A Tribute to Bob Varga and His History of Oklahoma Carousels
In Memoriam: Bob Varga 1928-2009
By Barbara Williams
From The Carousel News & Trader, August 2009
Bell’s Amusement Park, Tulsa. 4-row Parker. 1970s photo
From 1998 to 2001, carousel enthusiast, Bob Varga, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, searched for material about his home state’s past and present carousels. Bob didn’t have a computer when working on this project, so it was labor intensive; chasing rumors, making phone calls, haunting libraries, driving to see the newly-found operating carousels so he could see for himself what they were like. Most of the historic carousels he found information about were not previously known to exist. Oklahoma does have a rich carousel history and thanks to Bob, we now know about it.
In 1999, Bob wrote, “In 1985, Daily Oklahoman columnist, Bob Lee, wrote about reflections about what he and his readers remember about Oklahoma’s carousels. Since I was researching Oklahoma’s carousel history, and had already found a surprising amount of information, I wondered if he was still interested in the subject and wrote to him, asking for his help in locating more information and photographs. He was very interested and proceeded to run two columns in 1999, listing me as the contact person.
PTC 59 at Wedgewood Park in OK, before moving to Petticoat Junction, FL.
The first column came out the morning of Memorial Day. I was on the phone most of the day and had fascinating conversations with mostly older folks about the old days in many aspects. I learned a great deal about carousels and places that people remembered and I was even promised some photos. While some of the recollections were vague, I have included them in the listing as I feel they add to the over-all picture of just how many carousels Oklahoma had.” Bob passed away on March 7, 2009 at age 81. The carousel world has lost a devoted friend. He was a faithful contributor to the National Carousel Association’s archives and a strong supporter of the carousel museums. He closely followed carousel restoration projects and Six Flags’ (formerly Premier Parks) buy-up of parks, fearing for the future of the carousels under their ownership.
Read the rest of the story about Bob, and,
Oklahoma Carousels Past and Present; From Ada to Vinita
In the August 2009 CNT ONLINE – CLICK HERE >>
