59 Long Years

On my vacation we had the opportunity to visit a deer park. I love these places. Yes, I know deer are overgrown rats that wreck cars, destroy fields and generally deserve their plight come every November in Wisconsin. But I like feeding them and they are fun to harass while doing so. You can see in this picture that I am genuinely enjoying myself.

The park was rather poorly maintained, but the deer were in pretty good shape overall.

A huge find for me was an interesting historical artifact that got my mind wandering. In a corner of the deer park there were four amusement park/carnival rides. Those that read this blog regularly know my penchant for the Tilt-A-Whirl. Unfortunately they didn't have one of these, but they did have some very poorly kept up tame rides for the kids. They also had a ferris wheel that was old. Really old. It was immediately deemed "unsafe" by my wife for the kids (or myself) to ride. Fortunately (?) it was broken down and we didn't have to cross that bridge. Here is the nameplate.

The Eli Bridge Company is actually still in business. I emailed the company and this wheel was sold to this deer park 59 years ago. The serial number says it was made in 1947! Here are some more photos of this version of the Eli Wheel. Of interest to me is how far we have come in metallurgy and design. This wheel, in retrospect has probably given enjoyment to thousands of people...not to be for us this day. Maybe next year...