Daniel G. Horenberger
September 24, 1957 – November 10, 2016
Owner/Operator of Brass Ring Entertainment and Brass Ring Carousel Company restoring and building carousels for over 35 years
Dan Horenberger
By now, most all who knew him or of him have heard that Dan Horenberger of Brass Ring Entertainment, Brass Ring Carousel Co., Amusement Gear, The Carousel News & Trader (2006-2013), collector of FCC Jeeps, rare sports cars, and so much more, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, November 10, 2016.
Now, four months later, it is still hard to believe and comprehend. For those who might not know, this website, www.CarouselHistory.com is entirely thanks to Dan. I designed and built it, but Dan paid the bills, and paid me to build it. There would be no CarouselHistory.com without Dan. This is just one of the hundreds, if not thousands, of great things that would be if not for Dan. He was so much a part of so many things beyond just carousels and band organs. The wonderful tributes below from his friends help show the many different sides of Dan Horenberger. He is missed daily, by me and so many others.
– Rock Hopkins
Official Obituary:
Daniel G. Horenberger, 59, of Marengo, IL, passed away November 10, 2016.
He was born September 24, 1957 in Highland Park, Illinois to George and Lenora (Kieser) Horenberger.
Dan on the PBS show, “Ultimate Restorations”.
Dan was a unique and interesting man. He was the creator and owner of Brass Ring Carousel Company, known for restoring antique carousels and also building custom carousels all over the country. Dan was a Jeep Forward Control Truck enthusiast and collector of various items. Through his passion and art of carousel building, and interest in collector items, he was able to meet an array of people. He will be missed not only by his family, but by those who have had contact with him over the years through his work and hobbies.
TRIBUTES:
From Art Hughes and Mark Forer posted in Mechanical Music Parade
Our group has lost one of its first members, Dan Horenburger. On November 10, Dan passed away seated in his easy chair with Facebook ON. We are still not sure of the
Dan with a Muller deer aboard the restored Astroworld carousel.
cause. He was a young 59.
He was probably America’s premier restorer of and dealer in carousels, through his company Brass Ring. For years he owned and operated The Carousel News and Trader [2006-2013]. He also supplied and installed the parts that kept the carousels running such as bearings, gears, cranks, etc. He did the hard and difficult jobs on the carousels that kept them running for us to enjoy.
Dan liked mechanical music. In his early days he answered an ad to work at a pipe organ shop. This job led to everything else. Over the years he restored numerous band organs, photoplayers, and theater organs. Again he did the hard jobs like restoring the theater organ chests and regulators.
Dan advocated putting organs back on carousels. He was one of the ones who helped return the Wurlitzer 165 to a carousel in Santa Cruz. He put the Gypsy Queen on a carousel, and more.
He will be missed!
– Art Hughes
The Final
“From Dan’s Desk”
By Roland “Rock” Hopkins – Reprinted from Carousel & Automatic Music News, Jan/Feb 2017 – (Shortly after finding out about ‘s passing, the magazine deadline came up, and I had the job of making the announcement to the readers everyone and filling the last “Dan’s Desk” column. I was still quite in disbelief and shock when I wrote this).
The Loss Of Dan…
For those who do not already know, or wonder if it could just be rumor, (I wish–it is not), the carousel community suffered an immeasurable loss in mid-November as Dan Horenberger passed away suddenly and unexpected. He was just 59. He had just set up his shop in Illinois, outside Chicago, near where he grew up. It was a long move of all his stuff from Southern California to rural Illinois and his new home. He was just finally getting it all set up and settled in for the next chapter of life.
Artists Pam Hessey, Lise Liepman and Rosa Patton with Dan and John Daniel at Dan’s shop with the Illions Supreme.
Please understand. this is really hard to write. Before the [Carousel News & Trader] magazine, I was a grunt laborer on carousel restoration jobs for Dan. I was a starving screenwriter trying to sell a script and needing a days pay while doing it. I had construction experience from when I was young, so one day, my girlfriend took me to meet this interesting, eccentric guy, Dan Horenberger. A few months later, when one of his crew of three came up with a bad back, I got an audition unloading a carousel in the shop, then a road trip to dismantle one in the Bay Area and bring it back for restoration. Sure, I had done construction when younger, but I had been a starving screenwriter for a few years and not as tough as I used to be. Well, that would change very quickly. I like to think I always worked hard. My dad was self-made and made me work hard for everything, gratefully. I think I worked harder than most in whatever I did until I met Dan.
Dan sits on an early 1900s carousel center pole recently unloaded off a truck.
From his farm-boy beginnings in rural Chicago, to his carousel company, fixing, restoring and building carousels — no one worked harder than Dan — few could even come close. And he hardly ever stopped. Those who know him, know what I mean. For those who never met him, it might be hard to imagine, but not if you knew him or of him. And now I am rambling. This is very hard to write. I still don’t believe it. Dammit. Not Dan. I’m honestly still in shock. This is way more than the loss of a boss, or partner, it is the loss of a friend and brother, and it is a deep felt family loss to everyone around here. To my girlfriend’s son, Dan was “Uncle Carney”, as he was known to all of his friend’s kids. Many of whom he gave jobs to when they were young, and taught them how to work, (or not in some cases… this is Los Angeles, not all kids want to work). But, Dan gave them all a chance. Dan was a good boss. A hard one, but fair one. A truly good boss. There are not so many of them. After a year of two of on and off labor work, along came the magazine and full time work. It was no secret that a lot of folks were quite worried when the news got out that Dan had bought The Carousel News & Trader. Lots of people had preconceived notions of Dan, as he did not attend most carousel society meetings, conventions and other gatherings. He wasn’t anti-social, he just chose to work on carousels than to talk about them.
Dan with an Illions Supreme horse in our IAAPA booth in Las Vegas, 2009.
Dan knew that I knew publications, making them from the ground up from working for my dad. Dan knew carousels, and Ted knew web stuff. So, one day while I was scraping sweeps from the Salisbury Looff, Dan came out and handed me a carousel magazine and said, “this guy wants me to buy his magazine”. That was before we moved Astroworld, which was the deal that gave him the money to buy the magazine, and he signed me on at day labor wages to be the editor of the whole thing. It was fun. We all jumped on a plane, Dan, Ted and I, and went to meet Walt in Mansfield, OH. In Walt’s cellar, he gave a quick tutorial of how he made the magazine, etc. (Made it look way easier than it was), Then we packed up the one main computer and went to get the back issues. Three tons of back issues. We humped those boxes out of the garage, into a semi, not sure how many. 200 maybe? Seemed so. 80 lbs. each. 3 tons total. So much that when we were ready to celebrate, the semi had just left with the load a half hour earlier, we get a call. The drive is at a weigh station. The magazines are too close to the front. We have to move them to the midle of the semi to balance the load. It was about 95 degrees that June afternoon and we had to jump into a deep semi and re-position 3 tons of magazines. Well, we did get that done. And I think, while Dan was publisher, he got a handful of nice magazines done. 88 to be exact. Walter, bless his heart, had convinced Dan there was still money to be made, but there wasn’t. It was at best a break even, subs just covered printing and mailing, that didn’t include the magazine’s one empolyee, me. So, in addition to the magazine, I did websites, and marketing and PR and all that, or whatever was needed on the side. We might have had something had not the economy tanked in 2008, just after we took over the already breaking even magazine. Sure, Dan wanted to sell some carousels via this — so did I once I learned what an antique carousel was… and how to spell Looff. Quickly! And these last couple of years, I really busted on it. To sell one antique carousel. And we came very close with PTC #53 to PTC #28 nearly going to cities in Florida. And a number of locations in Massachusetts were very close to acquiring the Salisbury Looff, Broadway Flying Horses carousel.
Dan displays his newly acquired Idora Park kiddie fire truck in the South Pasadena 4th of July parade. He tried to be in the parade every year, but would not drive the same truck twice.
And there were so many others. 10 years at IAAPA, we busted our humps, honestly, in the name of finding a home for the next antique carousel. And, every year, we came away with a handful of solid leads to sell a full, restored antique. But, as we all know, that is a tough sell. Every serious inquiry we had on a restored antique, I always said the same thing, because it was true and from the heart. I told them, “do it now, while he is here to restore it for you”. Referring to Dan of course. But, they didn’t. Their loss. All of our loss when Dan passed.
One of the last pairs of jeans I ruined, one of the last semi’s we unloaded.
Speaking of losses and hard work, Dan ruined every damn pair of jeans I had. It was one thing when on a job, but somehow, even if I just drove down there for pay or for something that should take one minute… it would take longer and I’d come back covered in dust, dirt and grease. It just became a given, in my mind. “What you wear to Dan’s, be prepared to soil! His place in Sun Valley, CA, was in horse country. Plenty of room for his shop and circus tents and Sea containers, but he was next to a massive land fill. Though nice not to have neighbors so he could work into the night, but his neighbor was a pit of dust and dirt. As if he didn’t have enough dirt and grease on his own. His cause of death is unknown. One has to wonder if the endless dirt and grease and restoration chemicals and all might not have got to him. His death was sudden and unexpected. Whatever it was, it took down a giant. A real giant, not a movie giant. There will never be another Dan, and no one will fill his shoes or even close. He was a boss, and a brother to me. A pain in the ass brother at times, but I’m sure I was, too, and what brothers aren’t. As much as I will miss you, Dan, when it sinks in, I know you will still be there, asking, “how hard can it be?” Thank you, Dan, for everything. The people and the carousels you touched will miss you eternally. Most folks might not know just how many carousels kept going around — for that alone, he will be sorely missed next summer and every summer after. Even those who knew Dan the best, didn’t really know all the thousands of people Dan touched with all of his different interests and talents and collections of things.
Some people are not easily forgotten, and some rare individuals are never forgotten. Dan was among the rarest.
– Roland “Rock” Hopkins
Carousel & Automatic Music News – Dan Horenberger Tribute Issue
Carousel & Automatic Music News Jan/Feb 2017 cover.
The following tributes to Dan are reprinted from the March/April 2017 issue of Carousel & Automatic Music News, (formerly The Carousel News & Trader).
A tribute to Dan “Uncle Carny” Horneberger
By Scott Fabbro
“There is a place where the world spills into the ocean and the spirits gather at water’s edge.”
This is the opening line of my novel Greetings from Carnyville. And on Sunday January 15, 2017 Dan Horenberger’s friends and family gathered at the Santa Monica Pier Carousel to wish a kind soul and gentle spirit farewell. At sunset we put Don Ho on the PA and waved goodbye to the sun, something we did at the carousel every night at sunset.
Dan and Scott, July 1990.
The carousel is where it started for me and Dan, two crazy friends with the notion that we could run the concession, and had proposed such to the City and thereby ended up doing so.
Road work with Junchen/Collins Organ Company had brought Dan to California, where he had been enticed by our mutual friend and mentor Burton Allen Burton (of Casablanca Fan Company fame) to stay on. We had become fast friends, both working with another friend and mentor John Daniel at Baranger Studios. Over thirty five years later Dan and I were still hitting it hard, working on carousels across the nation.
The summer of 2016 was one of our best, I think it sums up our career together, and represents a typical road trip for us:
• Installed a “loaner” carousel at the Nemacolin Resort in Farmington, PA. (Dan was restoring an Alan Herschell for permanent installation.)
• Installed the Spirit of Canada art carousel in Markham (Toronto), Canada. This was built as a collaborative effort with the famous artist Patrick Amiot.
• Drove back and forth to Ohio to pick-up and deliver carousel pieces for restoration.
• Drove to the Dentzel in Rochester to install a new drive gear, after picking it up in the dead of night from our gear shop in South Chicago.
• Drove to Crescent Park in Rhode Island, to fix the Looff, which was having some swaying problems. (We had done the gears on this ride a couple of years prior).
• Drove to Princeton, Illinois to take down and pick up a Mangels kiddie carousel.
• Worked at shop in Marengo, Illinois. Horse sanding, drinking beer, moving Jeeps and playing with other heavy, greasy objects.
• Cooked up at least 20 interesting money-making schemes.
A pretty typical summer for Dan.
Steve, Dan and Scott installing the carousel at Butchart Gardens.
Dan never really worked for “the man”. He drove to California in a Pontiac Can-Am towing a U-Haul trailer. He built, out of nothing, a company and career in carousel maintenance and restoration. Without him many, many carousels across the land would not be running, or at worst, lost forever.
“Grease is money.” Dan used to say. The glamour and beauty of painting and restoration of the figures was left to artists best qualified to do so. Our life was forged in grease and sweat, working late and long hours, lifting steel and working on the mechanisms that are these fabulous old carousels. No one taught us, but somehow Dan innately just knew what to do, what gear to adjust, what screw to turn just right to get the thing running like a Swiss watch.
Andy Fabbro on the job with “Uncle Carney”.
And once the ride was up and running I used to say I get paid in smiles, watching the kids and adults alike ride. Dan would laugh and say, “Show me the money.” But I think secretly he derived joy as well.
On November 10, 2016 Dan was getting our booth ready for the IAAPA show in Orlando. I was to have rendezvoused with him there. It was a typical workday for Dan. He went inside to rest for a minute and, by all accounts, passed peacefully sitting in his easy chair.
Photographer, author and Route 66 expert, Hiroshi Hanamura, Dan Horenberger and Scott Fabbro, 1987.
Our booth was empty at the show. And our lives remain empty today.
We’d traveled all over the world together, working on carousels, looking for junk cars (especially Jeep FC150’s), meeting interesting people, traveling Route 66 with our friend Hiroshi Hanamura, and chasing dreams.
Eric, Scott and Dan at the South Pasadena 4th of July parade.
Dan was “Uncle Carny” to my two boys, Andrew and Eric, who both apprenticed under him. He loved his niece Allison and nephew Aron. He’d recently moved back to his hometown of Marengo, Illinois, and I think he was a lot happier, hanging with his sister Nora and moving junk around with his brother-in-law Dennis.
He cherished his friends and family, and was generous to all. I never heard him talk badly about anyone.
Dan was my best friend and brother. I cherish every moment we shared together, even those times we went toe-to-toe in the middle of the might squabbling over some technical issue.
So Dan’s gone, that’s a fact. But I like to think that every time I visit a carousel we worked on that his spirit lives on, spinning forever at water’s edge. For Dan is the spirit in the machine.
Dan ex Machina.
– Scott Fabbro
“The good die young”
By Matthew Caulfield
This adage was certainly true of Dan Horenberger, master of his craft. And his crafts were many: carousel mechanic, amusement gear craftsman, organ rebuilder, Jeep collector and restorer, operator of a full-service carousel enterprise (Brass Ring Carousel Company) for 30+ years. I never met Dan personally, but because of my involvement with Seabreeze Park and carousels spanning two-thirds of a century, I was familiar with Dan’s work and his excellent reputation in the field.
Dan atop the Spillman carousel in Roswell, NM.
Dan was an excellent mechanic and a machinist who was not afraid to get his hands dirty, and having the youth and the stamina required for that kind of heavy, hard work. His familiarity with the amusement park field combined with his love for carousels, both old and new, allowed him to reach out to find carousels needing new homes and to place them where they would be needed and appreciated. He was not one of those inclined to break up rides to sell off the pieces to make money. He was a “keep it together and keep it running” man. When Dan entered the publishing field with the purchase of the Carousel News and Trader from Walter Loucks, I was a bit surprised at his branching out into this entirely new field. But with the help and support of his right-hand-man Roland (“Rock”) Hopkins, he made a success of that new enterprise. I loved his column “From Dan’s Desk” because it was always a fresh, newsy, and opinionated update on happenings in the amusement park world. When Dan later sold the magazine to Bill and Rosanna Harris and it became today’s Carousel and Automatic Music News, he continued to write that beautiful column as time and travel allowed.
Sadly, Dan’s life and his promising future was cut short by medical problems just as he was relocating from California to his boyhood stamping grounds in Marengo, Illinois. Rest in eternal peace, Dan. Sorry I never knew ya!
– Matthew Caulfield
Everyone Knew Dan…
By Vickie Stauffer
Vickie Stauffer, NCA vice president and Dan at the Perkasie Carousel in PA.
Of course everyone KNEW Dan, but I never really got to sit down and talk until I had dinner with Dan and Roland during IAAPA in Las Vegas in 2009 and Orlando in 2010. At some point after that Dan was on the road in my area and he called me to come see the Perkasie Carousel. I gave him the name of a hotel close by and when he checked in that night, I met him for dinner.
The next morning I picked him up and as I was driving us to Perkasie we passed an old factory building I had passed all the time but never looked at. Dan spun in his seat and seemed like he wanted to jump out of the truck and run back. It was an old bell factory, Schulmerich Carillons. Dan said that before he was into carousels, he was a big fan of bells and carillons, and this place was well known for their bells. We continued to Perkasie, but ended up spending more time there than expected. I even received a parking ticket for us taking the long tour.
On the way back, we passed the bell factory again, but out of time, we said next time he was in the area we would stop in and check it out. A few years later I passed and the factory was gone, and they were building townhouses, elegantly named “Carillon Hill.” Just lately Dan had been offering advice to help the caretakers of Soupy Island carousel. They would pose a question to me, or I would have a question about Perkasie Carousel, and I would email Dan expecting a short answer. Many times I must have caught him stuck in some boring motel late at night in some strange part of the country, because I would receive back pages of information, suggestions, and history. More than I needed, and that was never bad. I guess that was how Dan was; nothing was half done. It was done right.
I always wanted to stop and take a picture of the townhouse construction to send to Dan to say we should have stopped that day. Let that be a lesson. Take the time. Because someday time will be gone.
– Vickie Stauffer, Vice President, National Carousel Association
Carousel of Happiness/Saltaire Looff
By Scott Harrison
In our first year of operation of the restored Saltaire Looff now known as the Carousel of Happiness in Nederland, Colorado, we had several little problems. It was turning, but it was clunky, and all the cranks and pinion gears were not aligned. We had, and still have, a posse of metal guys: welders, machinists, fabricators, even a mechanical engineer. But together, we still weren’t figuring out how to make the thing run smoothly. It had us baffled. I called Dan and told him all this and said we would close the carousel and I would gather the troops if he would come visit us for a few days to figure out what was what. Like too many carousel operations, ours did not have much money to offerhim, but Dan came anyway. To save money, I picked him up from the airport, and put him up at a nearby motel without cost (the owner a carousel supporter). He spent two days with us, showing us how to align this and balance that. Made sure we knew what to watch out for and helped us figure out a good daily inspection and maintenance routine.
Last year, when it was time for us to replace our pinion gears, I called Dan and when we installed them this year, the carousel turned more quietly than ever. This morning, in the middle of my inspection routine, before anybody else had showed up, I turned the carousel on slow, and in the quiet of the early morning, I sat with the gorilla as we rode around in circles remembering Dan.
– Scott Harrison Carousel of Happiness – December 22, 2016
Crescent Park – Looff Grand Carousel
By Ed Serowik
Dan and Ed take a break on a hot summer day working on the Crescent Park carousel in RI.
I’ve known Dan Horenberger for about fifteen years and he’s always been there when I’ve needed him. Whenever I’ve called him, he would always answer my call and give me good advice.
I called him last Memorial Day weekend because we were having a major problem with the Crescent Park carousel. He was in Toronto at the time, just finishing up the installation of a carousel. I told him all about the problem and that I didn’t have any idea how to fix it. In response, he said that he wouldn’t mind driving to Rhode Island, about 500 miles, to help me out, because it wouldn’t be too far out of his way – that’s a true friend. He came, analyzed the problem, did a quick fix, and said he would return during the first two weeks of August. He returned with a complete new hub bearing and installed it in a week to ten days. The ride should last another fifty years. Dan and I had a beer and shared a pizza and he said he’d be back some time after Thanksgiving to take care of a few other minor repairs. We shook our dirty hands and said our good-byes, but I didn’t know at the time that it would be our final good-bye. I don’t know whom I will ever call now for carousel repairs. I guess there are carousels with problems in heaven and Dan was the right man for the job.
– Ed Serowik Caretaker, Crescent Park Looff Carousel Riverside, Rhode Island
Early Carousel Years…
Dan with John Daniel at his Daniel’s Den in South Pasadena, CA, in 1989.
By Dawn Brasington
Dan was just a kid – curious about everything. Early on, John Daniel literally took him under his wing – and over the months and years, John and Cathy brought him into their family, which included Buck and myself. Whether it was carousel oriented or just social, Dan was always part of the group. He had that young face, in fact he was still being carded for drinks after the age of 40! Total energy, always involved, always something going on. The January/Feb 2016 issue of Carousel & Automatic Music News has the basic info on Buck and Dan’s trip to Missouri to rescue an old carousel, passing it on to Don Snyder to be refurbished, then back to its original home in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Another issue (sorry I forgot which one) had Dan’s article/memory of that discovery/rescue event. Its hard to consolidate all the years that Dan was just part of our social group. He was literally just ‘one of us’. Even though Dan became totally involved on a national level, when John passed away Dan was right there helping Cathy sort through the Daniel considerable collection of motions, trains, toys, carousel animals, organs, etc. It would have been very difficult for her without Dan’s help.
Sorry I don’t have more details. As a young man, he was just always part of whatever our group of friends were doing. His untimely passing was a terrific shock. Dan was an involved person, something was always going on in his very short life.
– Dawn Brasington
Editor’s note: See links below for the story to which Dawn refers.
carouselhistory.com/old-threshers-norman-evans-carousel-history
carouselhistory.com/issue-no-8-vol-23-august-2007
New York State Museum Historic Carousel, Albany, NY
By Paula Russo
Albany State Museum carousel horses during restoration.
I came to work at the New York State Museum in the Visitors Services Department in 2006. This was well after the miracle transformation of our Herschell-Spillman carousel by Dan Horenberger and Brass Ring Carousel Company. During my training in Visitors Service, I learned about the purchase of our carousel in 1975 from Robert Hopkins, after many years of operation at Cuba Lake’s Olive Crest Amusement Park in Cuba, New York. The merry-go-round remained in storage at the New York State Museum collections facility at Rotterdam until it was fully restored and installed in the museum’s new Terrace Gallery in 2001.
Circa 1915 Herschell-Spillman carousel with Dare horses. Restored for the museum in 2001.
I was doing some special carousel art programs for the public and did considerable research in our archive files to locate the photos that documented the specialized restoration of every horse, donkey, and deer figure. All of the mechanism was refinished with great attention to every detail. I did call the Brass Ring Carousel Company, hoping to speak to someone, and was amazed when Dan Horenberger himself answered the phone!
Dan was a wealth of information, remembering so many of the artists who worked with him on our carousel. He said that a team of twelve artists worked over a year to bring our carousel ‘back to life’. He described the artist who did the stenciling and art work on the top panels as having “a good eye and a steady hand”…rare in the industry. We must have talked over forty minutes, which was such gift of time! I called him one other time and actually met him when he came to the New York State Museum to provide some much needed expertise for our carousel. He was very personable, and clearly loved his work. It was a shock to learn of Dan’s sudden passing. Even though I did not know him well, he will be greatly missed and so appreciated for the many years of experience he so generously shared. My condolences to his family, friends, and work associates.
In the year 2016 we had 101,846 visitors who rode our carousel, and we owe a great debt of gratitude to Dan and his team for restoring our Herschell-Spillman Carousel! Thank you for letting me tell one small tale of the many stories of a great man in the carousel and entertainment industry.
– Paula M. Russo The New York State Museum Albany, New York
Remembering Dan Horenberger
By Sandy Lechtick
Dan in his rare English race car, his dog, Daisy looks on.
I met Dan Horenberger at an automaton auction in Beverly Hills five years ago. He was explaining the intricacies of one of the clockwork mechanisms and seemed to really know his stuff. He was a warm, down-to-earth fellow. I soon learned he was the Baranger expert who worked for John Daniel at Baranger Studios for two decades, and who had written the definitive book on Baranger Motions. I knew I had to get to know this guy! Over the years, we compared notes on Barangers, and his assistance helped me build my collection. He also kept his eyes and ears open on other mechanical advertising displays and automatons. However, he made it clear his true love and station in life was fixing, building, and brokering historic carousels and fairground organs. He had an international reputation.
A couple years after we met, Dan told me he was working on a very cool automaton and when it was available, he’d let me know. Months went by, I’d call him periodically, but not yet. Finally he called and offered me “The Mesmerizer,” a 1910 Decamps magician, one of John Daniel’s favorite automatons, prominently displayed in his collection. John, a former professional magician, had taken this automaton and his “mesmerized” assistant and displayed them in a large glass case, added eerie music and breathing and red velvet curtain from his magic act. Boy, was I excited and told Dan I’d call him the next day to come to his place, which was only about thirty minutes from my house. You can imagine how crest-fallen I was when he sent me an email that evening that one of the three people he had reached out to had made, a great offer and bought it sight unseen. Dan told me he played no favorites and he who stepped up to the plate first and said “I’ll take it” without haggling, would get it. I was upset that he had sold it without giving me a chance, but learned a valuable lesson. When Dan Horenberger called with something cool at a reasonable price, it would not be around long. I’d need to move quickly. As it turned out, I reached out to a friend (a prominent dealer) who I thought might know about the transaction. He said, “Sandy, how did you know I bought the piece, the ink is barely dry?” Eventually though, my enthusiasm won him over, and he sold it to me, albeit for $1500 more than Dan offered it for sale. Dan and I spoke early in November 2016 and he encouraged me to check out all the carousel animals at the November 12, 2016, Donnely auction near Chicago.
Since I was attending the November 2016 Chicagoland Antique, Advertising and Jukebox Show in St. Charles, I told him I’d hook up with him and learn more about the carousel animals. I was quite surprised when he did not show up. At these events, he was like a proud father. Two years previous, I spent time with him at the Donnely auction where he had three or four complete carousels in the auction that he had either worked on or was selling. Two days later, I got a text that he had suddenly died at his computer. Dan was a remarkable fellow. While he was a specialist in merry-go-rounds, he was quite mechanical and had experience in mechanical music, automations, Baranger motions, carousels, clock-work mechanisms and more. He was a true expert. He was also a “go-to” guy on finding and brokering cool devices. I’ll miss him as a straight-shooter and fellow who was an important part of the history of much of what we collect.
– Sandy Lechtick Southern California collector
Dan Horenberger… Memories of Dan
I’ve been looking back over the years and thinking, as we all are, about how much Dan has added to our lives. After the ACS Convention on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, I became friends with John and Cathy Daniel. One morning, I was sitting in Johns office, negotiating the purchase of a Wurlitzer 146 band organ, when a young, tall, gangly fellow in a pudding-bowl hair cut came through the door. He’d been driving nonstop from the House on the Rock in Wisconsin, where he’d been repairing all sorts of pneumatic music machines, and was looking forward to “real food” as he’d been living on coffee and Hershey bars. As he began describing his job and the trip West, there was something so appealing about him. Even at about nineteen years of age, you could see his drive to form his own business of repairing band organs, and later, in putting old carousels back into working order.
Dan visits a carousel on Route 66. Hiroshi Hanamura photo.
Many times over the past years I’ve asked him for help with my carousel-related issues. And a visit to his shop on Peoria Street in Sun Valley was always fun and rewarding. His tents and trailers were full of antique cars, carousel frame parts, wooden horses, etc. I went over to buy some lengths of brass tubing one morning and left not only with the brass cut to the right length but two chariot sides….a two for one thing. A month or so later, he said he had access to an original Allan Herschell motor with the brass ID plate still on it. Of course I wanted it for the El Cajon machine, so he negotiated a really nice price and loaded it into my shop for me. He always seemed to know where things were located and saved many carousels for us. When Santa’s Village decided to close and held an auction of its assets, I wanted to purchase the Allan Herschell carousel I’d been painting over the late summer and early fall for fourteen years. The question was…how do I get it home?
So, I called Dan to see what he could do. He found me a used25′ trailer with good brakes, tires, and lights for another nice price in Rialto, California, fifty miles from Santa’s, and a tractor and driver to haul it up into the mountains, should I have the winning bid.The day of the auction, Dan drove up to the park with a big truck, pulling a trailer, and a crew of three men including himself. I gritted my teeth and finally got the carousel and within two hours, the horses and chariots were off the ride and loaded onto the truck and trailer. I’d made thirty-six bases ready when the horses arrived the next morning.
Two days later, Dan and his men went back up with the new (to me ) trailer that had been painted white and a big forklift, and loaded the frame, rounding boards, shields, platform, etc. and were at my shop late that afternoon. What would I have done if I hadn’t known Dan? Word came down from the park that they’d never seen anyone work so fast, yet so carefully. Truly the hallmark of his life: knowledgeable, strong, swift, yet careful. And, for me, always with a smile. I know, as the years continue on, many other remembrances will come to mind, like how handsome he looked at his wedding. And how his home was like Mrs. Haversham’s dining room. And how big his heart was and how much I will miss him.
– Lourinda Bray Running Horse Studio
Dan Horenberger — More Than A Friend
By Mike and Randy Donley
It was one of those moments in your life that will be forever burned into your memory. It was the night before our big fall auction that included a large group of carousel horses. Dan had been a major help in identifying and describing the horses and was looking forward to bidding on a few of them for himself. We had just finished setting up the auction, and Randy and I were sitting in a couple of restored barber chairs joking and talking about how crazy the next few days would be. Randy’s phone rang. I vividly remember him answering the phone with a smile on his face and how that smile changed in an instant to one of disbelief. “What? What did you just say? No, it can’t be!” Randy looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Dan Horenberger is dead.” His brother-in-law was calling to say that he had found him sitting in a chair at home. There was nothing anyone could do he was already gone. Needless to say I was numb. Randy had talked to him just hours before. I don’t even remember the rest of the weekend. What was supposed to be a fun auction with Dan in attendance turned into just two days of going through the motions. Randy and I knew Dan for almost forty years. We all started collecting about the same time and knew all the same people. To say that Dan was one of a kind is an understatement. First off, his knowledge of the categories in which he collected was unparalleled. He was considered the “Bible”. If Dan didn’t know, nobody knew. Secondly, he was always there to help someone in need. If someone was in a bind, he would drop everything to go and help. And he freely shared his knowledge and sources and always put friendship above making a buck. And finally there was Dan the human being. He lived a squeaky clean life and it was unusual to even hear him curse. We would sit around telling stories and laugh so hard about something so inconsequential that people thought we were nuts. Thousands of people have great Dan stories and will be telling them for many years to come. Dan has left a hole in our lives that can never be replaced. Randy and I miss him but we consider ourselves privileged to have known him. Farewell old friend.
– Mike Donley – Randy Donley Donley Auctions – Union, Illinois
Shocked in Australia
By Patricia Mullins
PTC #30 carousel in Australia. Patricia Mullins photo
Dear Roland, Just received your email with the sad news of Dan’s passing. Such a shock and such a loss to the carousel industry and world. My thoughts are with all those who are most close to him, a very sad time. I last had contact with Dan in late October when he asked me about a carousel in Tasmania. He was such a great help when we were starting out with the PTC #30 restoration proposal. It was wonderful to have him out here to report on its condition as well as that of the organ. Dan was so generous and so knowledgeable about all things carousel. Thank you for sending me this news, With Christmas greetings,
– Patricia Mullins Luna Park, Melbourne, Australia
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By Robin & Pat Evans
Hello Roland,
We have just read your email and were shocked and saddened to read of Dan’s death. We purchased the golden Seahorse bicycle from Dan and it arrived in Australia in late October. We emailed him on its arrival and received no reply. That puzzled us greatly, but we never dreamed that the reason for his silence would be such a tragic one.
We found Dan a pleasant person to deal with and would have enjoyed further communication with him. To his family & friends we send our sympathy. To you we send our sympathy on the loss of your friend and our gratitude for keeping us informed. We collect and display antique and rare bicycles. The Seahorse bicycle is currently in pride of place in our living room and will have its first outing next month at the Geelong Vintage Machinery and Truck Show.
With best wishes,
– Robin & Pat Evans, Australia
The Berkshire Carousel
By Jim Shulman
Scott, Dan “Uncle Carney”, Andy, Eric and Hiroshi on Route 66 in Hollywood.
I never met Dan, but over the years we spoke on the phone and exchanged emails. He was always very pleasant and helpful, especially promoting the Berkshire Carousel project in the Carousel News and Trader. Although we did not contract with Dan to help on the frame construction/restoration of the carousel, he continued to offer assistance. On one of his East Coast trips, I asked Dan to stop by just to see what the volunteers were creating. He not only visited, but did a complimentary service call and offered many pointers that were invaluable. We will always appreciate Dan and miss his contributions to the world of carousel preservation.
– Jim Shulman NCA Board Member Founder of the Berkshire Carousel
From the NCA
By Bette Largent
Because of the trade agreement NCA had with the Carousel News & Trader and Dan’s column I, along with others, learned more about his many passions beyond carousels recently. I always respected the beautiful restorations, such as the carousel for the New York State Museum in Albany but also enjoyed reading about his episodes and travels along Route 66. Dan had a large and varied group of friends who shared all his interests. Dan will leave a big gap in the carousel industry and a lasting legacy of carousels that are still spinning due to his efforts, such as the Looff Carousel in Riverside, Rhode Island.
– Bette Largent, President, National Carousel
Thoughts on Dan Horenburger
By Tobin Fraley
John Daniel and Dan Horenberger in 2004. The met decades earlier working at Baranger Studios.
Like many groups with a specific interest, the carousel world has always been relatively small; so when a prominent member of the community leaves us, it is never easy, especially when it’s someone whom I’ve known for over thirty-five years. My relationship with Dan Horenburger began when I first visited John Daniel’s studio in South Pasadena in the early 1980s. John’s studio was housed in the spectacular Baranger Studios. When I first entered the building where John would hold court, surrounded by model trains and Baranger jewelry motions, he had two people working with him. One of them was Dan, who presided over the vast collection of Burton Burton’s automated musical instruments, maintaining this grand gathering of band organs, player pianos, and so much more. What I could not fathom was this person looked like he must have been no more that fourteen years old. But Dan was always deceptively young-looking which, was one of his most valuable characteristics, considering that people naturally felt comfortable with such a “youngster.” He was affable, incredibly knowledgeable, and always ready for another joke or two. There was a father and son quality to the relationship between John and Dan, though it was clear Dan was also learning at the knee of an extraordinary marketer as well. John Daniel had been a master magician who specialized in grand illusions. There was always another transaction to be pulled out of his magical top hat and Dan was there at almost every step, watching and listening to the magic of the deal. These were lessons he would learn well.
The cover of the first issue of The Carousel News & Trader that Dan published.
As Dan began to use those skills to create his own company, it was not an easy transition for either John or Dan, but it was always clear to me that the apprentice had learned his craft extraordinarily well; for Dan was to become a true expert at marketing and deal making. He moved from the world of band organs into the world of carousels easily, soon becoming the top dealer and the most recognizable name in the carousel business. Along with help from his trusted associate Roland Hopkins, Dan purchased the Carousel News & Trader, began the Brass Ring Carousel Company, formed the most prolific of the carousel websites and so much more. His clients were devoted to him and he was well respected. Dan and I had our differences of opinion, but that did not stop me from admiring his abilities and envying his skills in marketing. One day, when he gave me a tour through his vast collection of “stuff,” I was truly astounded by the number and variety of items in his warehouses and his intimate knowledge of every single piece under covers or hidden in corners. I left, having the impression that American Pickers would have had a field day there, but I believe they would have been out-picked and outfoxed by a true master. Dan will be missed by all of us.
– Tobin Fraley, Carousel Historian, Autor
Daniel Horenberger “Uncle Carney”
Sept. 24, 1957 – Nov. 10, 2016
“How hard can it be?” It will be very hard without Dan around… but somehow, “We’ll get ‘er done”.
Carousel built by Dan include the mechanism for the Disneyland King Arthur Dentzel Carousel. The Rose Carousel for Butchart Gardens in Canada, and the Centennial Carousel for Elk City, OK. Full carousel restorations include the Dentzel/Illions at the San Francisco Zoo, the Herschell-Spillman/Dare at the New York State Museum, the Astroworld Dentzel Muller menagerie, the Looff Broadway Flying Horses, and the Illions Supreme.
Read more about the Illions Supreme restoration here: carouselhistory.com/restoring-the-1927-m-c-illions-supreme-carousel.
A sample of some of the carousels Dan work on over the years:
