Memories from my childhood in the 1970s, growing up in Santa Cruz, California, and then spending a year in London, England. The history and the memory of things long forgotten, as seen through the eyes of a child.
It was sometime in the late 1970s. I was about 12. So, it must have been about 1978 when I was invited to a friend's birthday party at Frontier Village in San Jose. Now, I'm not quite clear on how I got there but logic dictates that I was dropped off at the party locally, and we all drove over together crammed together in the back of some old VW bus. No seat belts. Getting there must have been a thrill ride all on its own, and I've blocked it out of my memories completely.
However I do remember these four things about my Frontier Village in San Jose adventure:
The Front Gate
The entrance to the park was fantastic. The old fort welcomed you with imaginative possibilities, full of promises that you were traveling back in time to another world and another place.
The Antique Cars
I only remember going on two rides. Surely I went on more than two rides? In any case, this is the first one I remember going on alone. So brave. So safe.
The Gun Fight
I think this confused me for a while, as I walked in just as it started and it seemed random. I didn't understand exactly what was happening. It was staged to happen somewhat organically as I remember, so there was a lot of shouting and then the fight broke out. I could be the kid in the bottom right of this photo. I had that haircut. In any case, the thing I remember best is that after the fight, there was a surprise twist and the sheriff shot someone off the roof who was trying to ambush him.
The Spirit of Kitty Hawk
And now we come to the reason I am even writing this in the first place. This was the second ride I remember, and it was a great ride. It was a fantastic ride, and I was so happy riding it. I kind of figured it out, and really had fun playing on it. The planes were hung on chains and spun out from a center pole. There was a large wind wing in front that you could control to make the plane fly up and down (out and in), using the wind to direct your plane in the direction you wanted.
I discovered all on my own a technique where I could swing the plane all the way down to the center point, and there would be a brief lull, and then by timing my turn I'd be thrust all the way up and out with a huge rush -- kind of like a water skier pulling a turn and whipping back. After watching the video below, I'm reminded that there were trees surrounding the ride and all the branches were constantly trimmed by the ride. I remember brushing up against some new growth, so I was certainly flying higher than most!
I have come to find out that this ride is called the Flying Scooters, or just Flyers. It was created in the 1930s by the Bisch-Rocco company.
Apparently, the technique I "invented" is called cable snapping, and it's quite popular and outlawed on the older rides like I rode in. The new version of the ride has prevention measures built in. What on earth! I was an evil genius at age 12!
I've come to find out that the Flyers at Frontier Village were run at a slightly slower speed than normal flyers to be more suitable for kids and families. That's why I don't remember a more distinctive "Snap" sound that is possible at the higher speeds.
See, here's a photo from Wikipedia of the Air Crow at Indiana Beach with a big sign, clear as day... No Snapping! Bah, give me a break. That was the best part of the ride.
Here's a video of someone snapping the cables on the Flyers at Knoebel's park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. The person snapping the cables will soon become obvious... At one point he almost comes to a complete stop and then is swung out way over the trees! Awesome!
There are 19 original Bisch-Rocco Flying Scooters still in operation in the USA.
