The Carousel Stamp Contest

When Peter won the local stamp contest with his beautiful rendition of a carousel horse, the prize was most unique. His entire class was invited to be the last children to ride the carousel at the long-abandoned Mountain Park in Holyoke, Massachusetts.  We entered through a gate with crumbling stone walls on each side. The asphalt was cracked with  random small tree branches here and there. It was early spring, the overgrown vegetation was twisted and tangled. The bright yellow school bus struggled up the twisted hill road to arrive somewhere. Fog funneled about, but not too thick to block our vision of the abandoned buildings, crocked signs, and sculpted clown faces with peeling paint altering features. There was a hush from the children as the bus pulled into a hardtop field. It was once a groomed parking lot. Tufts of dried grass were everywhere. Some reached nearly four feet tall. Quietly and slowly the children exited their bus into a world of grays and wet. There was an octagon barn of a kind in fairly good shape to our left. A small car was there and a somewhat unkept man in a sports jacket. He greeted us and spoke well as he puffed on a cigarette. He was friendly and joyful and said follow me. He undid a padlock or two and slid open a large and windowed door. There it was, a lonely but found magnificent carousel in dust and darkness. The man, Postmaster Marshall Blouin, invited the children in to mount the horses. With the pull of some levers, lights came on illuminating the magical beasts. The color after the foggy pallet prior, was a happy delight. The children smiled. Their eyes wet with anticipation. Safety directions were given, more levers drawn, and bingo, calipee music sounded as the circus horses flew in order around. Up and down the children went. All fear vanished from their sweet minds and faces. It was a moment to remember. The Carousel was rescued, dismantled and soon after a relocated in the center of Holyoke near the new Children's Museum.