SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City & Celebration City Discussion => General Silver Dollar City Talk => Topic started by: mhguy77 on September 23, 2013, 08:25:18 AM
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I spoke with the lye soap folks, this booth will close in 2 weeks for good, buy your soap now.
Its a sad time as we are losing another craft, I am sure they will replace it with a family spinning ride or a slushy booth, something that " Makes memories worth repeating" but whatever they decide you better buy your soap now and say goodbye.
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Not cool.
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Lye soap has been a craft on park since the 1960's. It was there when the Beverly Hillbillies came to visit. Sad to see this one go. Trends in theme parks change. The arts and crafts movement of the 60s/70/s/80s is long over. If people bought more lye soap, it would be staying. It joins basket weaving, and many other crafts that have ceased being produced at SDC.
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I guess I am part of the problem since I never purchased any in all my years. Never had a use for it, but it is still sad to see it go.
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Used it all the time, never once got poison ivy, rashes etc after camping/ hiking .
For me it is disheartening, I actually did basketry in college, and independently did wood carving as part of our joint senior gallery show. I had aspirations to join Donnie, and Bob, and all the others that have split reeds, and woven on park, but that is now gone. My sister actually was a part of the lye soap making one day at the park. She donned the costume, and for a day was a soap maker stirring and mixing and pouring, I am oh so jealous and envious of her ability to say she worked at the park for a day....someday!
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This is really a shame.
My family buys several logs a year for ourselves and some extras as gifts to others. I hope there is some available this weekend so we have enough to tide us over till we find another source.
For me and my family, the lye soap is worth a dozen Outlaw Runs, but I recognize how atypical we are. I also recognize that the City has to make money.
But I don't know, given the budgets involved, that it would hurt so much for the big-billed attractions to do a little more subsidizing of the back-woods stuff.
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Got to admit it, if I were running the show, if it didn't make money it would be gone, too. Got to keep things in the black, or nothing will be there someday. I, too, hate to see things like the baskets, lye soap, and many other crafts and some of the old attractions go, but this park cannot sit still, it has to move on. They can make up for what goes by presenting what is left in a unique way and by continuing to emphasize customer needs and satisfaction, it is hard to do, but they have done an outstanding job for over 50 years. I do hate to see lye soap go, as well as other long standing attractions, but the times they are a changin'.
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Consolidation of some of these craft shops may be an answer. Put them together and alternate demonstrations throughout the day - soap, brooms, baskets, etc. Looking at the crowd, this Saturday, I still noticed a BUNCH of older folks - who are not there for the rides and gimmicky food. They may not purchase the soap, brooms, and baskets, but they buy food and drinks while they are there, not to mention admission tickets. I wonder if the current formula of building things that exclude the elderly is shortsighted.
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Consolidation of some of these craft shops may be an answer. Put them together and alternate demonstrations throughout the day - soap, brooms, baskets, etc. Looking at the crowd, this Saturday, I still noticed a BUNCH of older folks - who are not there for the rides and gimmicky food. They may not purchase the soap, brooms, and baskets, but they buy food and drinks while they are there, not to mention admission tickets. I wonder if the current formula of building things that exclude the elderly is shortsighted.
Well stated!
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Bummer!! :( We are about to run out of lye soap, got just a little bit left.
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I wonder if the current formula of building things that exclude the elderly is shortsighted.
Of course it's short-sighted, but it is part and parcel of our culture's worship of youth and novelty, which, when you think about it, are the entithesis of SDC.
Too many people are addicted to the Latest, Greatest, Fastest, Up-to-THE-Minute, NOW, Adrenalin-laced, Newest Whiz-Bang-Gimcrack. An institution dedicated to recalling the past, slowing down, and enjoying the roses (and trees, etc.) either has to abandon its essence or whither. Either way, it will be lost.
I intend to enjoy it all I can till that sorrowful day.
In any case, our whole society is afflicting itself with an unsustainable addiction. I will mourn for SDC, but I fear for my children (and theirs).
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Why is it that we have to give up all of our traditions to placate the youth? I fight this same issue at church all the time ??? ??? ???
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End of the lye soap? Oh no. And there is no way I will be there in the next 2 weeks. :( I use it for stains, poison ivy, and the like.
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If only I known two weeks ago when I was in town for a wedding I would have made an effort to go by and buy up a bunch of soap. :(
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Placation is the norm....spend $10 million on a ride, and then tell me that you cannot keep you true Ozark crafts being demonstrated because you are "losing money". Please, give me a break. The soap does not eat up that much of a cost comparatively. It is a minimal cost for a few workers sporadically placed throughout the week, I don't see many demonstrations in the past years anyway, it takes inexpensive items to make the soap...the profit far outweighs the investment. Sad day.
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Rube, you are so right!
I'm sure if they would have put in a search, they could find someone willing to work for them that knows how to make lye soap. And, yes ingredients are cheap. Marrow and ash? I just pd $1.00/lb. for beef bones at the meat market. For a few dollars I made a boatload of beef broth. If I was making soap, I think I could get quite a lot of marrow out of 30 lbs. of bones. I really don't think it's the cost or lack of a soap maker they are considering.
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Donnie retires=no more baskets...I think you are right about a lack of craftsman/woman for the soap Gilligan
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Consolidation of some of these craft shops may be an answer. Put them together and alternate demonstrations throughout the day - soap, brooms, baskets, etc. Looking at the crowd, this Saturday, I still noticed a BUNCH of older folks - who are not there for the rides and gimmicky food. They may not purchase the soap, brooms, and baskets, but they buy food and drinks while they are there, not to mention admission tickets. I wonder if the current formula of building things that exclude the elderly is shortsighted.
Seconded; whilst I understand the business aspect of the thing, SDC has always been marketed as a "quasi-historical" attraction that attempted to recreate the Ozarks of the late 19th century. All well & good if they no longer wish to do that, but it's time to be honest, quit the charade and call themselves the "Six Flags/Worlds of Fun of the Ozarks" and be done with it. Leave history to the professionals like Colonial Williamsburg and Living History Farms, which does not need roller coasters to attract visitors.
Apologies for the rant.
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"Now boys, be good to the tourists!" ;) Just had to do it! HA! I get what you are saying and agree. :)
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"Now boys, be good to the tourists!" ;) Just had to do it! HA! I get what you are saying and agree. :)
Well played, Junior. 8)
Again, sorry for the rant. As someone who makes his living in history, it's always frustrating to see something hiding behind a façade -- I don't Silver Dollar City is quite yet a historical "Potemkin Village", but it's certainly not the same place I remember from my childhood.
T.
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Off the lye soap subject, but have they hired a blacksmith yet to replace the guy that retired a few months ago?
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I'll miss the lye soap too. They have been making it from a mix for quite a few years now that lye is hard to get.
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I agree with everything that has been said here. I understand the need to watch the bottom line. However, drop the "Home of American Craftsmanship" line if you don't mean it.
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I'll miss the lye soap too. They have been making it from a mix for quite a few years now that lye is hard to get.
If it's made from a mix, it should be even easier to find a soap maker. I wish I could do it. ;D
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Ouch. The lye soap booth was a legitimate attraction for my family. We have bought a literal ton of it over the years.
Sometimes the park just doesn't have a choice. It's hard to find craftsmen and women anymore who know how to do this stuff, but I hope they make an effort into bringing this back soon.
Don't forget to mail the park and let them know your thoughts and desires on stuff like this. If customers don't speak up, they'll just do what they think most people want.
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I don't believe the loss of lye soap is due to not having someone who knows how to do it. I believe the bottom line is sales did not match what is costs to produce, including manpower, so it's out. SDC has long had a program in place to train new craftsmen and to bring in craftsmen. It has been in place since at least the 1970s. I believe the bottom line is unless it is "in the black," it won't be coming back. I HATE the loss of another craft on park, but I understand why it is leaving. Don't fool yourself, where there is a will, there is a way. I think in this case not only is the craft not in the black, but the PTB do not have a will to continue it. :P
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Maybe enough encouragement would create the will . . . .
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Guess lye soap and pizza parlors don't go well together.......The end is near!!!
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I did see lye soap available in one of the booths at Apple Tree Craft Mall. Don't know if it is as "home made" as at SDC though.
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The ironic thing is, home-made and artisan soap are more popular and widely made now, than in the '70s.
It wouldn't be hard to find people who can make old-fashioned lye soap in theme. The only real issue is paying what it would take to keep them full time on the park.
The same is true for blacksmiths and knife makers and almost every other craft that has dwindled.
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I would gladly learn to make lye soap and work in the lye soap booth. And I am cheap. ;)
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I wonder if anyone has ever thought about bringing local students from C. of O. or elsewhere to "apprentice" in various crafts, a la the Foxfire books?
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My wife and I spent a great deal of time talking with the delightful lady who ran the operation--note past tense: this past Saturday was her LAST. The soap will be made through the end of October by another delightful lady who had previously been assigned as a choclateer.
Lye is a problem: it is regulated in just about any amount because of the blasted meth makers.
The retiring citizen made it clear that she did not know what was going to happen to the operation, which leaves me some hope that it will return.
We asked what her operation made last year, and she was not reluctant to tell us--I just don't know how broadly the number should be publicized. BUT I can say with NO DOUBT that it was a large enough number to make my jaw drop. The revenue from Lye Soap was well past the middle of 5 figures. That ain't chump change!
We bought 3 logs to get us through the winter, but it is possible that the operation WILL return. Let us make our voices heard!
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We asked what her operation made last year, and she was not reluctant to tell us
This info was shared with me as well. I cannot see how this amount of revenue does not warrant a roof without walls, no air conditioning, just a register and a electric fan for hot days and loses money. This adds flavor to the park and I am sure is self sufficient.
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I am sure that the government has some sort of license for this type of operation, even with it being so regulated. I live in Oklahoma and farmers can still buy fertilizer even after it was used to make a bomb.
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I wonder if anyone has ever thought about bringing local students from C. of O. or elsewhere to "apprentice" in various crafts, a la the Foxfire books?
It's been done for some time now. The glassblowers are a great example - most are from the College of the Ozarks. A lot of the ride attendants are students too. I guess it's harder to find kids who want to do things like broom-making or soap making though I guess. As a college student myself though, I would do it in a heart beat.
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Mom and dad went this weekend. Dad went to buy a brick and he told them how upset he was that they weren't opening next year. The lady they talked to told him that they will be there next year.
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The lady they talked to told him that they will be there next year
Maybe we have made a difference.
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^^I hope your information is correct.
It used to be these "craft demonstrations" were entertaining to watch, with corny humor and "audience" involvement. Perhaps this is what has been lost and the reason for the loss in appeal. Just walking by and seeing someone put a log on the fire ain't cuttin' it.
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My husband and I were at SDC on 10/2. We stopped at the lye shop during the late afternoon downpour that occured on Thursday. As we were making our purchase, we expressed our dismay about the shop closing. She urged us to contact SDC and let them know we wanted the shop to stay open. We have done so by the contact us form on the website.
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My family, and I purchased (as in spent our money on) lye soap every single visit to Silver Dollar City. It has become a tradition! >:( :'(
I am definitely going to voice my thoughts to Silver Dollar City. Sure, they have the power to change things, but I also have the power to voice my thoughts on it. ;)
As they say, "a squeaky wheel gets the grease." :)
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Rant, I mean uh message sent! I'm considering sending them a snail-mail letter too, or making a post on their Facebook. :)
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do both... I just sent note to the "contact" us page... headed for FB now...
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Operation Squeaky wheel is now in progress ;D
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I posted a picture of a bar of soap on the FB page,
I will also be down this weekend, will check and see if they will be back or not?
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I just squeaked via the "contact us" link as well.
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Got an email response on 10/7 from Tara McCoy, merchandise supervisor at SDC. She said that the lye shop would just shut down for the season at the end of October due to weather conditions (as usual). She thanked me for supporting lye soap.
Anyone else get a response?
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I have yet to receive a response, but I hope that's true!
Now that I think about it, when I went during Old Time Christmas last year, the soap making was shutdown, but the booth was still open to sell what they had recently made.
Hopefully, the soap will continue! Otherwise, there will be some really smelly people around here. :P
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I was wondering if any of you use lye soap for laundry purposes? I've been mixing my own powdered laundry "detergent" for quite a few months now. Currently I use Castile soap, but I was wondering about lye soap instead?
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I make my own liquid/gel laundry soap and use either grated Ferls Naphtha or Zote soap in it.
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nothing here yet?
Let me check their FB page.
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Response today on my FB question.. Lye shop will be back next april..:
"""The Lye Shop always closes at the end of Fall Festival due to outside temperatures. Soap can still be purchased in the General Store and the Ozark Market Place. Lye Soap will reopen with the start of World Fest on April 5th, 2014. Thanks""""
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I sure hope this is correct. I'm also wondering if that means there will actually be soap making or just selling out of the booth?
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I was wondering if any of you use lye soap for laundry purposes?
My grandmother used it for everything: body, hair, dishes, laundry, and everything else in the house.
That's one of the reasons the smell of lye soap at SDC is such a memory trigger for me. :)
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I need to get some next time I'm there for a kid I got that keeps getting into poison ivy.
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I used it for years, until my doctor found out on a routine check up, he laughed (a large belly laugh/ guffaw) and was shocked about it, he urged me to stop using it.
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I make my own laundry soap with fels naptha as well!! It looks gross when made but boy does it save a bajillion dollars! Also if you grate lye into the washing machine it will work in a pinch if you are out of soap. It also works if you are a hunter and want to get rid of your smell. It gets rid of human smell on clothes as well.
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So was this whole thing a rumor gone amok, a misunderstanding, or a change-in-heart by the folks in charge?
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So was this whole thing a rumor gone amok, a misunderstanding, or a change-in-heart by the folks in charge?
survey says - "YES"
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Even if it was just a misunderstanding, it still proves our dedication, passion, and willingness to fight for the small things that make Silver Dollar City more than just a theme park. :)
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I hate to see the lie soap leaving the park. Silver Dollar City is more that just a park full of rides. The theme of the park is the old time crafts. Such as lie soap making, basket making, and wood carving. The park has lost a lot of its charm by getting rid of its old time charm
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I'm here in the park today and have asked around - the Lye Soap shop is closed for this season, just like every season. There is absolutely no plans of closing it permanently. They said next along will be a brand new lye soap season just like any other. Went to the booth and it's all there just closed up for the winter season as usual.
The panic is over folks!!
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That was realized earlier in this thread. But, it never hurts to repeat it.
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Sorry, I didn't go thru all 5 pages of reading haha
I was really happy to learn the news today in the park.
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Dc, we were really happy also! Hope you enjoyed your day in the park!! :)
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My brother (mhguy77) and myself were told in Sept (by the lady working the shop) that the shop was going to close and it was up in the air if it would re-open in the spring. If it was a rumor the lady working the lye shop started it.......
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welcome to the group tech.....
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I bought some freshly old lye soap in the General Store. They still had a bit left a week, or so ago. :)
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I love that! Freshly old lye soap!