30 machine. machine. by pluckingabrassringfromitsoperating ring $1.50, andtheridercouldalsowinafree ride can takearideonthehistoriccarousel forjust (the museumisalsofree),avisitorto Knoebels Because itisafree-admissionpark Vol. 38,No.3 | www.pa-mag.com

Grand Carousel knoebels 100-year-old parkgem receives a makeover O to David Wynn, who started his career his Wynn,David started to who a jack of all trades. That’s what happened long enough, and you are sure to become Work inan Meet the Wynns to breathe new life into this treasured ride. that with a massive three-year restoration father-and-son team set out to change all Indecades. untouchedfor time, 2010, a of ravages tothe left been riders—had of heads the above stencilingspans that and scrollwork intricateof webthe and bright cartoons and graphic western scenes with painted panels canvas and metal setting—the the of rest the But tained. handful still in operation, was also main- a facelift few every years. in a rotation that guaranteed each horse systematically removed and refurbished wooden carved steeds had been carefully, glected. Over the years, the ride’s 63 hand- land County. Northumber Elysburg, locatedin park family Resort,tree-lined timeless, the The brass ring machine, one of only a a only of one machine, ring brass The It’s not that the carousel had been ne sel at Knoebels Amusement its toll on the Grand Carou being well had loved taken years hundred ne old-time old-time amusement park by kristin baver Pennsylvania Magazine | May/June 2015 of of - - - 31

Matt wynn Before existence, was first assembled in 1913 at Gala Park in the North Beach area of Queens, N.Y., by George Kremer, who produced at least six different carousels over his lifetime. The only other Kremer carousel still in operation today is located in St. Catherine’s in Ontario, Canada. Prohibition took a toll on North Beach Park, the site today of LaGuardia Airport, and it was thought that the carousel was eventually relocated to Riverside Park in Rahway, N.J., although it is unclear if the After ride was ever operational at its new home. “No one ever remembers a carousel being there,” the elder Wynn says. A chance discovery solved that partic- ular mystery early in 2014 when work- ers sifting through some records in the Knoebels’ homestead found a small, black metal box. Inside was the bill of sale for the carousel along with other historical documents. Turns out that Knoebels purchased the merry-go-round, along with two organs, two motors and benches, for $4,000

att wynn m att from a Charles Schmitt of Riverside Park (4) kristin baver in Piscataway, N.J., about 15 miles from Knoebels carousel museum houses retired carou- some of the only surviving documentation Rahway. The official transaction docu- of the attack came as the Knoebels were A Bloomsburg University graduate with an art sel animlars including a regal lion and prancing of its age and origins. ments were signed January 26, 1942, a unloading their new investment. degree, Matt Wynn—son of David Wynn, the ostrich on a faux carousel. Many of the original From the earliest beginnings of the date that called another piece of family Park spokesman Joe Muscato believes primary caretaker of the carousel — was hired Wolfinger panels are also displayed there. park, now operated by the third genera- lore into question. It had always been said he has an answer for that discrepancy. In by Knoebels as a restoration technician for its tion of the Knoebel family, Knoebels has that Henry Knoebel bought the Grand those days, buying and selling was a hand- carousel. He worked on all parts of the carousel, at Knoebels in 1972 as a maintenance always had a carousel. In the early 1900s, Carousel in 1941, just 10 days before Pearl shake deal, and likely one finalized with a including the restoration of the rounding boards worker. Over the years, he also became Henry Knoebel and his wife, Hattie, were Harbor. According to family legend, news cash payment. His best guess is that the that appear on the top outside edge of the carousel the carousel’s primary caretaker, a man in the farming and lumber business when transaction, indeed, began in December (above) and the center panels (below, left) of the trusted to keep the intricate antique or- they were commissioned to build a cot- 1941 and was formally completed with the historic carousel. gans that pump out the tinny music in tage at nearby Lithia Springs, where a Before written bill of sale the following month. top working order. makeshift amusement park sprang up For the most part, the ride itself speaks In 2010, Wynn’s son, Matt, had recently each season. for its long history. Beyond the newly saddles and sides that have been rubbed graduated from Bloomsburg University “Henry hated farming,” Dick Knoebel discovered bill of sale, miniscule clues to bare wood grain from the endless pa- with an art degree and was struggling to says of his grandfather, and that first left behind by previous workers are “the rade of riders slinging their legs over the find work in his field. Knowing that the glimpse of a modest entertainment resort only written records we have,” Matt says. animals’ backs. carousel was coming up on its centennial gave him an idea. The carved equines are a rarity them- This constant upkeep has been the key in 2013 and was in need of some careful In those days, carousels were not selves, with glass taxidermy eyes and real to the ride’s survival, David Wynn says. attention, Knoebels enlisted the younger fixtures, so Henry convinced the ride’s horsehair tails instead of the fully sculpted “For example, if a leg is broken, we don’t Wynn as a restoration technician for the owner, Joe Gallagher, to bring the trav- hindquarters found on most merry-go- just pound a few nails in,” he explains. ride. With no formal training to help him eling merry-go-round to a new location round horses. The Grand Carousel’s 63 Instead, damaged limbs are carefully translate his artistic background to the the following year. Knoebels debuted horses consist of 36 standard steeds with epoxied together, and the hardware is meticulous work of restoration, Matt July 4, 1926, with a carousel, a pool and three feet on the ground and one hoof removed to maintain the authenticity learned by the trial and error of hands-on an eatery. The park proved successful, raised in the air and another 27 that leap of the original piece. A heat gun pulls experience. and within 15 years, the family was eager and jump with the aid of a pole and a the paint off in sheets, but sometimes a “Did you know that I was a wood to purchase its own carousel. mechanism that turns as the ride rotates. scalpel is employed to scrape the paint, carver?” he jokes. “Neither did I.” To keep the iconic horses looking just as layer by layer, in search of the original Matt’s methodical work over the next History Rewritten splendid as their first day on the job, the finish. Each refurbishing job takes “a three years would help to shed new light The Grand Carousel that has stood park removes a handful of the most-worn couple hundred hours, if you want to do on the ride’s rich history and uncover in the park for nearly 75 of its 100-year After horses each winter and reburbishes the it right,” Wynn says.

32 Vol. 38, No. 3 | www.pa-mag.com Pennsylvania Magazine | May/June 2015 33 natures and year 1913 also provide the only evidence as to the artist behind the In early 2014, workers sifting through some records works decorating the carousel, since the 36 center panels at the ride’s core bear no in the Knoebels’ homestead found a small, black such proof. The two sets of paintings were mis- metal box. Inside was the bill of sale for the carousel matched in style and content at the outset of the ride’s construction. along with other historical documents. The smaller panels at the ride’s core are brightly colored scenes portraying the humor of a bygone era with subtle bishment, a tedious job allowing him to with guesses and tests about how best puns and cartoonish wordplay, while the finish at the rate of about one panel per to restore the work without disturbing exterior panels were rife with graphic de- week. He carefully replaced the cardboard its integrity. Then he received word that pictions of violence on the western plains. backing with plywood to make the panels someone had shown his restoration work “The original rounding boards were more durable and patched ring-shaped to Wolfinger’s grandson, who had shed kind of gruesome,” Muscato notes. holes with canvas. Some of the panels tears of joy when he saw the photos. Hav- Matt speculates that despite the con- were so far gone, however, they had to ing the approval of the artist’s descendant trasting styles, Wolfinger may have been be glued onto all new backdrops. allayed any of Matt’s remaining fears. behind all 54 individual works. The comi- “They probably anticipated this would For the most jarringly violent and most cal style of the center panels more closely last 20 years at the most,” Matt speculates. badly damaged panels, Matt created a few matches the rest of the scenic artist’s The rounding boards posed their own replacement rounding boards by matching known works. dilemma during the Wynn restoration. the size and style down to the exact gauge “As to why the rounding boards would Despite years of being shielded by the of metal. The originals are now on display have been rendered more realistically, we updated Meisel works, the original metal at the park’s carousel museum, which can only speculate,” Matt says, suggesting panels were still badly damaged, leaving pays homage to the history of the carou- the incongruity may simply be attributed the antique and historically significant sel with a menagerie of retired carousel to a painter-for-hire following the orders pieces faded and pocked with rust. animals, including a regal lion, a prancing

rosanne cheese m an, erie of his benefactor. Matt chose the signed Wolfinger pan- ostrich and a large rooster, depicted on a About 10 years after the carousel had els and one other badly rusted scene to faux carousel. become established at Knoebels, park of- be restored and displayed at the park’s The Wynns’ restoration project has Historic Wooden Carousels in Pennsylvania Muller/Harton Grand Carousel, PTC Carousel, Hersheypark, finished in time; arrived at Kenny- Ý ficials noticed that the original rounding carousel museum as a tribute to the relics lasted more than three years, with the Carousel, Conneaut Lake Park, Con- Knoebels, Elysburg, 1913 (installed Hershey, 1919 (brought to Hershey- wood, via the Pennsylvania Railroad, boards were badly rusting, so in 1953 Frank of the fine craftsmanship of yesteryear. bulk of the work completed in time for neaut Lake, 1905, although the park at park in 1941), brass ring machine park in 1944), four-row park model. in 1927), four-row park model. Meisel, the park’s full time painter until Throughout the restoration process, Matt the carousel’s centennial celebration in has had financial challenges, it will in operation, several organs. around 1980, rejuvenated what was then says he gradually went from being curi- 2013. But with a project of this magnitude PTC Carousel, Idlewild Spillman Carousel, open for the 2015 season. already faded and worn workmanship on the ous about the original works to needing involving a ride popular with thousands Dentzel Carousel, Park, Ligonier, 1930 (last to be DelGrosso’s Amusement Park, Tipton, rounding boards, and then the center panels to see them for himself before finally of sometimes rambunctious patrons, the Please Touch Museum, Phila- made by PTC, moved to Idlewild 1924, portable three-row model, all- operated on week of July 4 every the next year. Rather than risk offending resolving to build a mechanism for the work is truly never ending. delphia, 1902-1907 (restored and in 1931), all-solid wood horses. wood carousel still in original location. year by Millville Fire Company. guests in the conservative 1950s with the carousel museum that would allow park When the last stroke is completed, installed in the restored Memorial Dentzel Carousel, Weona Carousel, Albion Boro gory scenes or tackling what would be a patrons to also enjoy the original scenes some of the earliest refurbished sections Hall in Fairmount Park in 2008). Dentzel Carousel, Park, Pen Argyl, 1900 (arrived in Pen Park, Albion, 1890-1900 (arrived recurring problem, Knoebels also tasked and stencils, which were intact under years will need to be retouched. It’s a perpetual Dorney Park and Wildwater King- PTC Grand Carousel, Peddler’s Argyl in 1923), operating brass ring at Albion in 1947), one of the Meisel with creating durable masonite and layers of paint. The display includes cycle familiar to caretakers of other large dom, Allentown, 1921 (at Dorney Village, Lahaska, 1922 (moved to machine, in a community park. oldest operating carousels, all panels with new scenes that would cover several fabricated pieces that Matt created and complicated pieces. since 1995, formerly at Cedar Point, Lahaska in 1998), all but two of the but one chariot is original. and preserve the original artwork while in the style of the period, some based “It’s like painting the Golden Gate Dentzel Carousel, Ohio), four-row park model. figures were carved by Ed Roth of better matching the ride’s other panels. on Wolfinger’s paintings that remain in Bridge,” Matt says. “You start. When you’re Kennywood Park, Pittsburgh, 1927 Classic Wood Carousel, Long Beach, Calif., following styles Did we miss one or two? The original more realistic panels remained place on the carousel but hidden behind done, you have to touch up again.” (originally built for Sesquicentennial Millville Community Park, Mill- when the carousel was new. Please write and let us know. hidden until 1977, when Meisel was asked Meisel’s works. —Kristin Baver writes from Bloomsburg. Exposition in Philadelphia but wasn’t ville, 1920s (arrived in 1940), only to remove the panels to retouch the paint. Matt used his knowledge of art his- “The original boards went unseen, but tory to track down some of the original When You Go were not forgotten,” Matt says. In fact, reference paintings that Wolfinger used The Grand Carousel is located in the center of Knoeb- Coney Island’s detailed and unique blocks, works of art losing the original spirit. park employees photographed the original as inspiration on the exterior rounding els Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Northumberland unto their own. He relied on old photos Five of the 18 original metal round- works before rehanging them once more boards. On one, a dog holds a child in its County. It costs $1.50 to ride the carousel. Knoebels Michelangelo and faded work to retrace the original ing boards, illustrations decorating the with Meisel’s works forming a protective front paws, an image based on the 1856 Carousel Museum, also located in the park, provides a To restore the other parts of the ride, artist’s brush strokes on even the most perimeter of the carousel’s canopy, bear barrier. Wolfinger’s originals wouldn’t painting “Saved” by Sir Edwin Landseer, history of the carousel in America and offers examples Matt Wynn spent hours painstakingly basic ride elements. the signature of August Wolfinger, a be uncovered again until 2011 when the a British painter known for his works of of the work of all the major carousel carvers. Knoebels detailing the work, from matching the “Every stroke is intended to be exactly German immigrant and Coney Island Wynns began their restoration. animals. Many of the original carousel is open on weekends in May and begins its daily sum- oil-based paint colors to copying every like the one before it,” Matt says of his at- banner painter. paintings were based on the works of Fred- mer schedule May 20. It remains open daily through brushstroke. The ornately carved and tention to detail. Progressing in this slow, “These paintings contain the only Staying True to Wolfinger eric Remington, an artist who specialized Labor Day with weekend hours extending through stenciled sweeps remained in place while meticulous fashion was the only way to tangible proof we have of the carousel’s To work on the 36 center panels, Matt in depictions of the old American West. September. Knoebels doesn’t charge an admission fee; Matt craned his neck to hand paint the rejuvenate the work without completely 100-year existence,” Matt says. The sig- removed the pieces for individual refur- Matt’s earliest attempts were filled ride tickets are available for purchase. knoebels.com

34 Vol. 38, No. 3 | www.pa-mag.com Pennsylvania Magazine | May/June 2015 35