by Noella Noelophile®
(Royalty-free image by Bruce Emmerling from Pixabay
Summer. Say the word and it conjures up all kinds of images.
Frosted pitchers of iced tea. Fireflies blinking at sunset. County fair crowds cheering and laughing.
A favorite verse of a top-forty song hanging in the air, as a car drives by with all its windows down. Shimmering fireworks across a black-velvet sky. Walking into a blessedly-air-conditioned train car after waiting on a sun-drenched platform.
A favorite, for me? The “clang” of the old merry-go-round’s bell at Gillian’s Fun Deck in Ocean City, New Jersey.
From the time I was very small, my family would spend two weeks there during summer. To this day, a certain song from the 1960s takes me back to the vintage Spillman carousel.
A summertime spin
(Royalty-free image by SergioCanon from Pixabay
Stepping aboard the wooden platform, you quickly chose a mount. A neighing chestnut? A coal-black stallion? A white horse with a flowing mane? Or, perhaps, the chariot? But you couldn’t dally.
Two “clangs” would warn: riders, to your steeds!
Slowly, the carousel would begin spinning. Three abreast rose-decorated horses would begin moving up and down. Current songs would lilt into the air as the carousel spun in the summer night.
One revolution showed you the Tilt-A-Whirl , on the upper deck you could access by a concrete ramp. The giant Ferris wheel outlined a six-pointed star in white lights against the darkening sky. A red-and-blue neon clown invited visitors to join in the fun.
And midway through the ride, came the excitement.
(Royalty-free image by James Veillon from Pixabay.)
One of the young men operating the carousel (in the ’60s, they were all young men!) would appear just outside the carousel, with a small basket. Pulling a wooden boom arm towards him, he’d load a series of brass rings its slot.
Then, he’d swing the arm, on its hinges, just within reach of the riders on the outer horses.
And those riders would lean as far as their safety belts would allow, grabbing at those brass rings for a chance at a free ride.
I never did catch one, but to this day, I remember the fun of trying! And I can still see the printed yellow tickets that granted you a second turn.
And afterwards
After the carousel rides, we would stroll the boardwalk.
Skee ball arcades beckoned. A mirror maze, with its amber-lighted confusion, lit up the night. Scents of popcorn and spun sugar filled the air.
And beyond the guard rails were spectacular views of the Atlantic, restlessly forming its white-topped waves and hurling them to the shore.
Browsing the boardwalk shops was always fun.
(Royalty-free image by Pedro Márquez from Pixabay.)
The Fifth Avenue Jewelry Store would tempt everyone with windows the length of its outer walls. And in those were costume jewelry from all over the world, including bone-china English flower pins that were my mother’s favorite.
Further along the boardwalk was Shriver’s Salt Water Taffy, with its taffy-pulling machine and candies of all kinds in the showcase. They actually had a second boardwalk store, where we’d buy my grandmother’s favorite molasses paddles and mint braid to bring back to her.
Those, along with boardwalk pizza, are the indelible “taste of summer” in my memory.
(Royalty-free image by Melk Hagelslag from Pixabay.)
Tom Perkins’ Sea Shanty, Drift In and Sea, and a needlework shop (I can’t remember the name, but they were a favorite haven the summer a storm system brought six straight days of rain!) were also frequent stopping places.
On those summer evenings, as we strolled the boardwalk, we could look to the west and see a familiar sight. The city’s blue water tower, with “Ocean City, NJ” painted on it, rose in the distance.
I would always look for my first sight of that water tower when we came into town. And, leaving, I’d watch it grow smaller and smaller in our rear window, until it was out of sight.
Ocean City, New Jersey, and the times we spent there, are among my favorite summertime memories.
(Royalty-free image by Ulrike Mai from Pixabay.)
Many years have passed since I took my last ride on that carousel. Summers since then have included Fourth of July in San Francisco, concerts at the Orange County Fair and favorite craft fairs like the Patchwork Show in Santa Ana.
As we get into summer of 2021, and the world recovers from a pandemic–what will be some of your best memories?
I hope they’re full of music, fun and a chance to grab any brass ring you may see.