Today in Santa Rosa CA, the annual Sonoma County Fair will be coming to an end. Maybe a softer and sadder ending than usual, for this year, a big fair-time event, horse racing, was off the bill.
In my boyhood, I especially loved the first two of the day, for those were the harness races. Loved the gallant snap of the trotters dashing around and down the final stretch. The intensity was a little quieter, and yet more compelling.
They've been gone for many years.
The racetrack itself, which I would often visit because we lived only a few blocks from the fairgrounds, gave off a cool somber elegance. And at one time, the Foley and Burk Carnival wagons winter quartered in the flower building. A few were left outside, at the edge of the racetrack. One was loaded with the heavy wooden floor sections of my favorite of all rides -- The Whip.
Going to the fair in my daring teens, the best I could risk at the race track windows was two dollars to show, and sometimes I came out ahead by a few dimes.
There are fewer race horses in Northern California, owing to the fact that, with the recent closing of Golden Gate Fields, all of the tracks are gone. Which means fewer horses for the county fairs. And more betters have been walking away from the windows to wager on line.
One thing that still reigns on the midway is a classic carny ride indestructibly appealing. I have marveled at its endurance and yet am not surprised. It has something that most other rides do not. Do you know what? Angela Ramirez of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat certainly does. She penned a feature report -- "Looking for this year’s can’t-miss carnival attractions? We have you covered." She rated The Top Five Standout Attractions.
Number One: Tilt-A-Whirl!
Yes, oh yes, Angela, this king of carny rides has something that you nailed. Quoting you:
"This classic carnival ride delivered unpredictable fun with every spin, I hopped in expecting a gentle spin — and ended up gripping the bars in front of me for dear life. The Tilt-a-Whirl looks tame form the sidelines, but once it got going, the sudden intense twirls while circling the platform made the experience unpredictable and exciting. This is a ride I would hop off just to get back in line again."
You can never predict which way this one will lurch and spin -- to the right or to the left.
How many unpredictable rides like that can you name?.
When I go to the fair, I always hope to spot the Tilt-A-Whirl, and it's still there. Sometimes, yesterday is better than today.
Now, if they could only bring back the trotters ...
6 comments:
The Tilt-A-Whirl is pretty much what we in the UK call a Waltzer. A fairground classic for sure and, indeed, not as tame as it looks!
Here is a very good history of the Tilt-A-Whirl//Waltzer on both sides of the Big Pond, including the crude early version, from a a young rider operator who calls it one of, it not the best, flat rides at Cedar Point (OH). Oddly, his rave never mentions its unpredictable element. I imagine that many people do not realize this! Maybe not even he?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Pk46iu98g&t=18s
Thanks for the link. At one point he mentions the workers who physically spin the cars while they're in motion being banned in the UK. I don't think that's the case. They were certainly on the waltzer spinning the cars when I was on one a couple of weeks ago! What was banned was customers waiting on the gangway around the waltzer track, which was obviously a dangerous place to stand. You have to wait outside now.
So you have an intimate connection to the ride! Whenever I rode the Tilt, the cars always lurched and spun on their own. Another great ride is The Whip.
For 14 months of my 4 years in the Navy, my ship was homeported in Pearl Harbor Hawaii. Shortly after our arrival there, I went to the E. K. Fernandez Shows office to see if their circus would be playing somewhere in Oahu. After a conversation, they offered me a weekend job on the carnival. So, when the ship was in homeport, I would work with the show as #2 man on the Scrambler. Naturally, I am partial to it. The #1 operator was a large Samoan gentleman and he and I ran the ride very fast. Riders loved it, but Kane Fernandes would remind us that we were operating it too fast. "They are ashen faced when they come off the ride" he would say.
Yes, a great ride, and if feels more exciting watching it on a Tube, for it intensifies the feeling of crashing into another section of the ride!
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