Little Rock carousel rides again with helping hand

Nostrils flared, eternally in mid-gallop, the horses had waited 16 years for riders.

The “over-the-jumps” carousel became a beloved attraction in 1942 at War Memorial Park, but it was shut down in 1991 and nearly sold to buyers out of state. The horses remained warehoused around Little Rock as donors raised money to bring the unique ride back.

After more than $1 million in donations, the carousel spun back to life last month at its new home in the Little Rock Zoo.

“You can’t put a price on childhood memories,” said Mike Kinard, a former state senator who helped bring back the ride that he described as unique.

The horses themselves don’t rise and fall -- instead the carousel’s track dips and rises as the ride moves. Kinard said it was one of four built during the nation’s carousel craze in the early 1900s.

The carousel, built in 1924, is the only one of its kind known to be left.

“We hear that one of these carousels was going overseas and the ship wrecked and it was lost. Another one burned and this is the only one left,” Kinard said, standing alongside the ride. “We were in a situation where if we didn’t buy it, it was going to go out of state, because there are people who would have gobbled this thing up.”

Kinard and others formed a nonprofit group to fund rebuilding the ride, but it was a complicated process. Each of the 40 horses needed to be restored -- a worker from Gentry painstakingly removed 30 layers of paint caked onto the aging horses over the years.

“Some were just gray,” Kinard said.

New paint restored the coats, new glass eyes added sparkle and chipped teeth and ears were fixed. Cedar wood replaced the ride’s worn planks. The ride needed a new motor, gears and grease.

A carnival-color belly cloth now covers the machinery in the center of the ride. A dubbed CD contains the kind of calliope music that enchanted generations of young riders -- like Kinard, who rode the horse on a school field trip to the state Capitol.

At the reopening of the ride, white tags tied to hooves and stirrups offered the horses’ adopted names from their donors -- Old Joe, Traveler, Joan D’Arc, Memories. Children played among the ride’s four carriages as older donors looked at the piece of history. One of those carriages can be removed, Kinard said, allowing children using wheelchairs to enjoy the ride as well.

After speeches and rain showers, the moment of truth came for the ride. Donors lined up or mounted their steeds. Some riders couldn’t find their horses.

“We’re looking for Bubbles and Michelle,” Kinard bellowed into a microphone.

Once everyone was in place, a worker stepped on a dead-man’s switch and the ride rumbled to life. Its railroad-style wheels churned over the track as those riding and those watching cheered a piece of history brought back to life.