|
|
Christian Indie Radio
GetChristianMusic
Solid Walnut Music
|
|
|
|
|
|
Devotionals
|
|
Cartoons
Culture
Family
Games
Health
Homeschooling
Humor
Inspiration
Kids
Men
Ministry
Parenting
Poetry
Teens
Women
|
|
Statement of Faith
Contact Us
|
|
|
|
Painted Horses
by Karen Ledbetter (Karen's bio)
The buttery smell of freshly popped popcorn, mixed with the sweet smell of cotton candy, drifted through the warm evening air. Laughing boys and girls raced around the dusty fairground, weaving through the crowd, until they reached the colorful and musical carousel.
For centuries children have ridden atop ornately carved and brilliantly painted horses, tigers, and other animals, while going round and round as music filled the air.
Carousels have been popular throughout Europe and the United States, and they have been known by many different names, such as roundabouts in England and stoomcaroussels in Holland, while German kids have known them as karussels. In the United States, carousels have been known as steam circuses, steam riding galleries, merry-go-rounds, and other names.
No one knows exactly when or where the carousel first appeared, but a carving over 1000 years old pictures this whirling type of entertainment. It is believed that the carousel evolved from various sports and games from several countries, including Mexico, India, and Arabia.
During the 1600s, the French enjoyed their version of a sport once played during the Middle Ages. Players on horseback had to gallop toward a small ring hung from a tree or post, and try to spear the ring with their swords. To enable men to practice for this event without exhausting the real horses, a wooden horse device was invented. The wooden horses were set on beams extending from a center pole. As the wooden horses revolved, the men sitting on them rode by the suspended ring again and again, each one trying to spear the ring as he whirled by it. Instead of the machinery that propels today's carousels, sturdy workhorses or servants supplied the power.
This machine was soon popular with everyone, including ladies and children. By the mid-1800s, carousels could be found in amusement parks in France, England, Germany, and the United States. Carousels were powered by man, horse, or mule until about 1865, when S. G. Soames of England built a "Steam Circus" that was powered by a steam engine.
Although electric power modernized carousels, the horses were still much as they'd always been. They circled around on the carousel but did not move up and down. It wasn't until 1870 that Frederick Savage invented an overhead-cranking device that made the animals on the English roundabouts move up and down.
Americans have enjoyed merry-go-rounds for over a century. Many of the early carousels in the United States were imported from European countries. The carousel industry began in the United States around 1870, when a German emigrant named Gustav Dentzel built his first carousel in Pennsylvania. Soon there were several carousel makers in the United States, and Allan J. Herschell became the best known. Some of these carousels with beautifully hand-carved horses still carry riders today.
A ferocious-looking tiger joined the handsome horses on a European carousel in 1837. Today's carousels look like complete zoos with ostriches, lions, giraffes, and many other animals, all ready to carry riders round and round.
Carousels have also carried a mixture of horses, including Arabian steeds, mustangs, quarter horses, and ponies. Allan J. Herschell's carousels carried charging horses, armored horses, trotting horses, and galloping horses.
Gustav Dentzel's carousels had the most real-looking roosters. The first bear appeared on Dentzel's carousel but never became popular with riders. A Dentzel tiger made around 1910 had a carving of President Theodore Roosevelt on its side! The deer was carved most often, and several of Dentzel's carousels displayed only horses and deer.
Allan Herschell and Edward Spillman's carousel was the only one to include a frog. This frog was the only American carousel animal known to be "wearing clothing", which included a bow-tie, pants, and vest with buttons on one side and buttonholes on the other!
The zebra has been the only carousel animal carved without any decorations.
Over the years, children of all ages have ridden a variety of merry-go-round animals; but horses have remained the favorites, especially the dappled gray and rare armored horses. Whether old or new, a carousel definitely has a charm that will never fade.
Copyright 2002, Karen Ledbetter. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
| About Karen Ledbetter: I'm a full-time homeschooling mom and part-time freelance writer and medical transcriptionist. I have written for Comeunity, Suite 101, BellaOnline, Childslife, and other web sites. I enjoy working with children and have taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School in the past. When not homeschooling, transcribing, or writing, I enjoy reading and taking walks. |