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October 1941. "At a small American Legion carnival just outside Bellows Falls, Vermont." Left turn only. 35mm nitrate negative by Jack Delano. View full size.
I rode a fiberglass version of different car, but on the same kind of ride. Some even "flew" off of a ramp!
One evening in the mid-sixties, I sat in a car very much like that for a leisurely spin around and around. The cars were attached to the central motor by spokes, and midway through the ride my car came unhitched from its spoke and veered toward the motor. The operator stopped the ride and lifted me out in an instant, which was very disappointing to me because it was the most exciting ride I'd ever been on. I couldn't understand why my mother was so upset. That ride was noticeably absent from the carnival the following year.
Seventy-one years later, kids are still riding that ride, and parents are still taking that photo. The only things that change are the clothing styles and the car models.
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