www.parkworld-online.com
Park Hoppin’ In association with Park Hoppin’with Susan Storey I
love reading news stories.
subscribe to the newspaper anymore, and I rarely catch the local news, but I read and watch feature articles and stories online.
They are woven in the way only journalists and reporters can tell. I especially love pieces about our industry and a recent story about Little Amerricka Amusement Park in Marshall, Wisconsin caught my eye. Little Amerricka is exactly what it sounds like.
to a fun wooden coaster called the Meteor. family favourite. The park also has a little six car monorail, which travels around the park, giving guests a slow-moving view of the rides below. According to the story, the monorail also has a 93-year-old ride operator named Evie Bengsch. Evie has worked at the park for the last 15 years and intends to remain doing so as long as she Along with the interview, the story showed video of Evie pulling the wooden levers to make the monorail stop and go, loading guests into each car and ensuring all the safety checks were met. She was smiling the entire time. The story got me thinking about the many
the importance of a first job and how working in food and beverage, lifeguarding or ride operations can teach young people skills beyond the classroom. Working with the public, the good and the tough; watching out for others; counting change; being part of a attractions provide for teens as prepare for life beyond school. For people like Evie, industry also provides the opportunity to connect with others, remain active, and continue to have an impact. When I was on the Walt Disney World
College Program, I often worked in the Magic a retired couple who worked there together. They worked three or four shifts a week during the winter months, before returning north each money allows me to buy fabric for sewing and While I understood their Disney roles helped
AUGUST 2024 Evie at Little Amerricka
supplement their income, I also watched how they would sweetly greet and assist tourists and answer any questions they came in with. All
if senior citizens were a key part of their team rosters. 93 seems to be the lucky number as in Tennessee told me their oldest team members this season are that age; just like. Dollywood has more than 400 employees
park I met many of these team members, particularly in the Grist Mill as they baked and 70 and higher. They bring heart, experience, and diligence to their roles. As they work alongside the next generation, their work ethic demonstrates critical important soft skills such as patience and listening. Whatever reason brings them to the front gate for a job with the park, their involvement is a critical part of what makes our industry unique. A senior citizen started this column. Paul
and Park World for many years. He, like Evie and so many others, came to the attractions industry as a second career. Paul was one of the first reporters I ever worked with, and I cringe to think how green I was at the time.
However, we quicklyrbonded over our shared hometown of Rochester, New York, and love of Seabreeze Amusement Park. When I first met him, I assumed Paul had been with our industry, well, forever. He knew everyone, and every park. He was active with the American Coaster Enthusiasts, he loved writing for Park World, and he traveled to parks near and far. I assumed it was what he had always done. Paul made the attractions industry his second, and favourite, at Kodak designing the lens systems for Kodak cameras. His work resulted in 41 patents for zoom lens systems, projection lenses and more. (No wonder his stories were often accompanied that about Paul. We knew him as the goofy, sometimes odd, man who wrote stories about the people and places that provide fun for others. One of my greatest memories with Paul was helping him with his editorial coverage of the grand opening of Revenge of the Mummy: He loved the ride, but definitely loved the grand back to the hotel at the end of the night was no small feat. Paul kept writing for Park World until he
passed away at age 84. Like Evie from Little Amerricka, he loved the sites and sounds of the theme park life, and the people he met. While I think serving ice cream, or running a classic carousel awaits me in the future. Afterall, having fun, and providing it to others, has no age limit.
Little Amerricka Amusement Park
Paul Ruben 5
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