By Bob Copperstone
When I was growing up in Wahoo in the 1940s and early ‘50s, carnivals made my summer vacations even more golden.
That’s right, carnivals PLURAL, three of them. (Four, counting Ashland’s, but I couldn’t walk that far.)
First off, there was the downtown Wahoo street carnival (today barely remembered by most people), second was the Saunders County Fair carnival, and third, of course, late summer bought the giant Nebraska State Fair to Lincoln. (Our parents had to drive us to that one.)
Summer was, and still is, my favorite season. Besides the carnivals, it meant freedom from school-time imprisonment.
I would get the potato fork out to dig for bait earthworms, call my faithful dog, Brownie, hop on my bike and pedal out to fish for bullheads in Sand Creek near Dance Island, a mile east of town.
I could finally go barefoot and shirtless (if Mom said OK), and we could go hiking north out of town to First, Second and Third Bridges along the Chicago & North Western railroad’s spur line.
But best of all were the carnivals. I remember the downtown street carnival most fondly, even if it was the smallest. It was set up on Fifth Street, arranged by the Wahoo Chamber of Commerce to draw customers to downtown.
The Copperstone-owned Wigwam Café was actually our home base those days. Hank and Irma, my sisters Rochelle and Janie, and I spent most of our waking hours there. Mom opened up at 6 a.m. and started cooking. Dad came in at 11 a.m. until he “closed up” around midnight. We kids floated in and out of the Wigwam until we were old enough to go to work there at the prevailing wages of 50 cents an hour.
During the early summer the street carnival would caravan into town and park smack under my nose, right at the Wigwam’s doorstep on Fifth Street. I watched in awe as the roustabouts built the Ferris wheel and other rides and set up the other attractions. Best of all, I could merely step out the front door and be in carney heaven. I picked up some interesting language from the carnies, too.
At the end of July, following the downtown show, a travelling carnival would set up for two full weeks of excitement at the Saunders County Fairgrounds. Year after year, kids could count on these joyous gatherings.
But in 1989, the amusement companies boycotted the Wahoo venues en masse, threatening to leave a void in summer fun. There had been a statewide spate of carnival accidents and injuries in the news, and calls for safety measures followed.
Local inspectors apparently had insisted on strict safety measures, and carnival owners from across the Midwest dug in their heels in protest. Word spread until finally the Saunders County Fair was unable to hire a single merry-go-round. A huge chunk of childhood joy was in peril.
But parents countywide came to the rescue, making their own carnival. The barren fairgrounds sprouted improvised dart-throw, ring-toss and other game booths staffed by local adult volunteers. The children took the change in stride and crowded the makeshift midway.
In succeeding years the group gained momentum, forming the Saunders County Amusement Association. The immediate results were small, but the seeds of a bigger carnival had been sowed. The concept took hold and grew, and soon they were able to purchase a Ferris wheel -- the only ride that year.
The line of patient ticket-holding kids snaked across the midway. That bare-bones effort was both painful but wonderful to watch, as it showed that the public and children appreciated whatever the SCA could give them, with a promise of more and better to come. More rides were added as seasons passed and ticket sales grew. To this day, the Saunders County Amusement Association’s aims have held true:
“The Saunders County Amusement Association was founded in 1989 and owns and maintains all of the rides and games present at the Midway of the Saunders County Fair. The S.C.A.A. boasts of a Ferris wheel, the Casino, the Scrambler, a roller coaster, and the Octopus along with a various selection of kiddy rides. … Each ride and game takes tickets purchased at a central booth. ... Our members maintain [and operate] the rides. … We rely heavily on volunteers. … Money from ticket sales goes towards insurance, inspections and upkeep of the rides, including … the purchasing of equipment.”
Over the years the volunteers have given local kids a rich summer experience right in their back yards, shunning those dangerous travelling outfits with their often-rough crews. And the midway continues to thrive with more and upgraded rides.
Today the SCAA stores and hauls its equipment in trucks that still bear the original garishly painted lettering and images, purchased from failed carnival companies.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if some of those outfits that had to sell us their trucks were among those who wanted to drive our now-thriving and safer carnival out of business?
