Down Memory Lane

Fountain Ferry Park located in Louisville, Kentucky, served as a haven for entertainment for seven generations and became well known as one of this country’s first amusement parks.  While growing up in southern Indiana during the 1950’s, many kids would not feel their summer was complete until they visited Fountain Ferry Park.

Fontaine Ferry Park opened on May 4, 1905 and was named after Captain Aaron Fontaine who operated a ferry across the Ohio River at that location in the early 1800’s  Over the years it was also known as Fountain Ferry Park because of mispronunciation.  In later years the owners advertised it using both names.  Everyone I knew called it Fountain Ferry.

My first memory of the park was in 1953.  A school bus driver in Crawford County took a load of kids to Fountain Ferry for Crawford County Day, and my brothers, my sister, and I were among the lucky kids who went on that trip.  Each county in the area was featured at the park on a special “county day”.  The admission charge was discounted for residents of the county, and there were several folks from Crawford County on the day we went. 

As we drove up to the entrance of Fountain Ferry, our excitement mounted, and we were spellbound with all the sights and sounds as we entered the park.  The first thing I remember was the game area where a dozen or more brightly colored Skee Ball machines were lined up.  As the players tried their skills, bells rang and lights flashed every time there was a winner.  I didn’t think I had the skill to win there, so I reserved my money for the duck pond, where for 10 cents I stood a better chance to win a prize. 

I coveted the prizes at Fountain Ferry and looked in awe at the rows of stuffed animals, kewpie dolls, caps embroidered with “Fountain Ferry Park”, and many other wondrous things.  I was happy just to win a Chinese finger puzzle.  It was an inexpensive prize but one I cherished because at least it was a souvenir of an amazing day of exploring all the fascinating rides, games and other features at Fountain Ferry Park. 

During the 1950’s I visited the amusement park on many occasions, and my favorite rides were the carousel with its beautifully hand carved animals, the Ferris wheel, the Whip, the Mirror Maze and the Caterpillar.  And we usually saved the best for last—a trip to Hilarity Hall, which we called the Fun House.  Animated clown-like figures named Sam and Sue stood at the entrance, laughing unceasingly to draw everyone into their kingdom. 

After paying a small fee—I believe it was 25 cents—we could stay in Hilarity Hall as long as we liked.  At the entrance there were air holes which might blow up the skirt of some unsuspecting girls.  I always wore shorts because there were so many things to do that would have been hampered by wearing a skirt or dress.

There were carousel style wooden horses to ride, the barrel roll to master, and the Wheel of Joy was a real challenge.  It was a rotating platform that spun around faster and faster until all participants were flung off the side.  The brave ones could go for a spin in the Sugar Bowl which used centrifugal force to press riders against and up the side of the large wooden bowl. 

Two of the popular features in Hilarity Hall were the Angel Slide and the Devil’s Slide, both made of wood that was worn slick from years of countless kids who slid down.  I was never one of the daredevils to try the Devil’s Slide and only went on the smaller Angel Slide.  Another feature in Hilarity Hall was the Turkey Trot with boards that moved each foot in opposite directions, and the distorted mirrors that were fun to walk past and see your body contort into all shapes and sizes.

The Comet was the nationally known roller coaster at Fountain Ferry Park.  I rode it just one time with a boy I met there.  He insisted that it was a fun thing to do, but I remember coming off the coaster thankful I had survived and swore never to ride a roller coaster again.  That is a vow that I have kept!

Over the years Fountain Ferry had many well-known national stars who entertained there.  The most memorable entertainer for me was Randy Atcher, a local personality who had a T.V. show called T Bar V Ranch.  He was the first singer I ever saw in person, and I still have the autograph he signed for me.

The last time I went to Fountain Ferry was with my husband Larry just before we were married in 1960.  We moved to Arizona in 1961 and stayed there until 1968.  During those years the park continued in operation, but in 1969 there were racial riots, and Fountain Ferry Park closed permanently.

In August of 2009 Larry and I took a stroll down memory lane with our daughter Shannon and grandsons Max and Sam when we visited the Frazier International History Museum in Louisville. A Fontaine Ferry Park exhibit was assembled there only for the summer.  The cost of admission that day was just 5 cents, which was the original admission charge for Fontaine Ferry Park.

The first room of the exhibit contained several of the machines from the Penny Arcade and video machines with short scenes by cowboy favorites Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.  Some of the original tables, chairs, and benches were set up depicting a scene from the Food Garden.  You could almost smell the popcorn and cotton candy!   One display case held plaster animals and other souvenirs that were once highly prized by park visitors.

We walked through a replica of the Barrel Roll and were then greeted by Sam and Sue—still laughing after all these years!  We laughed with them and also laughed at our shifting shapes in the distorted mirrors.  There was one of the wooden horses from Hilarity Hall, and I realized that it just might have been one that I rode back in the 1950’s.

An adjoining room held two Skee Ball machines which Max and Sam enjoyed.  They also tried their skills at the ping pong toss and the game of skill where you had to stand up a soft drink bottle from a lying position using a ring on the end of a rope.  Max and Sam enjoyed all the exhibits and said they wished they could go back in time so they too could enjoy Fountain Ferry Park. 

The day we visited the Fountain Ferry Park exhibit, we all won tickets while playing the games, and we exchanged them for prizes at the gift shop on the main floor of the Frazier International History Museum.  They were inexpensive but priceless souvenirs of our walk down memory lane. 

Jane Clark is Co-director of Writers Bloc and has been a member of the group since 2005. She enjoys writing memoirs, essays, poetry and fiction, and her work has appeared in several regional and national publications. Her first novel True Allegiance is available on Amazon.com and on booksamillion.com.