Idora Park's operation "An electric merry‑go‑round with wooden animals carved by Gustav Dentzel of Philadelphia was a major attraction."
• In 1922, Idora Park purchased a new, magnificent carousel, PTC #61. Idora sold the Dentzel carousel to Cascade Park. 
• 1923 Season at Cascade Park. "A large, circular pavilion, built by James B. McLendon of the New Castle Lumber Company, was also erected to house a new carousel [the Dentzel] acquired from Idora Park."
• The Dentzel carousel ran in Cascade Park from 1922 to 1953 when "The carousel was rebuilt as the old wooden horses were replaced with aluminum ones." 

By the 1980's, vandalism, storm and flood damage, and lack of resources persuaded civic leaders to change the focus of the park from amusement rides to more nature-focused activities. The photo below shows the soon-to-be-abandoned aluminum carousel (c1983). It is likely, notes a Lawrence County historian, that the metal horses were scrapped.

My carousel was lost.
  

My carousel, it seems, was the one with aluminum horses, without a doubt created by skilled metal workers and engineers, but not carved by the master craftsmen of a former era. And it did not regain new life in another park to continue to give joy, but was discarded, scrapped. I'm sad. It brings tears to my eyes. 

But then I look at the picture of the child holding on, ready to choose a horse, ready to travel into fantasy.

I was that child. I made that journey into fantasy. I found joy in the journey. 

My carousel had fulfilled its purpose.

***

For more reading:

Cascade Park of Years Past - New Castle PA Lawrence County Memoirs. Accessed June 27, 2018 

The photo above is taken from this excellent history of the park.

Jane's Carousel, An Old Ride, Gets New Life by the Brooklyn Bridge. by Meghan Barr. The Huffington Post. 2011  Accessed June 25, 2018

The Carousel News and Trader, v. 23, No. 1, January 2007.
This magazine issue carries several articles about Jane's Carousel, its restoration and the history of Idora Park. Accessed June 24, 2018

Pittsburgh Connections Launch!

Pittsburgh Between the Rivers

During the month of April, I'm celebrating the launch of my new series called PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS. This contemporary romance series follows the lives and loves of men and women who have a significant connection to this vibrant city.

My connection to the city is very significant, indeed! Pittsburgh is only 50 miles south of my hometown, New Castle, PA. Many of my relatives lived in Pittsburgh so visits were frequent. I once played at the Three Rivers Arts Festival there with my high school concert band, and I danced in the Pittsburgh Folk Festival several times. Some of my best memories are about my Mom, my sister and me all donning our hats and gloves (oh, yes, we were going to the big city) and riding the train to Pittsburgh's center. From there we would shop at Gimbel's and Kaufmann's, two wonderful department stores that were as famous in Pittsburgh as Macy's is in New York. We always had a fashionable lunch at Gimbel's and went directly back to shopping afterward.

There IS that story about my family visiting a fancy restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh. My cousin and I (both very young at the time) sat under the table hidden by the floor-length tablecloth and spread cracker crumbs from those little cracker packets all over the floor...

Are you from Pittsburgh or have you visited? What do you think of the city?

And The Winner Is...The Novella With Spirit

Waiting for news can be a tense time unless you fill it with something very distracting. I concentrated on my day job, dove into my next novel project and allowed time to float by.

Writing contests usually have two stages: the Finalist stage and the Announcement (Winner) stage. As a contestant, if you've been selected for either, you get The Call. Most contests strive to make a personal phone call, not send an e-mail. It's a lot more fun to give (and get) this news over the phone.

I got The Call in early summer before the RWA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. From nearly 200 submissions, Carousel Magic had risen to Robin Award Finalist. I cried, I laughed, I called everyone I knew. The contest coordinator also asked me if I would be attending the conference in July. The winner would be announced at the annual Awards Luncheon, and they wanted all the finalists there. No hesitation. Yes, I would be there.

I had attended the Awards Luncheon before and I knew that this was a big deal. Kind of like the Oscars. If I won, I would be walking up on to the stage in front of a crowd in a huge conference banquet hall, and I'd be asked to say a few words. The Spirit kept nudging. "Don't go unprepared," it whispered. "Be ready to walk on that stage." I carefully crafted a brief acceptance speech and wrote it on a couple of index cards.

The first day and a half of the Orlando conference passed by me in a happy haze. Other writers congratulated me, I basked in the attention and acknowledgement. I was a Finalist! Members of my chapter, Greater Detroit RWA, were as excited as I was. By the time the Awards Luncheon occurred, I trembled with nervousness. As I had envisioned, the Banquet Hall held 20 or 30 round tables filled to the far corners with conference-goers and well-wishers. My chapter and other friends filled two tables not too far from the stage. I could barely eat.

Then the Announcement. Introduction of all five finalists. 3rd Place. 2nd Place. And...Me!


"From the Heart of the Author to the Heart of the Reader"

The cheers around me exploded, and I walked slowly and steadily to the stage, now somewhere between shaking leaf and bursting fireworks. I shook hands with Robin Lee Hatcher, for whom the award had been named, and with the coordinators at Laubach Literacy. I stepped up to the podium, looked out over the crowd, breathed in courage from the Spirit, and read my little speech.

Thank Heaven for those index cards.

The Spirit Moves on a Bright Spring Morning

I'd made the decision to enter the writing contest sponsored by RWA and Laubach Literacy International. The rules specified a "sweet" romance with a length of 6,000 words, a novella or short story. What to write? What would be the basis of my plot?

During the preceding months, my mother had been in declining health, a combination of dementia, arthritis and cancer. My sister and I had cleaned out her house before its sale, and we found mementos of her fascination with carousels. Scrapbooks of trips to area carousels, books about the history and the carousel designers, and recordings of original carousel band organ music. I took it all home to sort through later.

In the back of my mind are the carousels. Stirring around are ideas for a romance, the contest guidelines, everything I have learned about new adult readers. All of this quietly mixes in my subconscious.

It's a beautiful, crisp early Spring morning in Michigan. As I have for several years, I'm driving on a fairly deserted piece of Ford Road between Canton and Ann Arbor. It's a familiar drive, so part of my mind floats to think about the upcoming contest.

Suddenly I feel a movement within me, soft and subtle, as if warm chocolate is slowly flowing through me. As I'm driving, the entire plot of CAROUSEL MAGIC forms whole in my mind. I know that the heroine will be named "Ginger" and the hero, "Tom". I know that Ginger is the mayor of a small town in Western Pennsylvania, and she is determined to save a vintage carousel. I know that Tom is a developer who has purchased the amusement park where the carousel stands. And he has decided that the carousel will not be part of the newly renovated park.

There is conflict. There is delightful setting. There is history. There is the potential for love.

Never before, and never since, have I experienced such direct guidance from the Spirit in my writing.  When I arrived at work, I made quick notes of everything that had come to me in the car. When I got home, I began outlining the characters and plot. I finished the draft and several revisions over the next three weeks, writing whenever I could grab a few minutes. My critique group read it, gave their comments and I rewrote.

I submitted it five weeks after that first inspiration.

And then I waited.

The RWA-Literacy Partnership

Romance Writers of America (RWA) has always had a strong interest in literacy. It's natural. Without competent readers, authors have no one with whom to connect. Add the fact that adult illiteracy in the US is a serious problem, and a partnership is born. At its national convention each year, the RWA Readers for Life literacy autographing event raises thousands of dollars for ProLiteracy Worldwide and convention city literacy organizations. RWA chapters across the country do their part with fundraising and supplying tutors for local literacy councils.

So it came to pass in the mid-1990's, that Laubach Literacy International (the forerunner of ProLiteracy Worldwide) decided to create a writing award for the best romance written for new adult readers, English-speaking adults who are just learning to read. They named the new award "The Robin" in honor of Robin Lee Hatcher, an RWA member and president whose efforts on behalf of literacy were well-known. A prominent author, Janet Dailey, had recently donated money to support publishing a romance line at New Readers Press, the publishing arm of Laubach, and the winning novel of the contest would be published as part of that line. The award was to be co-sponsored by RWA and Laubach Literacy International.

The contest was widely advertised, and the opportunity excited me. How could I not enter? I had tutored for my local literacy council and just the year before, I had published my first romance, A Private Proposal. This contest was tailored made for me.

If only I could come up with a suitable plot.

The Magic of Literacy

Carousel Magic blossomed from a long arc of experience. The second milestone in the arc was my experience with adult literacy. Romance Writers of America (RWA) is a strong supporter of literacy and sponsors many events at its conferences and around the country to raise money and awareness for the cause. While I was living in Michigan, RWA's efforts and some publicity from the local literacy council set in my heart an urge to become an adult tutor. During the whole process of contacting the council, arranging for training and getting my first assignment, I was excited and terrified. How would my meetings with students go? Could I really help? My first student met with me only once, and I was paired with a second. He was a young man, married with two young children. He worked

in industry, building machines and small structures for businesses. His goal? To read bedtime stories to his kids.

We worked together for three years. He grew from learning the alphabet to memorizing "sight" words and sounding out combination words. I learned that reading is a physical activity which depends on strong, exercised eye muscles and that punctuation is a language all its own. It took several weeks of concentrated effort for my student to "read" the punctuation of each sentence. He loved the play The Phantom of the Opera, so I typed up his favorite lyrics in large font and helped him follow along to the music. At the end of three years, he had advanced to a 4th grade reading level and was enjoying bedtime stories with his children as well as reading blueprints with more confidence.

Together, in that literacy partnership, we made our own bit of magic.

Learn more about Carousel Magic, Book 2 in the Pittsburgh Connections Series at my website -

www.LStGeorge.com

Magic in the Childhood Merry-go-round

Readers often ask, "Where do you get your ideas for your books?". In my experience, the creation of each book rises from a different path, different choices, and the variety of life.  "Carousel Magic", my sweet romance novella, is a strong example of the phenomenon we've all experienced. At some time during life, events, people and the stars seem to align and poof! The outcome is positive and affirming. The author of the book Religious Integrity for Everyone: Functional Theology for Secular Society calls this "Exquisite Timing".  For me it's being in the flow of God's Spirit.  Over the next few posts, let me share with you how "Carousel Magic" came to be.

It all started with a weak stomach. My weak stomach to be exact. As an infant, I had trouble keeping cow's milk down, and my mother experimented with many options and finally settled on goat's milk. Move forward a few years to visits to amusement parks. I loved going to the parks and in Western Pennsylvania, we had many good ones. I tried roller coasters and tilt-a-whirls and spinning teacups, but it seems that spinning and twirling and screaming while shooting down the last coaster hill do not agree with my stomach.

But the merry-go-round? Ah-h-h. I felt grand on the up-and-down horses, flying around with the wind sweeping through my hair. You see, I'm in awe of horses and their riders. I'm frankly intimidated by a horse's size and power. But on a merry-go-round, I could imagine something of the feeling that a rider gets galloping along with a horse under him.

The Magic started with a weak stomach.


Next Time: Tutoring Magic