In Anne Gardner’s hometown of North Tonawanda, N.Y., carousels are a part of the culture.
The late Allan Herschell started his first carousel manufacturing company there in 1873 and then in the early 1900s formed Herschell Spillman Co. with his in-laws, which later became Spillman Engineering Co. when Herschell dropped out to create his own business once again.
Gardner’s great-grandfather, George Gardner, worked at Spillman Engineering from 1912 until just before his death. He painted the intricate scrolls and ornaments on carousel horses.
So imagine Gardner’s surprise when she moved to Little Rock in 2000 and learned that one of the company’s carousels was in the city. The Over the Jumps carousel - now at the Little Rock Zoo - is the only operating carousel of its kind in the world, according to zoo officials.
It’s one of only four ever built with an undulating track - meaning the track moves up and down with the horses attached. Standard carousels feature horses attached to poles that move up and down to create motion.
After Gardner’s father, Alton, died last year, she decided the perfect memorial for him would be to adopt one of the carousel’s horses in his memory. Alton Gardner was close to his grandfather, who likely had a hand in creating the carousel at the zoo.
“It’s nice because it kind of feels like a part of home here in Little Rock,” Anne Gardner said. “We wanted to have a memorial to Dad here, so every year on his birthday we can come ride the carousel and celebrate. It’s more fun than going to the graveyard, and it’s a sense of tradition. My father was always proud of his grandfather. And it’s that sense of heritage.”
Anne Gardner; her brother Alan; her mother, Florence; and Anne’s three children met at the zoo Friday morning to view the horse that will now bear her father’s name. The family gave a $10,000 donation to contribute to the continued maintenance and upkeep of the restored carousel.
It’s unknown exactly when Spillman Engineering Co. constructed the ride as a traveling carousel. It showed up in Arkansas for the first time at the 1924 Arkansas State Fair, which was then held where War Memorial Park is today.
Little Rock resident Tom Fuzzell purchased it in 1942 to save it from destruction and operated it at War Memorial Park for years. Its ownership changed hands after that, and when the new owners decided to resell it in 1991, a group called Friends of the Carousel formed to buy and restore the ride.
Over the years, that group raised more than $500,000 to fully restore the carousel and in 2007 donated it to the Little Rock Zoo. Alton Gardner and his family were there for the dedication. He was able to see and ride the carousel several times before his death in September.
He and his wife, Florence, followed their daughter to Little Rock in 2003 so they could spend their retirement closer to their grandchildren. Florence said Friday that her daughter’s idea to adopt one of the horses as a memorial for Alton was “the perfect connection.” When the family contacted the zoo this year about adopting a horse, there was only one available. The 39 others had been adopted and named.
“It was meant to be,” Florence said with a grin.
Her son Alan, who lives in Connecticut, had seen the carousel only once before.
“We grew up in a place where we always saw merry go-round horses. It’s the theme in North Tonawanda. I went to elementary school in the back of what is now the carousel museum there,” he said Friday. “So this kind of keeps history alive by renovating these horses and merry-go-rounds. It’s just like a living piece of history, and it draws children in and connects them with the past.”
Anne’s children - 11-yearold Reilly, 8-year-old Mac and 7-year-old Clara - were all smiles Friday as they took a few rides around the restored carousel. Reilly said it’s nice to have the ride as a unique wayto “remember Papa.”
The carousel’s 40 horses have been stripped down to their original coat of paint, and chemical testing was done to determine the exact color the horses were when they were first made. They were then repainted, and every two years each horse gets a thorough cleaning during which a restoration artist uses a cotton swab to remove the tarnish from the horse.
During the restoration process, an Amish community in Arkansas remade some of the wheels that keep the track moving because an outdated part couldn’t be found anywhere, zoo grant writer Jj Muehlhausen said.
Two of the horses aren’t original to the carousel. That’s because when Fuzzell sold it, he kept two for his grandchildren. One of those grandchildren is Tommy Goodwin, who has his horse displayed on a gold pole in his apartment in Los Angeles, Muehlhausen said.
Goodwin is a stunt man who has doubled for Matthew McConaughey, Casey Affleck, Michael Pitt and others. He’s worked in such films as Dallas Buyers Club, We’re the Millers and Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.
Goodwin, whose mother used to be the ticket master of the ride when it operated in War Memorial Park, has agreed for his horse to return to the Over the Jumps carousel upon his death. He rode the carousel every summer as a child and because of those rides decided he wanted to be a cowboy.
He grew up to become a rodeo champion, and it was from that exposure that Hollywood discovered him and he started his career as a stunt man.
“So this carousel really made him what he is today,” Muehlhausen said, adding that the zoo is planning to host a fundraiser with Goodwin sometime soon for the carousel’s benefit.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/19/2014