Donna Duffy
Granddaughter to Sid Brookson
At the Lakeside Park Carousel’s 2018 Opening Day Ceremonies
Port Dalhousie, (St. Catharines, Niagara) Ontario, Canada
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Hosted by: The Friends of the Carousel
I am one of Sid and Ann’s 11 grandchildren, and I was fortunate to have been born when Lakeside Park was still enjoying its popularity with visitors arriving by boat, buses and cars. It was a truly magical time for me – my memories turn back to the last day of school. My mom would have the station wagon packed, we would pile in and off we would to go another world – hardly 20 minutes away from where we lived.
Sid was a stern task-master – necessary with so many visitors to look after. For my siblings, cousins and I, we literally had the run of the place in terms of the park and beach space, but to hang out on the midway was a big no-no – we were not to be a nuisance; of course this intrigued us until such time as we were old enough to enter the working side of an amusement park.
However, I wish to dwell on the reason this Merry Go Round brings out such fond memories for me.
You could hear the start bell from just about anywhere in the park – it would alert the beach goers to jump into the pavilion from the back side hoping to catch a free ride. We would watch in awe as they seemed to leap through the open windows like gazelles. We did secretly root for the bad guy, as we knew the almost unexplainable lure of a ride on the Merry Go Round, and the nickel that was a barrier to riding it. On quieter days, this led us to the brave act of actually pestering the ride attendant to allow us to let us ride for free, even brazenly reminding him that our grandfather owned this park! That was grounds for discipline, as we knew the rules of the midway. Such was the lure of the ride. Invariably we were denied, as I expect the attendants had equally stern warning to NOT let us ride for free!
So we would muster up our nerve and run as fast as our legs would carry us and burst into the office seeking Grandpa’s permission for a ride. He would usually give us a long look, then off-handedly tell us we could go for a ride as long as we had a nickel. So of course we had to admit that we did not have a nickel, so of course he asked us how we expected to ride! Just as we wondered if he was really denying us, he would look at us with that twinkle in his eye and head to the change drawer, handing us a nickel. He was quite adamant that staff would not make exceptions of their responsibilities for us.
To call it a ‘ride’ really minimizes the experience. It was an opportunity to dig deep into our imaginations – it was entering a different world. The pavilion offered shade from the sun and acted as a giant umbrella in the rain. It was always cooler inside, and just the ‘go round’ motion created a breeze within it. We would stand and watch, picking our favourite horse and trying to position ourselves to that we were in just the right place when it stopped that we could jump on and claim it. Success was sweet; the ultimate shame was indecisiveness that ended up having a horse without a tail. Sometimes, we would negotiate taking a position in different rows, pretending to be riders in a horse race! Other times we would be pet owners preening and fawning our prized horse. We never tired of putting our hands in the mouth of the lions pretending we were being attacked. I never understood the purpose or lure of the chariots. The whirling of the ride started quietly and almost imperceptivity until the breeze had a wind like quality, and the moving mechanical bits whirred away in great symmetry. The organ music prevailed in its unique way, and we would be so thrilled if we passed the dancers when the cymbals crashed magically at just that moment.
So here we are, decades later, and the lure of the Merry Go Round prevails, thanks to the many individuals that shared the vision of keeping this rare treasure for new and old riders to experience the joy of the ride.
On behalf of the Brookson Family, I wish you fond memories – and know Sid would have that glint in his eye seeing the excitement in being here.
Sid Brookson's Great Grand-daughter, Erin, and Grand-daughter Donna Duffy
