Thank God the equipment, joints, concessions weren't already set-up or the fair wasn't already open at the time of the flood. It could have been a disaster. On short notice, there probably would not have been enough time to get most of the stuff off the fairgrounds.
The same weekend of the Bloomsburg flood, I was set-up on a carnival lot at a Fall Festival in Elkton, Maryland when (thanks to Ivan) without much warning, the carnival lot, streets (and everything else) was overtaken by rapidly rising flood water from the nearby Big Elk Creek.
In the time it took (about 20 minutes) to frantically take down flags, drop the marquee, fold in the scenery, rack some bars, take off the skirting and stow some other misc. pieces in the trailer, the water rose from ankle-deep to almost knee-deep (water was almost up to the floor of my trailer). By then the wood chocks from under the trailer tires were floating away. I had to have my grind show trailer pulled out of the lot. My poor trailer looked more like a boat while it was literally yanked off the lot over parking barriers, curbs and any other inanimate objects under the water...Luckily, I only ended-up with about an inch of water on the floor of the trailer.
Working in knee-deep water, The show managed to get a ground mount kid boat ride torn down and racked and some other equipment like a King train, the generator, junction boxes and ticket trailer off the lot. An attempt was going to be made to yank the kid airplane swing out but it was abandoned after the motor on the truck was about to stall out. Before long, the water was was almost up to the top of the fence and the trailer deck of the Fredericksen Fun Slide, the airplanes on the kid swing looked like boats in water, on a slightly higher end of the lot, the water was over the deck and up to the bottoms of the space vehicles on the Hampton space age ride. Due to swift currents, the decision was made to be less aggressive about getting equipment out. None-the-less. all afternoon, working in knee-deep to waist-high water with all types of objects floating by in the water, other stuff was gradually removed (such as joint trailers, popper trailer, stick joint, etc...). It was a mess, even the donnikers were overturned and floating in the water.
I've heard such stories over the years but this is the first time I've actually been caught in the middle of an actual flood.
Anyone else have similar stories to share ? (I'm sure SixCat does).
On the subject of the PA flooding, I got to thinking whether Knoebels'(near Bloomsburg) sustained any flooding- They've had many floods through the history of the park. Also, I saw news coverage on TV about how bad the flooding was in the Easton, PA area and thought about Bushkill Park (which has been known to have serious flooding over the years) - Also, MCW poster "KC", who last I knew hailed from the Easton area- Hopefully KC and AEB Amusements didn't have any damage from flooding.
SUE- It was a pleasure (and a surprise) to see you a couple weeks ago at the Blue Diamond Fair in Delaware. Unfortunately, you caught me off guard in my grimy, raggedy work attire- If I knew you were coming I would have changed clothes [:D]. Sorry you didn't get to see the grind show under actual operating conditions.
Hope you had a good trip. It sounded like you were covering a lot of territory the week I saw you- and you certainly covered a lot since.
P.S.: Sue, If you go to Bloomsburg, eat some Pierogi for me (and not the cheap imitation Mrs. T's deep-fried carnival variety- but the real homemade boiled ones, with butter and onions- Pierogi Joe's [:D])
"Don't forget to be half fair and give a little credit to the small concessionaire"