There is an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Which is true. I also like to think that every picture tells a story and is a snapshot into a world that no longer exists, even if it was simply a moment ago.
A few years ago I went through and I scanned all of Jeff’s black and white negatives that he shot and self-developed back when he worked at the park between 1986 and 1988. They cover a lot of ground, but are for the most part just photos of friends he worked with at the time. Each series of photos tells a different story, and I thought it would be fun to share one of those stories with you.
Among the many teenagers or ambassadors if you will that Jeff worked with was Kelly. Many of you have seen Kelly, in the Silly Serpent photo that pretty much shows up anytime anyone mentions Silly Serpent.
But I think it's a travesty to not tell the entire story in which this one photo fits into, which is why I am creating this blog. For those interested I have reached out to Kelly and he has given me the ok to use his photos in this blog. Out of respect for his own privacy I am not sharing his last name.
So the story.
Jeff began working as a park ambassador in 1982 in food service. The following year he moved up to Ride Operations and by 1986 he was a ride manager. On this particular day in 1986, it was the middle of fall, a time of year which is, or was until Haunt came around, notoriously slow. Jeff and Kelly were both considered "extras" in that they were needed on rides in the case that extra staffing was needed. On this particular day they weren't needed as ride operators and were sent around to various rides to check on any stocking needs. Well they "officially" did that... but they also had just a little bit of fun. That included posing with many of the rides too! They were paid (as in minimum wage which was around $2.10 an hour at the time), for their travels, and were signed in for various hours at each ride they visited. It might seem just slightly devious... but otherwise we would not have had these photos to look back on!
Deep in thought pondering the Sky Hi in Americana. Behind him is the western section of Americana looking not all that different than it does today.
Looking back towards Sky Hi, and Jeff can't remember who these two are. If anyone knows please let us know! Interesting enough, 1986 would be the last full season for Sky Hi!
Yes that's Screamroller, and Kelly is standing in the queue line beside the track. The ride is gone but the queue line is virtually unchanged!
That might look like Timber Wolf's station because it IS! But it ISN'T! Because in 1986 it was Extremeroller's station!
They aren't locking lap bars there... but horse collars instead. I don't think they are talking about locking lap bars though, probably more about what kind of party they are going to have with the spare change from Omegatron!
Wait... aren't there supposed to be train robbers here?
Deep thoughts about Flying Dutchman...such as, why is a Swiss company building a ride composed of tiny Dutch boats? Or I wonder if this ride will be around when I am older with grey hair? (It will)
And there he goes... finally working just a bit hopping taxi cars.
Uh... testing the horses out for safety, exactly. It's a dangerous job but someone has to do it.
Kelly on Zulu. Here is a thought to turn your head like Zulu... At the point this photo was taken Zulu was only seven years old. Today it's 42. Yep I just made a bunch of people feel old, you're welcome.
Where are we at now?
Oh it's Omegatron! Omegatron was new in 1986. Yes and it was removed from the park now 20 years ago. If you think I'm enjoying everyone feeling old, why yes, yes I am. Because if I have to feel old, so does everyone else.
I heard on the radio today how thankful the older generations are that social media didn't exist back when they were kids. I am personally immensely thankful for reasons that we won't talk about. Funny thing is that Jeff took enough photos to at least allow us this small snap shot of what the world was like back then, and I hope you have enjoyed this brief snapshot of a moment of time in 1986.
