Carousel Interlude: The Myrtle Beach Herschell-Spillman

This past week I have been in Myrtle Beach, SC with my parents.  Though I am not generally a fan of the beach, this trip was nice because I was able to see my older brother.  He has been living at this illustrious seaside resort for the past year.  Additionally, I was introduced to a pizza restaurant called the "Mellow Mushroom" for the first time.  It is a southern chain and they have great veggie pizzas.  However, without a doubt the best part of this trip was the 1912 Herschell-Spillman carousel located at this huge outdoor mall called "Broadway at the Beach."  Some relatives of ours were having car trouble and insisted that we go have fun somewhere while they waited for a tow truck at the gas station.  As we approached the mall, which was near the gas station, I was not anticipating that the day was about to get A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER.  I saw this carousel in the distance and said, "I bet that is a dumb plastic carousel.  Outdoor malls only have dumb plastic carousels."  I will never make that sulky assumption again!  This is a 1912 carousel with ALL KINDS of different animals carved out of wood (they are painted with some kind of thick glossy paint, likely for preservation purposes as well as color).  This carousel is huge and is one of fifteen Herschell-Spillmans still kicking around the universe.  I wrote in an earlier post about a little Allan Herschell carousel at the Millville Carnival.  Well, this one pre-dates that little one but is from the same family of carousels, having its roots in Tonawanda, NY.  Here is the historical plaque that was posted on the carousel, followed by some of the animals:

Here is the calliope.  Sadly, it was not playing on the afternoon of our serendipitous carousel encounter.  Below is the evidence that I rode this marvelous creation.  I actually only rode the ostrich, but I had my dad take my picture on that amazing dragon as well.  My dad and I were the only riders.  Once again a fun and exciting historical relic sits unnoticed while visitors to the coastal metropolis innocently patronize the Mellow Mushroom or fry in the sun, missing the best part of the whole city.  What if there had been no car trouble that day!



 

Well, having had an opportunity to sit on that dragon, I'd say that ultimately this trip was a success, even if the thrift stores of Myrtle Beach leave something to be desired.