PARK GOING ROUND WITH MUSEUM BID.Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer VALENCIA - Harold Hartmann is 80 now, but he can still remember the names of all 64 wooden horses on The Grandest Carousel of Them All, the star of an amusement park amusement park, a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. in his small Connecticut hometown. The last time he saw two of the horses - Skinny and Tony - was in 1971 when he shipped them to California, to a new amusement park in Valencia called Magic Mountain that bought the 1912 carousel from the Savin savin a neurotoxic war gas similar to organophosphorus insecticides but considerably more toxic, as demonstrated in the Tokyo subway massacre in 1995. Rock amusement park near West Haven West Haven, town (1990 pop. 54,021), New Haven co., S Conn., a suburb across the West River from New Haven; settled 1638, inc. as a separate borough 1873. Although mainly residential, there are diversified manufacturing industries. . ``These were the Cadillacs of carousel horses and all the others were the Fords,'' Hartmann said of the ornate, hand-carved Philadelphia Tobaggan Co. flying horses Flying horses may refer to:
For the past year, Six Flags For the national flags of Texas, see . Six Flags (NYSE: SIX) is the world's largest chain of amusement parks and theme parks and is headquartered in New York City. There are 20 such parks run by Six Flags. California and the small town have been going round and round in a struggle to bring back just one of the carousel's horses to Connecticut for the Sept. 8 opening of a museum in Savin Rock. It's a tug-of-war between West Haven, where memories of the carousel are engrained in the memories of old-timers, and Six Flags California, which calls the carousel a piece of its own history. ``The merry-go-round was always the most popular attraction and the first place people stopped at to ride and listen to the organ music,'' said Hartmann, who worked on each of the horses for years restoring and maintaining them as the head maintenance man for the park from 1933 to its close in 1968. But on the opposite coast, where historical landmarks are comparatively few, the carousel has created its own nostalgia. Six Flags California spokesman Andy Gallardo said the park - now known for white-knuckle roller coasters While there have been hundreds of different roller coasters built, there have been just a few that were notable for specific reasons. Some reasons include:
The Savin Rock Museum committee approached Six Flags more than a year ago to buy one of the horses - no matter what the condition - for the museum's opening on Sept 8. The museum will celebrate the history of Savin Park, built in the late 1800s. To the surprise of West Haven's residents, the theme park initially responded by refusing to sell any of the original 64 wooden horses and refusing to consider loaning just one to the museum. ``We're disappointed because it was an innocent request and there's all this mystery behind it,'' said Beth Sabo, chairwoman of the Savin Rock Museum Committee and the city's commissioner of human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. . ``It's strictly historical for us and it means a lot to the 'rock rats' - those who grew up in Savin Rock.'' But Six Flags is starting to show signs of relenting to the committee's request. Gallardo said recently the Valencia park would negotiate with the committee about loaning a horse, but not necessarily in time for the museum's opening. ``We'd love to figure out a way to help them out, and we'll contact them soon,'' said Gallardo. A busy schedule with several roller coaster What a bad CD-R disc is often called. See CD-R and underrun. openings also has hampered discussions to hammer out an agreement. Gallardo said the loan would be contingent upon Adj. 1. contingent upon - determined by conditions or circumstances that follow; "arms sales contingent on the approval of congress" contingent on, dependant on, dependant upon, dependent on, dependent upon, depending on, contingent agreeing how to ship the wooden horse to West Haven without damaging it and having the museum restore the horse properly. He explained the park's hesitancy hes·i·tan·cy n. An involuntary delay or inability in starting the urinary stream. to part with even one wooden horse because Six Flags doesn't want to compromise the integrity of the entire collection, and because the originals are necessary to make accurate molds for fiberglass replicas. Just 12 of the original horses are still a part of the carousel - the rest are fiberglass replicas of the originals - and the other 52 originals are in the amusement park archives - not for public view. Six Flags, he said, intends to restore the carousel to its original glory by refurbishing all the older horses. Hartmann, a Savin Rock historian, recalls the carousel horses had real horse tails - all dyed a different color and replaced every couple of years. And he said they are worth up to $40,000 apiece today as a collector's item collector's item Noun an object highly valued by collectors for its beauty or rarity Noun 1. collector's item - the outstanding item (the prize piece or main exhibit) in a collection piece de resistance, showpiece . The residents of West Haven are hopeful that one of the wooden horses will return to its original home. ``The horse would be the leading attraction of the museum,'' said Hartmann, who also serves on the museum's committee. Sabo said that the carousel is ingrained in the memories of West Haven's residents who grew up going to Savin Rock regularly with their families. ``When people think of Savin Rock, the first thing that comes to mind is the carousel,'' Sabo said. Mark Zaretsky of the New Haven Register The New Haven Register is a daily newspaper published in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the second largest newspaper in Connecticut, behind The Hartford Courant. It is owned by the Journal Register Company in Yardley, Pennsylvania. contributed to this story. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) A request by a West Haven, Conn., museum for one of the original merry-go-round wooden horses currently owned by Six Flags California has the amusement park pulling back the reins. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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