9.  Lenny and Joe's Fishtale Drive-In, Madison, Connecticut (1999)

A family and community in New England using the carousel to raise money for local charities.

Either Lenny or Joe discovered the original Dentzel carousel website in 1997 and saw the possibility of adding a nice little carousel to their very popular Long Island Sound fish restaurant campus.  Of course, as always, periods of wait and consideration had to run their course until late 1998 when one of these wonderful and industrious restaurateur brothers made the call to order a carousel.  This put the design and building process at the Port Townsend Dentzel workshop into the production mode; steel fittings, centerpole, animals, lobster chariot, hippocampus, 110 volt electric motor drive-train, scenic panels, lights, were now moving through various lists and work stations.  Fortunately Lenny and Joe chose to use several animals which were in inventory which relieved some of the pressure to get the carousel up and running in Madison by Memorial Day 1999, only months away.

After a winter and spring of carousel construction Bill invited Michael Levine, a local Port Townsend astronaut, to be his co-pilot in the big ugly (1978 E250) van and utility trailer rig filled with animals, mechanism, and scenics plus the painting program kit.  The drive from Port Townsend to Madison was close to 3000 miles, which included a snow storm in Wyoming and a touch of Paradise at Jim and Jane's southeast Iowa wilderness hangout.  Jim Spring, a well known bird artist, took up the offer to follow along to Madison CT to paint the shields (with local bird species of course).  Arriving in Madison, Lenny and Joe generously put us all up at the centuries old Dolly Madison Inn.  Here all of the halls and floors were crooked and the ceilings easy to touch with your hands over head even for short people.  The lobby was actually a very well stocked Yankee bar at least 100 years old, right on the other side of the entry foyer was a comfortable family style gourmet restaurant.  The most we ever used this area was for the big Sunday breakfast, otherwise Lenny and Joe gave the carousel crew a free meal ticket at their fish drive-in, this is a first class drive-in with a big menu.

Four weeks of assembly and painting burned up most of the energy gained by the big Long Island Sound fish meals served at the drive-in (scrod fish and chips, Rhode Island clam chowder, soft shell crab, coleslaw, onion rings, baked potatoes, lemonade).  Local carousel expert painter and historian Donna Woolcott, a friend of Lenny and Joe's, was keen to join in on the assembly and painting project taking place at the little restaurant park.  Donna meticulously went over all of the animals, and continued to do so for years afterward, to give them their truly magical glow.  Kids and seniors helped paint the carousel's scenic panels, Jim did beautiful local wildlife birds on the shields, and Bonnie and Steve drove out from McMinnville, TN to help paint the animals.  Bill had to make a small but difficult modification to one of the carousel drive parts, fortunately the new heavy duty rollers needed were available nearby in New Haven.  Both ring catchers were set-up, the standard one on the outside row and one for the inside row, this is probably the only carousel in the world that has an inside row ring catcher, Lenny and Joe truly believe in fairness.  A great party  was made for the opening day, Bill hung around to iron-out some small details, everyone went home, the party was over.  Since 1999 Lenny and Joe's Magical Fishtale Charity Carousel has raised over $900,000 through ride ticket sales, all of the money goes to local charity programs.

8.  Handcrank/110 Electric Carousel, Sold November 2021. Located in Castle Rock, Washington. Soon to be used on December 11, 2021 at the Festival of Lights. Formerly used at Wood Boat Festival 1998 and 2012-2016, 2005-2011 DC Solar Powered at the Solar Living Institute, Hopland, California.

This is a 15 rider portable, foldable steel centerpole, carousel on a trailer base. Even though this carousel was not completed and installed until May 2005 at it's first long term public location, it was conceived the same time as MGR #7 below and began turning in 1996-1997. It ran at the Port Townsend Wood Boat Festival in 1998 and also was set-up on the grounds of the local primary and elementary schools where it was accompanied by classroom presentations of carousel art, design, and history.  From May 2005 to September 2011 it operated on solar electricity from PV cells at the Solar Living Institute in Hopland CA, in Mendocino County on US-101 halfway between Port Townsend and Santa Barbara. In 2012 this carousel was completely restored and up-graded to the latest carousel technologies and styling in the Dentzel Carousel Company headquarter's workshops in Port Townsend WA. It now runs smoothly and easily on either hand-crank power or simple plug-in 110 volt electricity. The second weekend of September 2012 it had an excellent four day run at the Port Townsend Wood Boat Festival. It has also run again at the 2013 - 2016 Wood Boat Festivals. In 2019 the carousel was featured at the Port Townsend THING festival.

M-G-R #8 is now permanently based in Castle Rock, Washington where Matthew Wooldridge will be hosting it, his website is www.mezell.com

7.  Bonnie and Steve Davis, McMinnville, Tennessee (1996)

Hand-cranked menagerie in the heartland of America.

Bonnie Davis saw a newspaper article on Bill Dentzel's people powered carousels and decided to give him a call in 1995.  She had an idea to operate a portable carousel at various fairs and festivals happening throughout the year in her Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee.  With the help of Steve Taylor of Mobil Logic, Bill designed and built the 20' diameter, 10 rider, portable carousel mechanism.  Squeezing in a carousel project, while continuing the more bread and butter task of house carpentry, could only happen with more help, so Steve Arment of Enterprise, Oregon was contacted to make the eight animals plus one extra for display, Bill would make the swan chariot, all of the component parts, hardware and scenic panels.

By late spring 1996 the carousel was ready, this was after its beginning in Port Townsend and completion in Carpinteria, CA.  Because Bonnie and Steve were professional sign painters they wanted to paint the whole carousel themselves to save some money and have some special fun, this expedited the project.  With white primered animals loaded into the small Datsun pick-up and the mechanism trailing behind, Zaryn, 12 years old, and Bill drove out to New Mexico to meet Bonnie and Steve at the halfway point between Carpinteria and McMinneville, Tucumcari NM.  At home Bonnie and Steve painted the animals and scenic panels and put on their own special touches.  Soon they were operating it at venues throughout the Cumberland region and continue to do so today.

6.  Waveland, Mississippi Receives Carousel from the Port Townsend Carousel Association (1991 2013)

Hands-on at all levels and ages, a community carousel with a new home in Mississippi.

In 1991, after the wonderful experience working with the kids at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, Bill Dentzel ran the idea by Jim Toyne, the high school vocational shop instructor, and Bob Alford, the district superintendent, of building a similar carousel in the Port Townsend high school shop; both were solidly behind the project.  Still, funds for materials and classroom assistant time had to be raised and many other details worked out, most crucial of which came to be the location of a site to set it up.

The idea itself was initiated in 1984 when the Port Townsend Carousel Association (a 501c-3 non-profit corporation) was founded, but it wasn't until 1991 that the "build it in the school" plan was devised.  Still, as other projects regularly slipped ahead in line, it took until 1995 to complete this wooden centerpole carousel mechanism which has six animals and two double chariots.  During construction it was set-up to run at the Wooden Boat Festival more than once.  With Bill Dentzel's guidance, students in the Port Townsend schools made and painted the whole carousel.

The Port Townsend Carousel Association was unable to secure a permanent installation site in Port Townsend or Jefferson County and sadly the carousel parts spent silent years in a storage shed. Then the opportunity arose for the Port Townsend Carousel Association to donate the Carousel of the Olympic Sea to the city of Waveland, Mississippi as part of a local effort to help with the hurricane Katrina reconstruction in the Gulf Coast.  The citizens of Waveland were excited to have this carousel, coincidentally there is an antique Dentzel carousel further north in Meridian, Mississippi. Although it took quite a while, with an oil spill and another hurricane happening in the midst of the reconstruction, they located a space late 2012 and began to look seriously into getting this historical carousel set-up.

Late April 2013 Mike and Jennifer Kopke arranged for Bill Dentzel, the carousel's designer and lead builder, to make a visit to Waveland and show its new owners how to set up and operate it.  After an amazing four days and the help of many Wavelanders the carousel was erected in the historic old Waveland school house which had withstood the nastiest of hurricans for many decades. The ride was celebrated and enjoyed by a band of adults and one grandchild. Soon it will be prepared for general public use with the low perimeter control fencing and a brass ring catching game. This is a major step forward in re-establishing Waveland as one of the most attractive and pleasant small towns on the Gulf Coast. See these photos for more details on this wonderful community event and project; one, two, three. Check out this Ground Zero Museum web page for details.

5.  Davis Educational Foundation, Davis, California (1995)

Community, children, and carousel for school funding in Davis's Central Park.

John Yates was visiting Sausalito in 1994 when he saw the foot-pedal powered carousel at the Bay Area Discovery Museum.  He was a founder and member of the Davis Educational Foundation, local citizens dedicated to helping the public schools do better with updated equipment and program assistance.  The possibility of using a carousel, ridden by children, operated by specific classrooms as a project to raise money, was presented to the group.  In the sustainable tradition of university-town Davis, the board of the DEF loved the idea.  Of course Bill liked the idea too, and agreed to orchestrate a similar community painting program as was done in the big warehouse right next to the BADM at Fort Baker in Sausalito.  Again local kids painted all of the parts during a big month long program held at one of Davis's local elementary school's multipurpose room.

When finished the carousel sat under a beautiful pavilion built by Chuck Roe and friends, one of the board members who was a building contractor.  The location is perfect, in the kids play area at end of the town's central park right next to the beautifully laid out farmer's market stalls.  Students manage the ticket sales, the opening and closing of the ride, and of course are the power source for making it go by using the foot-pedal mechanism located right next to the entrance gate.  Years of successful operation of this carousel have brought tens of thousands of dollars to classroom and school projects.  Recently, while undergoing a much needed 10 year overhaul, all of the animals were dismounted from the carousel.  During this period "Seymour" the seal was stolen.  After a long waiting period, hopes of a mysterious return, and no leads to his whereabouts, a new seal had to be built, these are the construction process photos.  A 10 year anniversary celebration took place in Davis September 2005.

Since then the carousel has continued to be operated by rotating groups of student classes to raise classroom activity funds. Unfortunately the bunny was stolen a few years ago and was just replaced by a memorial sea turtle. A modification to the pole hangers is being made to prevent any more animal thefts. Three photos during June 2013's sea turtle installation; one, two, three.

Davis Schools Foundation, Davis Wiki.

4.  Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausalito, California to Hunter's Tree Farm and Pumpkin Patch, Olympia, Washington (1991 2001)

Breaking into new design standards and a large community project.

This was the carousel design that made the biggest technological leaps since the first one built in Mexico 10 years earlier.  In 1989 the program director of the Bay Area Discovery Museum saw an article in the Carousel News and Trader about Bill Dentzel's simple little carousels.  She thought it would be good for the children in the San Francisco Bay area to have an opportunity to get involved with the making, or as it turned out, painting, of their own carousel.  After meetings, waiting periods, fund raising and site planning, the day came late in 1990 that Bill was given the go-ahead for this project.  This time the mechanism would be 18 feet in diameter (later similar models went up to 20' diameter) and carry 10 riders instead of 5 by having two rows of animals.  Also, the animals would be hanging on poles going through the body just in front of the saddle with a single chain attached to the rear to balance the animal just like the horses on the Dare carousel in Watch Hill, Rhode Island.  Yet even with these innovations the most radical development was yet to come, that was the use of a recumbent seat with a foot-pedaling crank mechanism attached with a long drive shaft at ground level to a vertical shaft next to the centerpole powering the carousel's hub.

The pedaling mechanism was challenging to design and build as it had to be solid, durable, weatherproof, and able to accommodate children peddlers as well as adults comfortably; ergonomics.  Miraculously, working in the little Port Townsend workshop right off the future 52nd Street trail, Bill created this whole mechanism, completely filling the space of the shop to do so.  One final assembly and adjustment phase was undertaken in a neighbor's rented RV garage before the mechanism, eight menagerie animals and one double swan chariot was loaded into the utility trailer and van for the ride south to Sausalito.

At the children's museum site it was a big show with hundreds of young artists working on all aspects of the carousel, painting, stenciling, assembly of parts, test-riding, and pedaling.  The carousel operated there until 1999 when it was sold in order to make room for new exhibits. By fortunate circumstances it was bought by the Port Townsend Carousel Association to be used as an interim carousel for the summer of 2000 after which it was sold to Hunter's Tree Farm and Pumpkin Patch (located at 7401 Yelm Highway SE, Olympia WA).  This caused a bit of a stir in some Port Townsend circles and made for a few uncomfortable encounters between the Port Townsend Carousel Association and city officials.  Apparently some powerful people in Port Townsend did not want to see this type of activity occurring in their "Victorian Seaport and Arts Community", although paradoxically the golden era of carousel development was the late 1800's, the same era that ushered in Port Townsend's charming appearance.  During this period dozens of carousel companies flourished in the USA and produced all manner of rides.  Nevertheless, the Sausalito Carousel, as it was called, is pedal powered and operated seasonally at a very special kid's farm near Olympia, WA until the beginning of the Covid pandemic. In April of 2022 it was sold to Maris Farms near Buckley, WA. Look for it operating there in the near future.

3.  North Star Tree Farm, Kelsey, California (1984)

In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada spins a hand-cranked menagerie.

This was actually the first carousel mechanism Bill Dentzel made in Port Townsend, it was 1984.  The centerpole was the larger half of the differential used in the sister city carousel which had the third member right-angled gears.  Bill, with his new little family, dragged it up to Port Townsend in the back of a U-Haul truck loaded with some tools and their worldly possessions.  This gear assembly made it possible to make a very smooth and solid hand crank to drive the carousel's hub.  As with the previous two carousels, the carousel was 14 feet in diameter and had four animals and a chariot all hanging fore and aft by chains. The Sansom's of Kelsey, CA were visiting Port Townsend in 1985 and saw this carousel temporarily operating at Pope Marine Park for the weekend.  They wanted to buy it for their tree farm and pumpkin patch park.  That is where it stands today in a beautiful rustic setting at the center of the North Star Tree Farm.