Original Paint or Not?

In 2009, while researching the carousel in Rock Springs Park, I came across an article which gave me pause. In it, the author suggested that the horses when sold at auction were not in original factory paint as advertised, but had, in fact, been repainted in 1937. The restoration work was done by a former Gustav Dentzel employee, Frances D. Schatt of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, who apparently kept to the original colors of the Daniel Muller-designed horses. This made me wonder whether the restorative work would have had any effect on the value of the horses or the sellers claim that they were in “original park paint”. It is not as if, the horses were repainted, as many still-operating carousels have been, in the bright and often garish colors experts refer to as “park paint.” Schatt was an expert.

To seek an answer, I wrote to Lise Liepman, a carousel horse restorer who worked with Tobin Fraley at the Freels Foundation.

Dear Mrs. Liepman,

I am writing to inquire about the carousel horses that were once housed in Rock Springs Park in Chester, WV. I am currently working on a picture history book about the park and was hoping you might be able to answer a couple of questions I have.

Your friend, Tobin Fraley, used some of the Daniel Muller-carved horses from Rock Springs in his book The Carousel Animal. In fact, the horse on the frontispiece is from Rock Springs Park. Were you involved in restoring or preparing any of the Rock Springs Park horses? If so, could you share any information you have about them.

Also, I have one technical question about carousel horse restoration: In an article from the East Liverpool Review, date July 19, 1985, the writer made the following claim about the horses from the Rock Springs Park carousel:

"ANOTHER MISCONCEPTION, held by carousel experts as well as local residents, is the belief the horses had never been repainted. However, on October 7, 1937, The Evening Review reported that 'Frances D. Schatt of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company is repainting the ponies of the Merry-Go-Round at Rock Springs Park' The Philadelphia Toboggan Co. was also a manufacturer of carousels and other amusement rides. Schatt had previously been employed in Gustav Dentzel's factory and had accumulated 40 years' experience in the craft. It is understandable therefore that the work of such an experienced painter could be mistaken for original factory paint."

Would this affect the claim that the carousel was in "original factory paint"?

Would such a claim, if it were proved, affect the selling price of the carousel or its horses, or their value to current owners? A lot of people paid large sums of money in the Freels auction in 1998 for these horses. Would they be upset to hear that they were not in original factory paint?

I am trying to explain this concept in my book.

Would an expert such as youself still describe the Rock Springs Park carousel as being in "original factory paint" under these circumstances?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Joe Comm

Unfortunately, I did not receive a response, and so, am still left with the same question: “Were Rock Springs carousel horses in original factory paint or not?” Perhaps, someone reading this blog has an answer.

Bumpers or Dodgems?

Dodgem Car Pavilion in Rock Springs Park in 1970 (Courtesy of Richard Bowker)

Several years after Rock Springs Park closed, Chester’s annual school picnic was held at the City Park. The football field became a midway of portable games, rides, and even a side show with two-headed creatures in big glass jars. Two events stand out from the summer of 1975 and Chester’s makeshift amusement park.

First, I discovered I have motion sickness after riding the Round Up and second, I remember a kid who was trying to drive his bumper car in a wide circle around the track as if he was training to be a future defensive driver. He was shouting at people to get out of the way and angered when someone intentionally bumped into him. This made him a prime target for the rest of us. Who gets on a bumper car and spends the whole time dodging and weaving to avoid getting bumped? I thought of this artful dodger when I learned that Bumper Cars were originally called Dodgem Cars. Maybe that kid had it right.

Still one of the most popular rides at amusement parks today, bumper cars date back to 1920. The first bumper car ride was invented by Max and Harold Stoehrer of Methuen, Massachusetts. Their invention was called the Dodgem. These rides allowed people to bump into each other and were so popular that others decided to get in on the action. Two cousins, Joseph and Robert Lusse of Philadelphia owned a machine shop that supplied roller coaster parts to Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC). In 1922 the Lusses filed their first patent for a bumper car. Over the years, they filed a total of nine patents for their “Lusse Skooters.”

The bumper cars in Rock Springs Park were made by Lusse Brothers in 1941.(Courtesy of Rich Brookes)

At the eleventh hour, I changed one photograph in my book from an image of my mother’s park bench to one of a restored Rock Springs Park 1941 Lusse Skooter. It had been restored by Weirton resident David Rhodes and appeared on Ebay in December 2009. Rhodes, who has been doing this type of restoration work since he was a kid, gave me permission to use his images and shared his experience working on the car and visiting Rock Springs Park.

(Courtesy of David Rhoades.)

"Joe, I don't remember riding the cars. I went to the park in the late 50s and early 60s. As for the car I have, I did the restoration all except the upholstery. I have done this type work since I was fifteen. I am sending you some pictures of my car, you can use them how you wish. I bought this car three years ago from Gary Wasmer who bought 12 of them from Earl Cuppy about fifteen years ago. I bought the last two Gary had left. I have been told Earl Cuppy bought a lot of the rides from the park not just the bumper cars. I went to the park when I was a kid and just wanted to have a piece of history."

(Courtesy of David Rhoades.)