The Carousel Story
The story begins in Michigan in the early 1900’s
In 1910, Louis Wallace and Logan Drake brought a three-row, Coney Island-style carousel to the Silver Beach Amusement Park in St. Joseph, Michigan. The colorful machine, with its 44 hand-carved, lifelike horses and brass ring machine, was built by Fred Dolle of North Bergen, New Jersey.
What made this Carousel so stunning were the realistic horses carved and purchased from Charles Carmel. Acknowledged as one of the Master Carvers of the Golden Age of the Carousel, Carmel was praised by Charlotte Dinger in The Art of the Carousel as having, “created what many believe to be the most perfect carousel horse, a harmonious balance of gentleness and drama.”
In the early 1920s, the Carousel was immensely popular with visitors to the amusement park as children and adults alike lined up to pay the fare of 25 cents for a three-minute ride on the carousel.
Wallace and Drake were determined to make sure the Carousel’s technology and décor remained cutting edge, so they converted the Carousel into a “jumping machine.” Eight pairs of jumping horses replaced 16 inner-row standers. M.D. Borelli and his wife visited the carousel in 1924 and spent several months adding their trademark bejeweled decorations to the horses.
While many American carousels were lost to fire, the Silver Beach Carousel operated continuously until the park closed in 1971. Marianne Stevens of Roswell, New Mexico was then contacted. Stevens helped found the National Carousel Association and the American Carousel Society. She co-authored Painted Ponies and was a renowned collector, restorer and owner of carousels. Stevens had run an ad in the trade publication, Amusement Business, offering to purchase vintage carousels. She visited the St. Joseph area in 1972 and, the following year, purchased the Silver Beach Carousel and took it to New Mexico.
Marianne Stevens cherished the horses and protected them for the next thirty years. She held tightly to every horse, making it her mission to keep them all together. Their beauty and their legacy, concealed under tarps, was a treasure waiting to be uncovered once again.
The Tri-Cities gets a Carousel
In 2002, Tri-City businesses men Ken Johanning and Phil Slusser discovered the hidden gem of the Silver Beach Carousel and committed themselves to bringing it to the Tri-Cities. They knew this was the perfect place for the tradition of the carousel to be reborn, and for its legacy to be realized. Marianne Stevens couldn’t have agreed more. In 2002, The Silver Beach Carousel gave way to the legacy of the Gesa Carousel of Dreams.
The ponies were meticulously packed into a truck to begin the journey to their final home. Countless volunteers, experts, and generous contributors, large and small, worked tirelessly for twelve years to make the vision of a Tri-Cities carousel a reality.
They did so with the zeal and excitement of children who were anticipating the birth of something amazing. They did it for the love of tradition and family and the spirit of Washington.
That spirit came alive with two new additions to the team of horses: a Washington State University Cougar, carved by Tri-Cities’ own Michael Thornton, and a University of Washington Husky, carved by the Missoula Carousel Carvers.
With corporate support from Gesa Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions in Washington state and Toyota of Tri-Cities, along with hundreds of private donors and sponsors, the Gesa Carousel of Dreams opened to the public on September 4, 2014 with all the glitz and fanfare the Foundation Board could muster.
Holiday Figures Added
We quickly learned the carousel is a gathering place around holidays and with many of them, the carousel hosts events, such as pictures with Santa and the Easter Bunny. Mike Thornton decided to add two animals to the carousel and carved a reindeer with real antlers from Alaska which debuted November 2019 and became a holiday tradition for the young and young at heart to ride. Jingles, which was painted by Sue Baldwin, adorns the carousel each winter from late November through the first week of January.
Three years later in March 2022, Mike created another work of art with the final completion of our carved Easter Bunny, dubbed Sir Hops A Lot after Toyota of Tri-Cities agreed to sponsor the seasonal figure. Sue, along with the help of the Carousel of Smiles in Sandpoint, Idaho, brought the bunny to life with a vibrant use of color. Our Easter bunny joins the carousel for rides for the five weeks surrounding Easter each year.
COVID-19 Pandemic
The Carousel had an impeccable record of spinning year-round until the Coronavirus pandemic hit and non-essential businesses were ordered to close. The carousel sat empty for 300 days from March 2020 until January 2021 before being allowed to reopen with capacity restrictions in place. Regular operation resumed in fall of 2021.
One Millionth Rider
The Carousel marked its millionth rider in June 2023 when Oakley Piper walked through the gate of the carousel and made history. She received a free one-year membership to the carousel, along with a gift basket of gifts from the carousel and other sponsors.
