WHEWW!!!! Almost finished!
For the past several weeks, in an attempt to focus myself upon positive things, I have attempted to clean-out and finish the inside of my carving studio/barn.
“WHAT??? You NEVER finished the inside??”
Yep, that’s correct. SURE, I’m more than embarrassed, but SO many things/projects/commitments have forged their way into my Life, that, although the studio was completely operable, I had never finished the inside of the walls!
Moreover, when my physical issues took precedence in the Summer of 2018, the studio/barn became (I am MORE than embarrassed to say), simply a “depository for all the effluvia in my and Carolyn’s Life.
The studio was initially built during the late Summer of 2006. Immediately, it became the home of my Carousel carving, and of all Carolyn’s varied forms of Artistic Creation.
Everything worked-out just fine.
During 2015, I re-worked the second floor into a framing studio…where all the Artwork which I installed in our regional hospital would be created.
MEANWHILE
Anxious to begin carving yet another Carousel animal, I began to concentrate upon the voice which called to me from my early childhood memories….the voice of the Carousel Lion which graced the machine at both Conneaut Lake Park, and its “brother” riding the Carousel at Pittsburgh’s West View Park.
HOWEVER….after developing the pattern, gluing together the blocks which would eventually form all the body parts of the lion, and beginning to “rough-out” the animal…FATE stepped-in and changed EVERYTHING!
Hence, he was placed into one of my storage units, where he remains to this very moment.
FATE, ONCE AGAIN
AS most folks know, our Life changed dramatically yet again on August 31, 2020.
It seemed that NOTHING would remain the same.
BUT….one morning I swear I heard a sound…a “voice” coming from the overcrowded barn/studio.
Curious, to say the least, I grabbed my keys, and headed towards the aforementioned building with the deepest form of caution leading my footsteps.
I slowly unlocked the barn door…the aroma of stacked boxes and “stuff” filled my nostrils…whispers of dust arose as the morning’s gentle breezes whisked-away all the cobwebs.
I reached around, and my fingers found one of the light switches. The overhead fluorescent lights cast their rays upon the piles and piles of collected things which completely filled the studio from ceiling to floor. I stopped…basically for two reasons: first, forward movement was nearly impossible; second, the echo of an animal’s voice seemed to, again, fill my ears.
What was I imagining?
Making my way through the boxes and junk, I was able to grab a small stepladder, and unfold it to produce a “chair” upon which I could sit.
After what must have been hours, the “curtains parted.”
In my Heart and Spirit I heard that voice from my childhood calling-out to me . It was the voice of my lion, sobbing gentle “growls”…calling to me to free him from his imprisonment…calling me to complete his Creation…calling me back to the promises I had made to him several years previously.
The Voice of my Angel speaking to me through the mists of Time.
FLASH-WAY-BACK…
I was luckier than most children while growing-up…I had two completely separate worlds which I could call home!
First, there was the world of Pittsburgh’s “Gateway to the North Hills” community, Millvale, in which I was born and raised. This was the typical 1950’s Germanic mill-town, in which everybody was related to one another either through birth, or through marriage. Folks went shopping on Saturday mornings at all the local “mom & pop” stores, from butcher, to baker, and everything in-between…a true all-day affair, with heaps of conversations, laughter, and good “old-fashioned” camaraderie.
On Millvale’s Lincoln Ave., one could hop onto a streetcar and be transported through woods and fields to an adjacent community called West View.
Here it was that a legendary businessman named T.M. Harton chose to create in a valley setting, a remarkable magical realm which, to this day, conjures the fondest memories of our lost American Heritage. Of course, I am speaking of WEST VIEW AMUSEMENT PARK. Remembrances of riding the Racing Whippet, the Dips, Tumblebug, and Harton’s amazing Carousel are as vivid now, as they were breathtaking then.
The message of Harton’s success traveled far and wide. It was not long before the directors and owners of Exposition Park in the northern community of Conneaut Lake approached Harton with a possible consignment. It was their wish that Harton construct, and populate, the proposed Carousel for CONNEAUT LAKE PARK, as well as him having a hand in other proposed rides. Of course, we know that Harton accepted the offer.
The Carousel building and mechanism designed for CONNEAUT LAKE PARK mirrors its long-gone twin at WEST VIEW PARK. To populate CLP’s Carousel, Harton turned once again, as he had before, to the Germantown, PA Carousel Factory of G.A. Dentzel. Here he found the proud and regal animals which originally graced the CLP machine. AND… among them, he found the “twin” for one of the most elegant menagerie animals to ever travel round upon ANY Carousel…the Dentzel Lion.
As I said above, I was really fortunate as a child. In 1953, my folks decided to establish a second home; this one would be located near the shores of Pymatuning Lake in Crawford County. Traveling to this second home was not easy in those days…no I-79, few paved roads in the immediate area, no big-box stores. Shopping occurred in the local Market House…chock full of produce, baked-goods, artisans, meats…and, laughter and camaraderie! Heaven for sure! For entertainment, we hopped into my Dad’s turquoise and white 1953 Chevy, and coursed our way through woods, and across dirt roads to a magical place just a few miles away: CONNEAUT LAKE PARK!
Here I met, and loved, what seemed like a friend who had traveled all the way from down in West View just to be with me…to protect me, and around whose curly mane I could stretch my arms in a loving hug…my Angel…my Lion.
And…that morning, September 1, 2020, I sat in my studio and heard his sweet voice growling-out to me…or so I believe.
RESULT
Today I completed my “assignment.”
The barn has been transformed into my carving studio again. All the “stuff,” all the “junk” is cleared-out.
My carving tables and benches are moved into place…the inside of the walls are COMPLETE!
I am now ready…ready to free my “Angel” from his captivity. I can almost feel his hot growling breath upon my hands.
Within a few days, I will resurrect my “Gift” as a Carousel carver.
Seems like my Brass Ring is correct….”There is NO END.”
Circle of Life
Elton John
From the day we arrive
on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There’s more to be seen than can ever be seen
More to do than
can ever be done
In the circle of life
It’s the wheel of fortune
It’s the leap of faith
It’s the band of hope
‘Til we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle, the circle of life.
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