Richard and Fran Curtis - 30 Years at Whalom

Richard Curtis of Edgewater, Florida sent along a wonderful set of photos showing the same two boys (Richard and his brother Fran) sitting next to the famous Whalom Park clown. The photos were taken 30 years apart!




Like so many of us who grew up at Whalom Park, we sincerely thank Richard who took the time to piece together these memories - for there's a big piece of Whalom Park inside all of us. The park meant so much to so many. Like many, Richard is asking when the park will re-open. We can't answer that yet, but depending on the support of the community and Whalom-lovers everywhere it won't be too long.




Richard loved Whalom Park so much that he mentioned that he would be willing to make the trip up from Florida for the grand re-opening, and has asked how he can support the park in the meantime. This website is the right place to start. This is the only online community based preservation website for Whalom Park.


Once again, Richard - thank you SO MUCH for sharing and supporting the New Whalom Park. You are indeed an inspiration to us all!

Ted Whitten's Story

Hi Scott

Do you have any pictures of the Haunted House ride (the one that
burned down in the early 80's)? That used to be my favorite.

I'd also love to have any pictures of Whalom Park from the summer of
1985, which was the year I worked there. I was only 16 years old,
and wasn't allowed to operate most of the good rides, but I worked
some of the Kiddie Land rides, and the Giant Slide, and did a lot of
general grounds work, like trash duty.

Sadly, I got myself fired, while working at the Giant Slide. It was
my responsibility to stand at the bottom and make sure kids didn't
run back up the stairs for a second go, after landing at the bottom.
A certain rascal of a kid kept ignoring my shouts, and running back
up again and again. After about the fifth time, out of frustration
and anger, I defiantly raised my arm with a certain rude finger
gesture (for purely my own satisfaction, mind you .. as his back was
turned to me and already running back up the stairs). It turned out,
his father was standing by watching, and reported me, so I was
summoned to the office soon after and fired. Ohhhh the shame of it
all! Of course, I understood it was wrong, and they were justified
in firing me .. it wasn't appropriate behavior for a park employee ..
but I was young and stupid. I sincerely regretted losing that job,
as that was one of the most fun and memorable summers of my life,
working there.

I made a good friend who I'm still in touch with (Heather Bulger, who
operated various rides from 1984-1985), met one of the long-term
loves of my life (Tracey Harmon, who worked at the front entrance
gates, taking tickets), attended some after-work 'Whalom Employee
Parties', broke the rules a few times and operated the 'grown up
rides' when people had to go to the bathroom bad enough to 'risk it'
by letting me take over, and basically... had a whale of a time!

;-)

Ted Whitten



www.myspace.com/ted_whitten


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Putting a Price on Whalom Park

The following is an excerpt from inparknews




http://www.inparkmagazine.com/images/5news.pdf

by Bill St.Yves

I can’t put a price on the value of Whalom Park. Unfortunately, a developer can.

Recently it was announced that the land Whalom Park is on has finally been sold after the park has sat abandoned since 2000. Condos will be built there, and there will be no more Whalom Park. I’ve watched so many smaller parks close – Miracle Strip most recently – and I can’t help but think, how can you put a price on these places? They are more than real estate. They are more than a bunch of rides and games and buildings. They are the history of this industry. Without the trolley parks and pleasure gardens of the 20’s & 30’s there would be no Disney, no Six Flags, no Universal Studios. I’m thankful for the traditional parks that have survived and thrived like Cedar Point and Kennywood. There are not that many traditional old parks left and many of them may be one high bid away from becoming another set of town homes.

Traditional old parks are of huge value to us as an industry. We can look to them for ideas and proven concepts that have worked longer than some other parks have been open. They are a training ground for tomorrow’s industry leaders. They bring us back to a time when you didn’t have to be the tallest and the fastest to still have a good time. But most importantly, they help us see where we have come from. The problem is the land these parks sit on is more valuable as real estate than as a safe place for families to go and spend some quality time together. If we don’t value (and visit) our old parks, someone else – someone with other intentions – will. - BILL ST. YVES

Letter from Kim

Maybe this could actually work out for everyone. The town of Agawam's property taxes are fairly reasonable because Six Flags pays a huge tax rate. Sorry to sound so negative but this could be a big boom for towns in this area because lets face it Winchendon, Gardner, Athol etc. are all cities and towns that are "depressed" and Whalom Park would actually bring further business in to these areas, which would help everyone. We have sparse retail and even sparser resources for employment, so I would welcome Whalom Park. Traffic or no traffic.




ref: http://www.haloscan.com/comments/sentinelenterprise/5686257/#39425