Frank Raflo - What Happened to Carnivals?

What's Happened To The Carnivals?

I know that once in a while during the summer you will see a carnival advertised in the local paper, but the firemen's carnivals like we knew them when we grew up seem to have passed on.

There was a time when each fire company in the county had their own carnival and the dates were set so that one did not conflict with another.

For a long time the carnivals were strictly local in that the firemen built their own stands and ran their own concessions. If there were rides, the fer-ris wheel and the merry-go-round were about it. The local company mem­bers each ran one of the booths and, if I remember correctly, the bingo games were one of the most popular of the attractions. Carnivals usually lasted a whole week, and for the one that ran over the fourth of July there were the usual fireworks.

In the hey day of the local carnivals there were not many attractions to entice the local citizenry. Television was still decades away and the local movies and listening to the radio were about the only other leisure time activities. It would not be unusual for families to go to the carnival more than one night during the week. I remember the big banners which the fire­men spread over the carnival grounds repeating their plea, "You call, we come. We call, you come."

Those were the days before the ever increasing inflation. Bingo was still a nickel a game and a good, juicy hot dog could be purchased for ten cents. There was generally only one gambling game. That was a wheel with num­bers on it and you gambled that you could put your bet on the winning num­ber.

For many of us in those days just standing by and watching the big rollers put a dollar or two on a number was most exciting. I recall several times saying to my brother as we stood watching, "Did you see that? That man lost almost ten dollars playing that wheel. Can you imagine being able to spend ten dollars on the spin of the wheel?" We couldn't imagine it so we just stood in awe.

Gradually the carnivals were taken over by the private concessionaires who brought their own games and rides and the local firemen were reduced to little more than selling tickets or helping the small kids on and off the var­ious rides.

I miss the old carnivals and I doubt if they will ever be a "Go around, come around" thing in our county.

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