A Carousel for Missoula

Judy. The Christmas before we left Atlanta, our daughter Leslie gave us a book called ATLAS OBSCURA. Ever heard of it? It’s filled with odd and interesting sights around the world. We made note of those in the countries we’d be visiting, and checked some of them out. The book was too big to carry—we thumbed through it whenever we returned to Georgia.

Then I happened to find it on Facebook, where they often posted info from around the world. And that’s how I found the A Carousel for Missoula.

It seems that a cabinetmaker from Missoula named Chuck Kaparich had grown up riding a carousel in his childhood home of Butte, Montana. He had bought basic components of an old carousel, and told the City Council, “If you will give it a home and promise no one will ever take it apart, I will build a carousel for Missoula.”

The Council agreed, so an organization was formed and Kaparich began to put the thousands of pieces together to build the frame. Unfortunately, there were no horses, so Kaparich, who had carved some carousel ponies, trained a group of volunteer artists who carved and painted the animals. The entire community worked together—artists carved gargoyles, ponies, dragons and other creatures, and stained-glass artists built windows. Volunteers helped Kaparich with the mechanics. The “community” went far beyond Missoula; even the Midnight Rose Carvers in Calgary, Alberta, donated a horse. Children collected enough pennies to pay for the materials for four horses.

And in 1995, A Carousel for Missoula opened to the public. A playground was added next door, and mechanics volunteer time to keep the Carousel running.

Paint ponies and Knights' steeds carry riders of all ages

Substitute pony--even painted ponies need a break

Each horse is different, and for 75 cents, you can ride one and try to catch the brass ring. Artists often put private signatures on their carvings. My favorite, which I couldn’t get a clear photo of, is an Indian pony with the painter’s handprint on the horse’s rump. Every time I visited the ride located in Caras Park, it was full of laughing children and adults.

Every carousel needs a dragon

An eagle chariot carries the young and old

Yesterday a notice appeared in the paper: the Carousel would close indefinitely. The volunteer mechanics had worked to discover why it was not running smoothly and found a major component that was broken beyond repair.

Since it can only run in warmer months, closing it down is cutting into a big portion of its revenues. Meanwhile, mechanics are searching for the part or someone who can build it, and the board is starting a fund-raising campaign to repair it. Who knows how long any of this can take? But Missoulians are tough. And the Carousel is important. And a promise was made.