LITTLE ROCK — "In my opinion, the restored carousel would be an important attraction for the City of Little Rock," wrote Richard Davies, executive director of the state Department of Parks and Tourism in a Dec. 10, 1991, letter to Friends of the Carousel Inc. "The universal appeal of old fashioned carousels, coupled with the rarity of this one would create another 'something we need to see' while in Little Rock."
Sixteen years and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, the famed "Over the Jumps" Arkansas Carousel at last will twirl again. Financing the restoration of Little Rock's 83-year-old amusement park ride has been the pet project of Magnolia lawyer and former state Sen. Mike Kinard - and although he wouldn't admit it, probably at times the bane of his existence.
"I rode the carousel in eighth grade on a field trip from Magnolia, and I have a picture of my granddaughter riding it under the original canopy at age 4," Kinard says. "But she is now 20 years old. Having been involved for 16 years, I think it's time for it to be part of the city of Little Rock and accessible to everyonewho wants to ride it."
At the Oct. 22 Arkansas Carousel Dedication Gala, the Friends of the Carousel nonprofit group will formally deliver the Arkansas Carousel into the hands of the City of Little Rock, represented by Mayor Mark Stodola. All pony parents - who have donated at least $5,000 toward the restoration campaign in exchange for the prize of "adopting" and naming one of the hand-carved carousel horses - will be invited for a ceremonial ride with Arkansas first lady Ginger and Gov. Mike Beebe and Stodola and his wife, Joellen.
The transformation in ownership of the rare merry-go-round has been a long time coming. Financial problems have plagued the project, as the Friends of the Carousel, headed by Kinard, has struggled for years to pay for restoration of the ponies and reconstruction of the platform and other mechanical parts. Fundraising efforts have included a 2004 carousel gift shop in University Mall run by volunteers, in-kind donations and $200,000 approved by city voters in 2003 to buy a cover for the carousel.
The ingenious pony-parent concept has been a success, bringing in such donors as Jennings Osborne, who named a pony after his daughter, Breezy; the late Margaret Ann Barber of Fort Smith, who called her pony "Jeffrey" after an imaginary member of her family; the late Cal Partee Sr. of Magnolia, who owned 1992 Kentucky Derby winner Lil E. Tee; and Patricia and the late Roy Chapman, owners of Smarty Jones, who in 2004 won at the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas and Kentucky derbies and the Preakness. With a $25,000 donation, Friends of the Zoo adopted the "Arkansas Horse" in 1991, which will serve as the carousel's lead pony. One orphan pony has yet to be adopted.
"You had to sit down and talk to them and try to make them dream about one day, this carousel could be running again, and kids could be riding it," Kinard says. "You had to really try to explain to them that this was a worthwhile project."
Over the Jumps was located at Little Rock's War Memorial Midway from 1942 to 1991. The only surviving example of an undulating-track carousel made by Spillman Engineering Corp. in North Tonawanda, N.Y., it came to Little Rock as a mobile carousel touring the South. In 1942, it was placed under a permanent structure created from a StateFair building.
"It was named Over the Jumps because the riders sit on a stationary horse, but the track goes up and down and undulates and gives you the feeling that you're jumping like a jumping horse jumps," Kinard says.
When owners Lloyd "Mokie" Choate and Doc O'Kelley decided to sell the ride in 1991, Kinard and Marlena Grunewald of Little Rock took it upon themselves to be sure Arkansas didn't lose the gem to an out-ofstate buyer. Listed for $350,000, they bargained the price down to $250,000 and a promise to keep it in Little Rock. With the help of former First Commercial Bank Corp. President Bill Bowen, Kinard secured an initial $1,000 loan to pay the down payment.
Kinard was originally attracted to the project after having earned one of his first legal fees decades ago from the owner of another abandoned carousel. The client couldn't pay in cash, and so offered Kinard carousel horses instead.
"I was just starting practice in Magnolia, and I wanted to impress my boss who was the lawyer that I worked for, and I went in to see him, and I said, 'What do I do?'" Kinard remembers.
"He said, 'Welcome to the country law practice. You're allowed to get paid in peas, watermelons and pigs; let's go ahead and take them.'"
Conservator Rick Parker of Gentry, with the help of Robert Pennick of Siloam Springs, was contracted to restore the horses. The work required devoting 120-150 hours on each pony, stripping more than 30 coats of paint added by previous owners, fixing broken legs, replacing missing teeth and repainting. Partee and Larry Burrow of the Partee Flooring Mill in Magnolia donated cypress for the platform, which was deemed the wood closest to the original New York pine. Woodworker John Ed Gunnels of Atlanta, Ark., built the platform.
In 2004, the Friends of the Carousel signed a lease agreement with the Little Rock Zoo, in keeping with its promise to find a permanent home in Little Rock for the structure. Kinard met with the Department of Arkansas Heritage to help secure $150,000 from the state Legislature for additional restoration funding.
The carousel is insured for $2 million, but, Kinard says, "It's really priceless because it's the only one left. If it was destroyed, it couldn't be replaced." From this point on, the nonprofit corporation will continue to exist as an oversight committee, ensuring that the city of Little Rock is maintaining the carousel, subject to the terms of an easement associated with the grants appropriated by the state Legislature. In the event of the city's failure to comply, the Department of Arkansas Heritage can reclaim the carousel.
The Arkansas Carousel Dedication Gala begins at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Little Rock Zoo, 1 Jonesboro Drive. Tickets are $50, and proceeds benefit the remaining costs to complete carousel restoration. A ribboncutting ceremony free for zoo patrons and co-hosted by Mayor Stodola and Ginger Beebe will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Oct. 23. More information is available by calling (501) 666-2406, Extension 108.
High Profile, Pages 45, 49 on 10/07/2007