whirlwind
Thursday, January 23, 2020 1:34:04 PM
Megerle's in Ohio and A.J Sunny
IndianaTED
Wednesday, February 5, 2020 9:00:12 AM
Originally Posted by: johnroach100 

I dollar know how I forgot about Key City Shows. I vaguely remember when Pappy Thumberg died, I was a kid. We had a wrestling ape show and later an arcade with them.



Couple of thoughts on Key City Shows...first, I'm glad you brought them up, but I don't consider them as a small show. In fact, at one time they played the Marion County Fair (Indianapolis) in the early 80s. That was a big spot!

KCS took over our 4th of July Celebration in 1980 after Johnny's United Shows. KCS brought a nice midway that first year, but it wasn't the same as we were used to. Mainly your standard rides, with nothing I would consider a spectacular. The quality was also not to the same standard as JUS was at the time. But KCS came back two more years. and each time they returned, they were better in quality and brought more stuff they had acquired. The last time they came, they set up four two-trailer rides: their ground-mounted Bumper Cars, Music Fest, Sky Diver, and a Sky Wheel. The Sky Diver and Sky Wheel that they set up in 1982 were the last time we have ever seen those two rides in our town. It's hard for me to believe that its been almost 40 years ago now.

But I just could not say enough good things about KCS and the Thumbergs.

By the way, so what happened to that Show?

I've never been "with it", just been an interested observer of carnivals for more than 50 years.
Johnny's United Shows..."A Family Tradition" and "All for Fun, Fun for All".
The carnival of my youth, which had roots that originated in my hometown.
itsapartytx
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 3:38:32 PM
Key City Shows played our fair here in Tennessee in 1972 and again in 1983 when they brought 15 rides because our midway was small at that time but they managed to fit in the music fest skywheel zipper scrambler tilt a whirl spider rock o plane round up giant slide carrousel and several kiddie rides sadly 1983 was their last year in business they filled in for Golden Empire in 1983 which broke their 5 year contract with the local jaycees key city just happened to be right across the Tn River in Parsons playing their fair they were an exceptional show and did a great job even their show logo sticks in my memory one of the great southern shows that are no longer ahh miss em.
LauraLeeD
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 1:43:29 AM
Great Sutton Shows was on the West Coast in the 1960s. Miss June Sutton used to reminisce about playing Watts and carrying pails full of quarters out of her candy wagons at the end of the day.

After the tragic lost of their son, David, who was electrocuted while working on the Merry-Go-Round for a film in California(?), they eventually moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and had their WQ there in the early 1980s.

As the 1982 season came to a close there were rumors circulating about the show heading to Venezuela instead of sitting around all winter. Six weeks after coming off the road and working on equipment at winter quarters in Gonzalez, Louisiana, everything that could move was packed and driven to Jacksonville, Florida. The rides and joints and candy wagons were loaded up and sailed off for Venezuela (the country in South America.) The crew went back to Louisiana and somehow the Suttons managed to get passports for every worker that wanted to go to Venezuela.

In January, 1983 a planeload of carnies from Sutton Shows flew into Caracas. They met up with Olympic Expositions, Klaesen Brothers, another show with rides, and a side show. An asphalt lot was built into the side of a mountain about four miles outside of Caracas and set-up began. It wasn't noticeable at first, but the lot was actually on a significant slope. The danger with that became apparent when the ride jock pulling the Teacup ride stopped to check something out while moving to its spot, jumped out of the cabover for a moment and the next thing anyone knew all hell broke loose as the unmanned truck started rolling down the midway. He almost caught it, then realized that he'd never be able to brake in time, so watched in horror as truck and ride sailed off the cliff at the end of the lot. The truck probably stills lies in that ravine today, but they were able to pull the Teacup ride back up and it played the spot, it just didn't bounce up and down as it should have due to damage to the hydraulics. The Tornado Coaster was flat on the ground on one side and on nearly 3 feet of shims on the other to get it as close to level as possible.

From February through May 1982 the combined show played three spots in Venezuela: Caracas, Valencia and Maracaibo. During the Maracaibo spot rumblings began that the government wasn't happy with something that was going on. Whatever the reason, the show sloughed with no word on the next spot. Then men with machine guns started stalking around the lot, harassing the bosses and scaring the hell out of the Viet Nam vets on the show. Word finally came down that the show would be embargoed and not allowed to open again until the bosses did whatever it was that the government wanted them to do. Almost all of the equipment was moved into a locked impound lot across the street from a chicken processing plant in the middle of nowhere outside of Maracaibo. And all of the carnies were sitting outside of the impound lot with nothing to do as show season opened up back home.

The Suttons were able to rustle up a few rides and a candy wagon and tried to fulfill their commitments on the Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana circuit they'd built up. But with all of the "good stuff" sitting in South America, it wasn't a patch on what they'd put on just a year earlier. The situation was absolutely desperate at that point.

What follows is unconfirmed legend: The heads of the shows that were still in Venezuela managed to convince the government officials that the only way they would be able to pay what they owed was to be allowed to open the show again for a week-long engagement. A spot was selected and everybody prepared to move. Rather than each truck pulling 2 or 3 pieces of equipment to the spot, someone worked it out so that no double backs would be necessary. The day of the move arrived and things progressed with military smoothness, the drivers got their directions, loaded up and moved on out. Unbeknownst to any of the drivers, there was a ship waiting and at a certain point along the route, someone was on the road telling the drivers to take a turn that put them onto that waiting ship. By the time Venezuelan officials realized what was happening, the ship was loaded and pulling out of the harbor. Some say shots were fired, but who knows at this point?

They limped along down South through the end of the 1983 season, but nothing was really the same after the Venezuelan debacle.
jsfuneventhire
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 10:39:08 AM
itsapartytx, you've got a website with Booking Online? What do you make of it? Lots of people in the UK have one but we don't (we're here .)
itsapartytx
Thursday, May 13, 2021 3:21:27 PM
Oh yes. I remember "Doc" Hardin Shows. They traveled throughout Georgia as I recall. Used to come to the Georgia Mountain Fair for years and years. Those were the days!
ridejocky
Thursday, May 13, 2021 8:50:21 PM
Didn't Billy Clark take over Doc Hardin?
Ride the Zipper?
itsapartytx
Monday, June 14, 2021 2:30:51 AM
I traveled every summer with my mom & stepdad. A few of the shows I remember are, Santa Maria’s famous Funway & The Badger State Show! Fun times and the shows were like my family.
itsapartytx
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 5:13:29 PM
I remember Glory Amusements that ran in the 80’s and 90’s. They had a spider, swinger, MGR, sizzler. All white trucks I blv. I’ve been trying to find some pics but have been unsuccessful.
itsapartytx
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 5:14:34 PM
I remember Glory Amusements that ran in the 80’s and 90’s. They had a spider, swinger, MGR, sizzler. All white trucks I blv. I’ve been trying to find some pics but have been unsuccessful.
itsapartytx
Saturday, June 19, 2021 8:11:57 PM
No. Geren was the old Doc Hardin show. Billy Clark had Smoky Mountain which was Stine Amusements before him and Childress Amusements before that.
Randy D.
Monday, June 21, 2021 10:04:22 AM
Shows of the 70s and 80s that played Illinois.
Spaulding Shows: Saturn 6, Spider, Dodge em, Twister, Tip Top

Gold Crown Shows: Hurricane, Tilt a Whirl Deluxe, Tempest, Sizzler, Snow Ball.Express

Reid Spectacular: Skywheel, Skydiver, Hurricane, Paratrooper, Himalaya, Fireball (octopus), Huss Tristar
ridejocky
Monday, June 21, 2021 8:56:42 PM
Originally Posted by: Randy D. 

Shows of the 70s and 80s that played Illinois.
Spaulding Shows: Saturn 6, Spider, Dodge em, Twister, Tip Top

Gold Crown Shows: Hurricane, Tilt a Whirl Deluxe, Tempest, Sizzler, Snow Ball.Express

Reid Spectacular: Skywheel, Skydiver, Hurricane, Paratrooper, Himalaya, Fireball (octopus), Huss Tristar



I loved running the Saturn, better have an umbrella....
Ride the Zipper?
JimW
  •  JimW
  • 51.56% (Neutral)
  • 40-Miler
Sunday, June 27, 2021 7:32:46 AM
Nolan Shows. Played northern Ohio in the 70's. Spots like the Lake County Fair in Painsville and the 4th of July in Wickliffe (also in Lake County). I think they were out of Zanesville, Ohio. They had the usual punk rides, MGR, Big Ely wheel and Scrambler. Also had a Rock - O- Plane and a Zipper. And a Scooter. They had couple of other majors that I can't remember now (Round - Up?). Wonder what ever happened to them?
itsapartytx
Tuesday, June 29, 2021 11:26:14 AM
Rick Nolan passed away and Fred had mostly retired. Scott took part of the equipment and began his own unit - Nolan Amusements. Kevin took some equipment as well and started Dakota Shows. Kevin later passed away and Scott closed his unit down sometime in the early 2000's.