Memories

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I really appreciate the Fontaine Ferry Website that you have.  That was the first amusement park that my family went to and we went there many times--the picnics there, the comet, the whip and free shows provided just what they were there for--amusement.  My funniest memory of the park was when I was 8 years old in 1959.  My mother took my best friend, Charles, and I for a day at the park.   We had never been in Hilarity Hall but on this trip the animated characters at the entrance got our attention with an animated fat woman laughing her head off.  As we entered, my mother had no idea what was in store for her.  In the 1950's ladies generally wore dresses.  There was a man who sat in a booth overlooking most of the inside of the hall.  He operated some of the attractions and he also controlled compressed air which he could release from several small openings in the floor scattered throughout the building.  A lady wearing a dress was at his mercy--but he had no mercy.  We had only been in the Hall for about 10 minutes when we were watching people walk through the barrel and mom was standing right over one of air holes in the floor.  The operator turned the air on her.  She screamed and the noise that the air made and all of the men yelling and whistleing actually scared me.  Mother's dress was above her waiste before she realized it.  When Charles told me "I saw your mother's panties"  it made me mad and I hit him.  We still laugh about that.  I remember to this day mother's bright red face.  After that happened she made us leave the hall right away--but on the way out the operator got her again, and once again there were yells and whistles as she could not prevent putting on another good show.  Thanks again for the web site and the memories--David N Jones


HELLO!
MY NAME IS DEBORAH KAUFMAN. I HAVE LIVED IN LOUISVILLE ALL MY LIFE AND FONDLY REMEMBER MANY TRIPS TO FONTAINE FERRY, IN FACT JUST LAST WEEK MY HUSBAND AND I WERE VISITING A FRIEND WHO LIVES ON SOUTHWESTERN PARKWAY.  WE WALKED THE GROUNDS THAT WERE ONCE FONTAINE FERRY AND REMINISCED.  WE WALKED ALONG TRYING TO REMEMBER WHERE VARIOUS RIDES WERE LOCATED.  MY HUSBAND WORKED AT FONTAINE FERRY IN THE BASKETBALL GAME.  WE RECENTLY HAD A  HOUSE FIRE, WERE DISPLACED IN TO A HOTEL FOR 6 MONTHS.  UPON RETURN HOME, WE HAVE PAINTED A ROOM RED (MY HUSBAND PLAYED BASKETBALL AT U. Of L., ON THE FIRST INTEGRATED TEAM AND I AM A HUGE U. OF L. FAN) WE ARE PLANNING TO DISPLAY U. OF L. AND LOUISVILLE MEMORABILIA.  AS WE WERE WALKING ON THE GROUNDS OF FONTAINE FERRY LAST WEEK, WE MENTIONED WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOME PRINTS OF FONTAINE FERRY TO HANG IN OUR "NEW HOUSE" IF YOU COULD HELP US TO LOCATE PHOTOGRAPHS, REPRODUCTIONS, ETC. IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.  I ALSO HAVE A PICTURE OF MY MOTHER AND HER FRIENDS AT THE POOL, LATE 1930'S, HOWEVER IT IS STILL IN A BOX SOMEWHERE, WHEN I UNPACK IT I WILL CONTACT YOU.  THANK YOU FOR CREATING THIS WEB SITE, CAN'T WAIT TO SHOW MY HUSBAND.  IT JUST HAPPENED, THAT TODAY WHEN I WAS CHECKING MY E-MAIL THIS INFORMATION RELATED TO YOUR WEB WAS IN MY MAIL.  MUST BE KARMA! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE, IF YOU COULD HELP US LOCATE FONTAINE FERRY MEMORABILIA.
                                                                          SINCERELY,
                                                                                         DEBORAH KAUFMAN

DEAR JEN:
THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING SO QUICKLY.  AS YOU KNOW, I TOO HAVE RECENTLY BEEN TO THE SITE.  I HAVE A PRETTY DECENT CAMERA, MINOLTA WITH A ZOOM.  IF YOU WOULD WANT ME TO TAKE SOME PHOTOS, I WOULD BE HONORED. I AM INTERESTED IN GETTING A COPY OF THE POSTER.  ALSO, WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT THE U. OF L. ARCHIVES, WHERE IS IT LOCATED?  I ENJOYED THE POSTCARDS AND WOULD POSSIBLY WANT COPIES OF THEM.  I AM INTERESTED IN A PICTURE OF SAM AND SUE AND THE BASKETBALL GAME, WHERE MY HUSBAND WORKED.  MY HUSBAND MAY HAVE SOME STORIES OF INTEREST.  MY HUSBAND WAS A NEIGHBOR TO JACK SINGHISER"S BROTHER, LOUIS, WHO WAS MANAGER OF THE SKATING RINK.
THANK YOU,

                                                                                              DEBORAH KAUFMAN


Just a note to say how much I enjoyed your wonderful site on fontaine ferry park.  As a child growing up, in Louisville, in the late 50's and earily 60's, I was able to enjoy this old park for several years.  Many of the attractions described on your site brought back memories that I forgot I even had.  Hilarity still stands out vividly in my mind though, as well as the great old Comet roller coaster.  We would always ride that one!  Used to be that everyone said the back car would jump off the track making the ride even more thrilling!  (We'd try to get that special spot every time).  In those days, we were dropped off at the entrance (with no worries for our safety, unlike today) to enjoy the entire day.  The hall of mirrors was, without a doubt, the best one I have ever been in and the atmosphere, itself, unequaled to this day.  The Gypsy Village was always such a fasinating and mysterious place to us kids as well.  We were too young to go there, so we'd imagine all kinds of special things going on inside.  I particularly remember the colored lights strung all around the outside and the music.  It was a sad situation when the 60's brought such racial tensions into the area.  It got so it was too danagerous to even go into the west end of Louisville, let alone Fontaine Ferry Park.  When this excellent old park was tragically destroyed, I think a little bit of each of us went with it.  Thank you again for such a well written and researched site!
Ronna Adkins


WOW, I can't begin to tell you how great it was stumbling upon your website (via "Google") about Fontaine Ferry Park -- and WHAT "a short trip down Memory Lane" it was.  (I never realized the park had been around since the early 1900's.)  When I was growing up, it was always referred to as "Fountain" Ferry Park -- which effected my "Google" search -- so it was interesting to see on your site how many others referred to it by that name as well.  (I'd love to know how "the name change" came about, so if you have any info, please post it on your website.)  I was born in 1957 and adopted when I was about 3 1/2 -- so I'd have to guess that I had the opportunity to visit the park from about 1961 until it closed in the spring of 1969. I've always wondered what "it" looks like today, so I have to admit that when I looked at your website photos of the "park" today, my heart sank. I grew up around 18th (Dixie Highway) and Hill Street, and at my young age, I didn't know what "racism" was all about.  I do, however, remember the spring when the riots occurred and the subsequent closing of the park as we all knew it.  There was definitely an unrecognizable tension "in the air" that year, and I even remember one grade school classmate of mine, a direct descendent of Daniel Boone, telling me that if you painted the words "Soul Power" in green letters on your home, you would be spared from the racial attacks and violence of the times.  Reading through others' memories and viewing the online photos, the park, as I knew it, slowly began to exist all over again.  (I find that I keep trying to "plot out" every inch of the park, so that each ride, game and concession stand is in it's proper place in my mind.)  It's almost like a scene out of the James Cameron movie "Titanic" -- first the deep, dark, murky images ... and slowly everything becomes clear; the carousel music swells up; the roar of the gasoline powered engines from the Turnpike cars can be heard, along with squeals of delight and splashing water from the nearby swimming pool.  I don't recall what the admission price was, but from the main entrance I always remember heading towards the left to check out the Penny Arcade.  (It's interesting that I haven't seen any mention of the "Gunslinger" who would say "Draw" when he was challenged by the next park visitor.)  As a child, one of my favorite rides were the scooters in Kiddieland/Frontier Village(?) that sat on a small railroad track and required a lot of muscle power to move around it.  I think I was even able to derail it -- always a goal -- a few times as I got stronger. As I got older, my favorite rides were the Rock-O-Plane and, of course, the roller coaster.  After running around the park for hours, I remember saving my last .35 (or .50) cents to enter "Hilarity Hall" to spend the rest of my time there.  From the "horses" at the entrance (usually difficult for me to get on at my young age), to the Greasy Barrel, Sugarbowl, Angel Slide, Devil Slide, bumpy carpet "ride", maze of cages, etc., it was all great fun!  Over the years I did visit the park many times, along with several trips to the swimming pool and the skating rink (with it's authentic calliope music).  I was never old enough to go to Gypsy Village, which always seemed like such a mysterious place to me.  Lastly, let's not forget about the prizes you'd win -- from the straw hats, bamboo canes, and all those chalk figurines!  (We had a ton of those around the house.)  Anyway, Jen, thanks again for a GREAT website! It was very much appreciated to be able to step back in time for awhile.
Regards,
George :o)


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