| Purchased
For $25,000, It Cost Another $80,000 To Restore This Merry-Go-Round To Its Original
Condition When Balboa
Fun Zone President Joe Tunstall and Vice President Bob Speth began looking for a
Merry-Go-Round for the new Fun Zone they traveled to the closed theme park called Santa's
Village in Scotts Valley located between Santa Cruz and San Jose California. There the
pair discovered the remains of the old Santa's Village Merry-Go-Round. It had weeds
growing through it, mice crawling all over it and two of the original horses had been
stolen. Bob Speth recalls he almost fell through the old Merry-Go-Round's rotten oak deck.
They paid $25,000 for the Merry-Go-Round
The old Merry-Go-Round
was in total disrepair.
To restore the old Merry-Go-Round,
Dena Morgan - son of Ed Morgan who had originally built it. - was engaged for the job. The
Merry-Go-Round was disassembled and taken to Morgan's facility. According to Speth,
"Everything was replaced except for the frame." Because the molds for the
original aluminum horses were long gone, new molds had to be made in order to produce
replacements for the two missing horses.
To replace the Fun Zone's Merry-Go-
Round with a new one of the same quality it would cost well over a quarter of a million
dollars.
Ever since the new Fun Zone opened in
1986, free ride wooden-nickels have been handed out throughout Southern California to
libraries as rewards for children's reading programs and to schools for
incentive programs for students. To date over a million free ride wooden-nickels have been
handed out.
Over 180,000 people ride the Merry-Go-
Round each year. About half ride free, either with a wooden-nickel or an adult riding free
with a child.
According to Bob Speth, "A ride on the Merry-Go-Round will make you a year
younger." |
Goodbye To Alfi's Cafe
After 6 Years A Landmark Balboa
Eatery Bites The Dust
A fond farewell to the Alfi family
Click To See Alfi's Stories
Alfi's Cafe The Christmas DinnerA Blast
From The Past
Frank Crocker,
Our First Fire Chief
(L)Fire Chief Frank Crocker, first
Fire Chief. (R)Gus Gus Tampolis, a popular local man who taught many of the children
to swim . This photo was taken on June 6, 1949 at Fire Station #1 in Balboa, now the trash
collection area next to the public restrooms located at Bay Avenue and Washington Street.
Viewer
Email
dear Jim my name is mike, I used to
walk by your apartment all the time and you would be sitting out side enjoying your day.
you might remember me better as Jake's owner the tan and white pit bull/boxer mix. we
would always walk around Balboa together, until julie Lewis took him to Tucson.well back
in 98 I moved to Oklahoma to start a company. I did plan on moving back, but I met a
wonderful girl,coincidentally named julie, we were married in June of 99, and now we are
expecting our first child. I just want
to say that your site is great. I miss Balboa so badly, and it was nice to go back for a
visit and read about all my old friends on your site thanks for doing such a fine job, you
really have captured the heart of balboa.
yours truly
Mike Tribbett
mjdastolfo@home.com |
