Antique funhouse provides timeless fun

In an ever changing, fast-paced world, it’s nice to know that some simple pleasures still exist.

I spent my Memorial Day weekend between some relaxation and covering events in the area.

There was the one trip I made that turned out to be a combination of business and pleasure.

Bushkill Park opened this weekend, partially recovered from two floods in a row last year. I have to admit, despite the fact that I grew up in New Jersey and therefore have no childhood memories from Bushkill Park to look back on, I have a serious soft spot for the place.

There’s something wonderful to me about those distinctly antique bumper cars from a hopeful new modern age so long ago. It’s the place I finally learned what grabbing the golden ring meant, just a couple of summers ago.

Unfortunately, neither the bumper cars, nor the carousel, nor another favorite of mine, the Whip, is yet restored from the flood damage.

The funhouse, however, is completely operational. It’s wonderful.

Okay, in a world of video games, to some, the funhouse at Bushkill Park may seem tame. Lame even. But the folks I saw there over the weekend didn’t seem to think so. They, and I, had a blast, despite my being bogged down by a camera and my primary purpose for being there in the first place—covering their opening weekend for The Easton News.

First off, this funhouse features a real rotating barrel, one of the last, if not the last, in North America. Just the experience of being able to say you’ve really been in one of those is worth it—they really are that rare. Surprisingly, despite the antiquity of the effect, the experience is still disconcerting. I watched many folks size the thing up and then stagger through it as though drunk, trying to keep their balance. Many of the kids, clearly, had spent a bit of time experimenting and were more agile, not to mention more daring.

Also in the funhouse is very old wooden sliding board. This simple pleasure had many repeat visitors, adults and children, including yours truly. Though a little bit warm in the seat from the friction, the “ride” was superb. My companion and I marvelled at the slide and neither of us has ever seen one like it. It’s extremely well crafted and well maintained. It really is a gem, something that just wouldn’t be made in today’s day and age.

There’s a real funhouse mirror gallery too. Again, you might think this sort of thing would be hokey or dated, but despite showing a bit of age, the mirrors are priceless. The real glass (way better than the scratched up metal mirrors I remember from the funhouses I visited as a teenager at the Jersey shore) shows a detail in the distortions that produces a very real image of one with say, very, very short legs or upside down or with a larger head than you could have ever imagined. It’s a live caricature of oneself that morphs before the eyes—conceived decades before high tech special effects and in some ways more realistic.

Low-tech doesn’t mean there aren’t any surprises. At one point, going up the stairs, the entire staircase abruptly shifted, causing severe alarm to the woman behind me, who initially thought the stairs were structurally unsound. Turns out the staircase is rigged to do that, it wobbles on nearly every step. I’m figuring in our oh-so-safe, perfect modern world, there aren’t too many wobbling staircases left, even in funhouses.

It reminded me of something out of an old Betty Boop cartoon, which, I suppose is apt, since she was originally popular when Bushkill Park was in its heyday. It also reminded me a bit of the staircases in the Harry Potter movies. Maybe there aren’t supposed to be moving staircases in the modern world other than escalators, but the idea is obviously timeless.

The “Barl of Fun” as the funhouse at Bushkill Park is known, is not only a lot of fun, it’s a literal step into a living antique, one that deserves to be preserved and enjoyed. It’s a unique antique experience that modern people can enjoy. And, despite the fact that there are few of this nature left anywhere in the world, it’s right in our backyard.

(Originally published in The Easton News, June 1, 2006)