SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City & Celebration City Discussion => SDC Memories/ Park History => Topic started by: tomservo6 on April 04, 2015, 08:59:23 PM
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I just came across this site and, wow, it brings back some memories. Ironically, I found it on my phone today while waiting in line for the balloons in the new Fireman's Hollow area.
My family had season passes for over a decade starting in the late 70's. We visited SDC just about every weekend from Springfield. Most of the employees knew me by name. I literally grew up at SDC and knew it like my own backyard. I even proposed to my wife in the chapel. The sheriff came and kidnapped her, took her in there. I came in shortly after with a ring. It worked.
My first distinct memory of SDC, and in life really, were the moonshine pigs on the float trip. I'm surprised I remember that if it ended in 1980, making me four at the time. Although I also distinctly remember the Plunge opening and watching my older sister ride.
I didn't get up the nerve to ride Fire in the Hole until I was 9-10. That must have been after the broken track scene was taken down because I don't remember that. I did ride it 23 times in a row on a rainy Friday in the late 80's when we were practically the only ones in the park. The workers urged me on to break the record of 22 set by "Pappie" someone-or-other back in 1882.
Favorite places to eat - Mine restaurant (still is, cold pink lemonade in the tin cups, rising table) and Big Jack sandwich (I will miss you). Makes me remember the old star cave in the treehouse. Wow, just remembered the cave-in scene in the flooded mine, too.
When I saw several of the photos posted on this site of the Diving Bell, deju vu hit me hard. I remember rushing and pushing my way to the front center as a kid so we could crank the handles to fix the leaks caused by the rock collision and the dynamite.
And then there was that show in the theater across the street. It was the one in the haunted house. My favorite was the gag where the actor dropped the candle, extinguishing it, and then still "lit" up the upstairs room, causing him to break the fourth wall and laugh. Still funny the hundredth time. And the disappearing kids in the fireplace and under the tablecloth. And the talking bust who you could shake hands with upon exiting. Good times.
I'd be thrilled to go backstage and see a lot of the old ride props, the video from the diving bell screen, etc. if any of that still exists.
My six-year-old just barely got to the minimum height for the larger rides. Today was his first time riding Outlaw Run (in the front row), the Electrospin, and the Barn Swings. I tried showing him some pictures and stories of the old rides but he didn't seem too impressed. Here's hoping for some great SDC memories for him.
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Welcome Tomservo6
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Thanks for sharing your Memories! Welcome to this site!!
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Sounds like your family was coming to the park during the time I worked there. Who knows, maybe I was your pilot at the diving bell a few times, or maybe I was the River Rat at the float trip who loaded your family in a boat! Welcome to the site.
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There was nothing as fun as the Diving Bell (*sniff*), and the lemonade in tin cups? That was good...and the wedge of cheese, big pickle, family style bbq meals, and the dessert tray! Bring it all back!
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Thanks for sharing your memories with us, and welcome to the site!
The haunted house theatre sounds interesting, I think that is the 1st I have heard about that one, was it in the Riverfront Playhouse (former Courthouse Theatre) ?
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Yes, the theater directly across from Lost River. It probably was in the mid to late 80's. It ran for several years from what I remember.
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Have so many fond memories of SDC past and present, Jim Owens float trip was probably my first major theme park ride and I have been a white river Jim Owen river rat fan ever since, so many classic gags in that ride it was like a mini Disney right here close to home theming was excellent, I will stand by the WF queue just to catch a glimpse at the old channels, also, FITH I remember being so frightened the first time I rode it! Back when it was brand new all the scenes intact a very different experience back then, but don't get me wrong it still holds the magic even for my 8 and 9 year old daughters I catch them calling out lines such as Red Flanders, and trying to get the whole train clapping in the dark scenes where the theme song is prominent, I do think getting the steam back on the train drop would be easy fix and very effective. I also recall a stage coach ride where they took you around wooded area and I do believe there was an animatronic rock that spoke to you at some point, and don't even get me started on the diving bell what a classic ride very well done and the actors really made the voyage to the bottom of lake silver convincing my children still wish they could have experienced it due to the amount I have told them about it. FM was also very different ride in it's prime, I miss the projected faces if I remember correctly two of them were Don Knotts and Tim Conway, the rock-slide was also a very good effect, and the "I'm gettin' outta here no matter what" scene, used to be very climatic compared to what it is today, the addition of the saw and the cannon boat were also well done, I would always make my sister sit on the side the blade came closest too, lol. I notice in recent years the inmate on the rock outside that said "They'll tell the warden if we don't strike 'em...FIRE" is missing, there also used to be several other water cannons in the pond you never knew where the supposed cannonball was going to splash. I still love the SDC of today, they must keep the classics alive or at least reinvent them with same detail that was done in the early days. Rant over, thanks for listening.
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Good post. I too wish the cannon sequence of FM was brought back. The old rides need a little love without getting rid of the charm.
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The haunted house was the set for "The Hatfield Haint" talked about in this thread, along with some other great shows I wish they'd bring back: http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=139.0
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The haunted house was the set for "The Hatfield Haint" talked about in this thread, along with some other great shows I wish they'd bring back: http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=139.0
I thought that's what it was, but didn't want to say anything unless I was sure. Thanks for sharing!
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welcome to the site! Enjoy!
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Does anyone know if any of the old set pieces or props for the older attractions still exist, maybe in storage or somewhere? Things like the diving bell set itself, the small sub that was in the lake, the video played on the screen in the diving bell, props from the float trip, etc. Or were all of these things dismantled or destroyed? If they're still stored somewhere at SDC, I'd like to see about getting a glimpse at them.
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I think you can peruse the boards here for more for some of your answers. Most of the old stuff was put into landfills, with no thoughts about posterity.
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Most of the stuff from the old attractions was thrown out. As a former employee, I salvaged a few items when the float trip and diving bell were dismantled, but not much. I worked at both locations and held on to a few minor pieces because I am sentimental. I have seen some old signs in the last 3 years sold at a few flea markets and antique stores, but have no idea how they made it out of the park. Judging from condition, they were likely thrown out and somone picked them up and saved them. A former park insider who used to be on the threads here and worked closely with Jack and Pete stated they are not sentimental, and when something has outlived it's usefulness it generally is thrown out. Much company history has been lost this way.Every year the costume department usually has a sale in a public location to sell clothing that is no longer used by employees, they advertise the event in local press. Rumor has it that a diving bell capsule in in storage, but I don't know if that is true because it would take a lot of space up. Apparently the company has a graveyard were they throw a lot of stuff like old billboards, and even the balloon ride was in a backlot area for years before refurbishment and being put into Fireman's Landing. During my employment years I remember frequently passing a gully in a backlot area full of cast off pieces like a full dummy in convict clothes pulled from Flooded Mine, old lanterns, signs, and atmosphere pieces that spent too many winters outside and were rotted, so everything was dumped. A collector today would love to have some of that stuff...I know I would, but no place to store or display it. All that stuff was left out in the elements, so, if not maintained, would go to rot pretty fast. Hope that this helps you out.
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I’ve heard that back in the late 50s and early 60s, Disneyland used throw away signs and props and they didn’t think they had any value. Now, they have an extensive archive of things. They have at least one movie poster from every film Disney ever released. Many of the individual posters are worth tens of thousands of dollars. I’ve always wondered why they have never built a major museum to display some of the stuff. A few items are in a small museum focused on the life of Walt Disney. It is at Disney Studios. But they DO have much more that is never seen by anyone but the curators.
Recently, I actually discussed my idea for a SDC museum with one of the owners. I said it would be great to have a museum that not only told the story of Silver Dollar City but would also have exhibits on Ozark culture and area history. I suggested having areas dedicated to SDC rides of the past. For example: it would be absolutely amazing to have one of the pods from Rube Dugan’s, in a place where folks could actually walk through it. Maybe it could even run the old ride video on the screen. If no pods have survived, surely a reasonable facsimile could be constructed. However, as I was going on-and-on with my wild ideas, he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. He was smiling as he replied, “Well, I don’t think that most people who come to Silver Dollar City these days are as crazy about history as you and I are.”
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That was his kind way of saying don't hold your breath for a museum. It likely won't happen, but we can dream.
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You'd think that with the Herschends' close ties to College of the Ozarks, the Ralph Foster museum would be the natural place for an SDC historical exhibit.
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Made a trip to SDC today and they were passing out these flyers. Said Frisco Jack would be doing this for the next 10 days starting tomorrow. Not quite a historical exhibit but there is some interest being shown to at least tell some history.
(http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah156/tom60ford/164_zpsxwiqpibj.jpg) (http://s1379.photobucket.com/user/tom60ford/media/164_zpsxwiqpibj.jpg.html)
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Made a trip to SDC today and they were passing out these flyers. Said Frisco Jack would be doing this for the next 10 days starting tomorrow. Not quite a historical exhibit but there is some interest being shown to at least tell some history.
I have talked with Frisco Jack. He knows a lot of history and has some really good stories. He and I have argued, politely of-course, about some of the history concerning the Marble Cave Mine and Marmaros. I would really love to listen to his talk and I think I'll try to get into to one of his presentations.
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^^ We went to Frisco Jack's talk on Saturday. I had heard a lot of it before but there was some stuff I didn't know. Thanks for the heads up on that, Pintrader!
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Your welcome Duelist....I am going to try and catch him Thursday when I am down there. But when there is all that great Bluegrass music going on around it might be hard to do....lol.
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Wished he was doing it through the summer...we won't be able to get down there until the end of June...I'd love to here his presentation
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I made a special trip to SDC yesterday to listen to Frisco Jack’s presentation. It was NOT very well attended with only 4 people there. Like Duelist said, he told some interesting stuff I had not heard before. I talked to Frisco Jack before it started. He said this talk was a special thing SDC was doing for high school kids this week. There are 4 different lectures they can attend. The s SDC talk is only one of several he is doing this week. He also speaks on other history topics, such as: The Panic of 1837, The War of 1812, and several others.
I wanted one of the flyers than Pintrader posted and I wanted Frisco Jack to autograph it. Frisco Jack did NOT know what I was talking about. ??? He said he had not seen any such flyer. SO: If any one has an extra, or can tell where to get one, please let-me-know. Someone at SDC probably still has a stack of these.
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I wanted one of the flyers than Pintrader posted and I wanted Frisco Jack to autograph it. Frisco Jack did NOT know what I was talking about. ??? He said he had not seen any such flyer. SO: If any one has an extra, or can tell where to get one, please let-me-know. Someone at SDC probably still has a stack of these.
Wow! I thought my memory was bad. We were at the Picker's Shed waiting for the 3:45 show a week ago when Frisco Jack brought the flyers up and handed them to Danny Eakin personally. Told Danny to hand them out to anyone that wanted one and would be passing out more to get the word out. Oh well! maybe he got confused somehow.
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I have talked with Frisco Jack. He knows a lot of history and has some really good stories. He and I have argued, politely of-course, about some of the history concerning the Marble Cave Mine and Marmaros. I would really love to listen to his talk and I think I'll try to get into to one of his presentations.
Was that disagreement about just how small or big Marmaros actually was?
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Was that disagreement about just how small or big Marmaros actually was?
As for the history of Marmaros: some of the people I have interviewed are minimalists and others are maximalists. For example, Walker Powell told me that Marmaros “was nothin’ but a few old sheds.” He doesn't believe there was anything resembling a town there.
Frisco Jack is a maximalist. He believes it was a good sized town with homes, a general store, hotel, post office, blacksmith shop, school, pottery factory, and furniture factory. His idea of the guano mining operation is much grander than Powell’s. The only thing that I really argued with Frisco Jack about was the locations of some of the buildings and existing original photographs. I have not seen any evidence that the Marmaros General Store was at the same location as the SDC General Store. But, it could have been. Also, I still have NOT seen any photographs of any part of Marmaros. I’m still hoping that one will appear.
On the other hand, I discussed all this with Jack H. who knew and talked to Charley Sullivan back in the 1950s. Sullivan lived in Marmaros as a boy in the 1880s and is the only eyewitness to have come forward that I know of. Jack H. believes that most of the oral tradition about Marmaros is true. However, I asked him about the original foundations. He said that the only foundation that was still there in the 1950s was that of the old hotel. It had a perimeter foundation of stacked rocks. But, the majority of Ozark buildings did NOT have a foundation then. They usually had only a few flat rocks at the corners to hold up the sills.
Now, I have taken all this info and tried to find written sources for it. I have been surprised, so far, at what I have found in old newspaper articles. Most of the tradition seems to be true as far as I can tell, with a few exceptions. There was a school at Marmaros but not until the mid-1890s and this was after the rest of the town burned. Also, I have NOT found any evidence of the pottery works or the furniture factory, at least not any written sources before the 1960s. But, the research goes on.
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Yes it's kind of maddening. The stuff we want to know the most about has so little evidence.
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^^I love reading this.
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By the way, here's a link to an article about the Bald Knobbers in Missouri Life: http://www.missourilife.com/life/playing-for-blood/ (http://www.missourilife.com/life/playing-for-blood/).
I've come to think of Marmaros sort of like Camelot: it is a romanticized version of unrecorded history that should never die.
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It seems that SDC has basically become a tribute to "what could have been" based on the plat map that was created for the mining town, rather than what Marmaros actually was. Could it be possible that maybe some of the oral traditions are getting the old and new Marmaros's mixed up? 'Cause wasn't a new Marmaros built to the west of Kimberling City after the old one was burned?
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I have a 1918 map showing the town right on the White River, verifying that I've been told the original location is under the lake. The only hotel on site was located about where Aunt Pollie's and Crossroads sits. It was torn down late 60's, early 70's?
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Took a ride on the train a few days ago and not sure if its my age, but the Train Robbery is just no fun for the kids anymore. As a kid, the robbers were dressed so Hillbilly and had real looking guns and sounds and made you actually think we were getting robbed. It seemed pressed to get over and just not what I had remembered.
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Dgriff, nothing changed, you just grew up, lol!
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^The cap guns really don't have the umph of a real gun shooting blanks, though.
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Don't have a lot of details to this story/memory but thought some would find it funny.
I have very vivid but vague memories of my parents taking me to SDC with I was very young. I would have been in the mid-80's and I was probable only 5-6 years old. In fact I did even realized that these memories where from SDC till I visited again in my mid- 20's. Some even came back that I didn't realize I still remembered :)
Basically....SDC really really scared the heck out of me......(I was a pretty chicken kid)
Diving Bell - I don't remember what it looked like from the outside. Just remember being in a weird place and I picked up enough of the story line that I did really think that we where underwater and in trouble. I don't think my parents every really explained that it was just for fun and confused the heck out of me.
Saloon Show....I remember it being loud and crowded. The bad guy and his gun scared me. My Dad got pick to go on stage and I thought the bad guy was going to get him. I didn't understand why he and my mom where so 'relaxed' and laughing. I really just wanted to leave. (this memory came back to me at the show the first time back)
Train - Seriously!!!! bad guys robbing the train (I don't think I ever caught my parent cues that it was in fun). In my later years I'd assume this was from WoF.
Flooded Mine - I'll need some help with this one....but didn't the flooded mine have a more 'scary' theme before the guns? I'm 99% sure was in tears scared to death through most of the ride when I rode it at 5-6. I remember things like skulls with lights for eyes and vividly remember a giant saw above the boat the used to move down like it was going to get you. While riding it again when I was 20 I had to put my gun down and started to freak out with memories. That was really when I realized I had been here done this before:)
Add to that I remember my Dad teasing me about going to the SDC jail (probably cause I just had freaked on everything else).
BTW....I also vaguely remember the balloon ride, Treehouse, and cave restaurant without the terrifying moments:)
Now days I'm a big amusement park fan and love SDCs classic rides....I wish I could remember FiTH (not sure if we rode it). My own little ones are a little chicken too but its been fun to take them on the same rides and watch them experience it all:)
In fact one of my proudest little parenting moments was when my oldest was 4 and wanted to go on FiTH to be a 'big kid'. She seemed very emotional through the whole ride and had a death grip on my arm that was over her lap. She was quiet from the end of the ride to the exit door....I thought I was going to be dealing with a little me and have to face a wife who didn't approve....but before the end of the exit ramp she started screaming "THAT WAS GREAT....LETS DO IT AGAIN!!!!"
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Flooded Mine added some features when they changed it to a shooting gallery. It was better before, but it wasn't any scarier. The elements you're talking about were easier to see - the saw blade, etc. You might be confused with American Plunge/Float Trip, as there were some skulls in the cave/tunnel. I know my rememberies get confused with those two rides and Fire-in-the-Hole. I was scared of any of the rides that had cave walls in the dark.
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^^
Actually FM had some singing head holograms back in that time frame. Maybe that was it. Also in the 70's Fm had a guy that was sitting on the last corner who everyone thought was a animitronic and when you passed he would jump and scare you. This might have been before your time though. Another thing you might be remembering was the Hanging man in the last tower that was there after they did away with the rockfall strobe light effect. Flooded mine sure was good before the shooting gallery concept came along.
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That might be it.....the skulls where on some type of float trip? I really remember having to float by skull head with the bright jewels as eyes. I'd probably had just seen Indiana Jones too:)
Like I said....I've just got a few vivid visuals and memory's of mostly of the scary stuff:) I'm pretty sure it was the first amusement park visit I'd had.
I think my parents just assumed I'd pick up on some of that stuff.....or maybe they did try to calm me down and explain things but my sheltered and 'imaginative' mind was going full speed that day:) I had no idea what I had got into.
It's actually kind of shocking that they even took me to an amusement park...they only took me to WoF after years of asking later in my young life....but I'm sure in between the rides at SDC we where listening to some bluegrass which probably got them there to begin with:)
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Flooded Mine scared me when I was little also. The last room used to look like fireworks over your head or something like that. I was always terrified they were going to fall down and hit me.
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There have been a number of shaft room scenes:
1. Dozens of rocks fall from the top to a net just overhead (I always wondered how that was reset for each oar cart.)
2. Stupid phantoms shooting lasers (Way out of place!)
3. Fireworks (Weird location for this.)
4. Escaping prisoners while the guard sleeps (Simple, but a pretty good ending room.)
Any others?
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There have been a number of shaft room scenes:
1. Dozens of rocks fall from the top to a net just overhead (I always wondered how that was reset for each oar cart.)
2. Stupid phantoms shooting lasers (Way out of place!)
3. Fireworks (Weird location for this.)
4. Escaping prisoners while the guard sleeps (Simple, but a pretty good ending room.)
Any others?
The phantoms is the scene that I remember most, it never scared me, but I always remember looking up and thinking 'that's weird.'
I guess it was suppose to represent inmates that didn't make it out of the flood??? ???
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I also vividly remember the "walk of shame"... being led back through the line by my Mom because I was absolutely terrified of the Flooded Mine. This would have been in the late 70s. I also remember my older brother tormenting me the rest of the day because I was too "chicken" to ride it! :)
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Another memory permanently burned into my brain out of sheer terror...
I was around 8, so this would have been in the late 70s. This occurred in the vicinity of the train trestle near the Saloon. I had gotten separated from my family, so I approached an employee/character and told him that I was lost. So what does he do? He shoots his gun up in the air twice and yells, "Does anyone know this boy? He's done lost his family. If you know him, come and get him!". Well that didn't help me much! Then he said he would stay with me until my parents came back to find me.
I doubt if that is the current protocol for handling a lost child, but to be honest I'm glad that was the way he did it. It makes for a great memory and a fun story to tell my girls. :)
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Another memory permanently burned into my brain out of sheer terror...
I was around 8, so this would have been in the late 70s. This occurred in the vicinity of the train trestle near the Saloon. I had gotten separated from my family, so I approached an employee/character and told him that I was lost. So what does he do? He shoots his gun up in the air twice and yells, "Does anyone know this boy? He's done lost his family. If you know him, come and get him!". Well that didn't help me much! Then he said he would stay with me until my parents came back to find me.
I doubt if that is the current protocol for handling a lost child, but to be honest I'm glad that was the way he did it. It makes for a great memory and a fun story to tell my girls. :)
That's amazing. And terrifying. But Amazing. Oh, I long for the days when the nation was a little less uptight and a lot less litigous. Those spontaneous moments are what built the City!
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Yikes....I would have lost it in my pants high tailed it away if they did that too me :)
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Another memory permanently burned into my brain out of sheer terror...
I was around 8, so this would have been in the late 70s. This occurred in the vicinity of the train trestle near the Saloon. I had gotten separated from my family, so I approached an employee/character and told him that I was lost. So what does he do? He shoots his gun up in the air twice and yells, "Does anyone know this boy? He's done lost his family. If you know him, come and get him!". Well that didn't help me much! Then he said he would stay with me until my parents came back to find me.
I doubt if that is the current protocol for handling a lost child, but to be honest I'm glad that was the way he did it. It makes for a great memory and a fun story to tell my girls. :)
If that happened today then there would be a lawsuit!! What a cool story!
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Back at that time we employees were instructed to stay with the kid, call security if need be. We looked for the parents in our immediate area. I do love the story posted here, wish I knew who the guy shooting the gun was, lol.
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I was around 8, so this would have been in the late 70s. This occurred in the vicinity of the train trestle near the Saloon. I had gotten separated from my family, so I approached an employee/character and told him that I was lost. So what does he do? He shoots his gun up in the air twice and yells, "Does anyone know this boy? He's done lost his family. If you know him, come and get him!". Well that didn't help me much! Then he said he would stay with me until my parents came back to find me.
I doubt if that is the current protocol for handling a lost child, but to be honest I'm glad that was the way he did it. It makes for a great memory and a fun story to tell my girls. Smiley
I think that the SDC people need to read this. What a great story it really made me smile. Honestly speaking you could yell and be the public center of attention. Today however it takes a gunshot to get any kind of reaction and due to the currant spot the country is in and they are not going to encourage the use of firearms excessively at the park. Possibly this is why they began to reduce the gunpowder load.