After my lovely day spent in the Portland gardens, I decided that I needed to stop to do laundry and some organizing and restocking, so spent the day in Salem, Oregon.  Although I didn’t see much while I was there, I did hear about a wonderful carousel on the riverfront, and so went to check it out.  I’m quite a fan of carousels, and although I don’t really go looking for them, I do try to have a ride whenever I come across one, and this was one of the best I’ve ever seen!

This is a new carousel, not a historic one, and the driving force behind it’s creation was a woman named Hazel Patton, who was inspired in 1995 by visiting an old world style carousel in Missoula, Montana, the first built in the US since the Great Depression.  She wanted to bring a similar community-uniting project to Salem.  By fund raising and gathering a team of volunteer artisans, the Salem Riverfront Carousel was created, and it’s beauty.  All the horses are unique and hand-carved.

There’s even a brass ring game, and all the horses are individually named.  In the course of 4.5 years, 160 artisans donated over 80,000 hours of their time in its creation.  Displays to the side of the carousel explain the process used to create the carousel, from the felling of the linden trees and design of the animals, to the carving, assembly, and sanding, led by master carver Dave Walker, who worked with experienced carvers and also developed novice volunteers into skilled carvers.

It was a lovely day on the waterfront for a carousel horse ride, accompanied by a classically tinny version of the Carpenter’s “Top of the World,” and my horse was called Big Sky.  One thing I’ve never understood, though, is why my horse always ends the ride in the highest position — he was a big guy and I actually had to drop to the ground!

The carousel seemed to be more than just a ride to this community, though.  It seemed to be a central gathering place, and a focal point that brought them together, universally loved by everyone I spoke to, young and old alike.  You can find out more here (http://salemcarousel.wix.com/salemcarousel), and it’s well worth a ride if you’re ever in the area.  Or maybe even two…