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[mhguy77]

Its good to see they planted flowers under the main entrance sign.
I have been there in spring where it was nothing but a pile of dirt.
Missing from SDC when I am there Sunday will be the flowers and the leaves on the trees, it does really make a difference. I am glad they spent a few dollars to put in some flowers.  The park needs a little color this time of year.

[Junior]

SHAVE: The swinging bridge is the same as always...just has HDH built all around it and very close to it.

KB: Interaction with Jack during my employment there? YES! He was frequently seen walking the streets and walking through buildings, rides, and attractions. Sometimes Pete would accompany him, but, Pete was more "behind the scenes" and was not seen as much. Jack was all over the park. I would not see him every day, but usually only every few weeks. My "closest encounter" with Jack came when I was only 16 years old, working at the old Vineyard Restaurant (where wagonworks is today) and it was early in the workday, our restaurant had just opened, there was not a soul in sight. I was doing "precheck" which was when an employee would be stationed near the entrance to a restaurant with a check pad, next to a menu. As people came in, I took their order, handed them the precheck form with the order on it, and they proceeded to the cash register to pay and get their order filled. On this particular day in 1978 I was sitting on a rock retaining wall, when in walked a middle aged guy in blue jeans, wearing a brown and white striped shirt that was worn by the crew of men who walked around park with a dustpan and broom picking up trash. I asked this guy what he wanted, and he said, "hey, aren't you supposed to stand in the presence of customers?" He had a smile on his face as he spoke, and I immedately stood up and reached out, pinching the fabric of his shirt on his arm and said, "yeah, I guess you know I am, 'cause it looks like you work here." I smiled, took his order, and he went down to pay and get  his order filled. I thought nothing more about it. A few minutes later he walked out the door with his beverage, and two or three of my coworkers rushed up to ask what he and I had been talking about. When I explained, they said, "you know who that guy is, don't you?" I said "well, judging from the shirt he wore, I'd guess he was one of the street sweeping guys." They told me with smiles on their faces, "He's the guy who signs  your paycheck!" I just about fainted! Yes, it was Jack Herschend.

Later, when working in the attractions department, Jack would sometimes walk through the ride I was at, and would pick up a piece of trash someone had dropped, and would place it in a trash can. He didn't seem upset when he did this, he just did it. He never said a word to any of the employees, he just got the little job done and walked on. It was his silence and pleasant attitude that effected all of us the most. We knew the "big man" had just walked through the ride, stooping to pick up trash one of us had walked by and didn't stop to throw out. We doubled our efforts for days after that to keep the attraction picked up and cleaned up. That's all he had to do...just walk through and throw something in the trash. We knew that we had to try harder, because that's what he did. We were not so much worried about getting in trouble...we were worried that maybe we had disappointed the man we all respected and looked up to.

I should mention, I went to high school with Jack's son, Bruce. Bruce now operates Talking Rocks Cavern and his wife operates the Butterfly Palace.

Jack's son, Ron, was my area manager at the diving bell for two or three years. Back then, being a spirited, smart mouthed kid in my late teens and early 20's, I gave Ron a hard time. I have, for over 25 years, regretted that, because in reality I admire him and his family and how they have built a show cave attraction into the biggest family owned theme park company in the nation. I sincerely mean this.

[Junior]

Just a few random observations from opening day at SDC:


          -The treehouse is still there, intact. The ghost trap was operating fine. I think that they must have repainted the
           sign that says "Huck Finn's Hideway" because it was bright and new looking, posted on the unpainted, bland treehouse.

          -Those of you who are familiar with long time "citizen" Richard Young, please say a heartfelt prayer for him. I was
           visiting with his wife, Miss Judy the Storyteller, at McHaffie's Homestead, and she reported that Richard was now
           suffering from congestive heart failure, unable to walk more than 25 feet without having to sit and catch his breath.
           When the powers at SDC shutdown a play he was at in the Playhouse last year, Richard was "let go" and Judy told
           me Richard applied for Social Security a couple of weeks ago, and cried all day because of this. He is old, tired, and
           sick. Plus, he loved working at SDC, entertaining guests. That now is gone, too. God bless this man, one of the greats
           at SDC! I worked with Richard, and he is a fine man. He is a retired educator, storyteller, actor, and worked for years
           at Dogpatch (Earthquake McGoon) prior to beginning employment with SDC in 1980. Richard, when he was single, was
           a neighbor of Terry Sanders. They lived in the same Branson apartment building with several others employed at SDC.

         -Overall, the park looked good opening day, 2011. Everything freshly painted and swept clean. The weather was good,
          and the park was moderately to heavily busy. It was good to walk those streets again. ZEPHON reported on another
          thread that the goal this year for employees was "Fast and Friendly" in other words, fast, friendly service. That is what
          I experienced all day. I'm proud of the people who work the park now, and feel they are doing a good job.

[Andymeets1880s]

Good summary, Junior. I am so sorry to hear about Richard. Such a sad ending for an SDC "citizen." Quite heartwrenching. Prayers for a better outcome for him and that some health and happiness is restored for someone who was so passionate about his work.

[Andymeets1880s]

Hey Junior, did you see any further changes where the Float Trip was?? Any more overgrowth or signs of something being done where the water channels are??

[Junior]

One of the few places I didn't walk was the pathway to Wildfire. Sorry, nothing to report here.

[shavethewhales]

I'm merging some of these opening day threads together so we don't have so many parallel conversations going at once about the same thing.