An article recently by The Commercial Appeal reporter Cassandra Kimberly about Dan Scott finding an old Lakeland sky ride cart in a storage shed brought back some nice memories for me. The first sky ride I ever went on was above Garner Lake in Lakeland. I couldn’t have been older than 5 years old since it closed in 1968, but I can remember holding my arm out the window. That was a happy memory of that small amusement park. It felt like Six Flags to a small girl.
But the The Huff N’ Puff amusement park also holds a frightening memory for me. It imprinted on my soul and to this day, some 40 years later, it still bothers me. A reader talked about it in a letter to the editor last week.
I was riding with my sister Chris and my father on the Huff N’Puff train. We were traveling along through the woods on the train tracks when we heard gunshots and hooping and hollering. The train screeched to a halt and two men came rushing out of the woods. I think they were wearing overalls. I can’t remember what they were saying, but I was scared.
They got on the train and began walking down the aisle. They said they were there to kidnap some pretty girls. They glared and threatened until they got down the aisle to me and my sister. It was one of the few times in my life that I recall the pretty blond (my sister) not getting chosen. They pointed at me, the freckled face brunette and said they were taking me with them.
I grabbed a hold of my father’s arm, screaming and crying. They yelled a little bit more and then decided not to take anyone. They got off the train and we kept going. I’ve never been more frightened in my life. I spent the rest of the day, looking over my shoulder and I’ve never shaken that feeling.
I don’t blame the people who worked for the Lakeland amusement park. They were just doing their job and they didn’t mean to upset me. But it did all the same.
I wondered as an adult, what they were thinking? The train wasn’t labeled as a scary ride like one through a haunted house. It was supposed to be pleasant. I wouldn’t have been on a scary ride. Does anyone else have a memory of that train or some other moment where someone purposely scared you? Do you still remember it?
Responses to “Don’t scare the children!”
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I rode the same ride when i was a child and had the same experience. I was absolutely terrified. To this day I can recall the details as you describe them. Looking back it seemed harmless but at the time it was really scary. I couldn’t have been but 2 or 3 years old.
The other thing I remember was being told to not stand up in the sky ride car. The floor was made of old wood and I was told that it might give way if I stood up. I could just see myself falling down into Garner lake.
Remember the big animals that you could once see from the Interstate? To this day I still peer over that direction when I pass by.
June 28th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Yes. I recall so clearly one evening when I spent the night over a close friend’s home with my sisters. Being the youngest of all and only about 8 or 9 at the time, I was the first to fall asleep. Well, once I had been asleep for some time, my dear friend decided to give me a very rude awakening. I was lying in the bed and she stood over me wearing a pair of stockings over her face! I thought I was getting kidnapped! She scared me so badly I have yet to erase that image from my memory. It was a lot of laughs but I was terrified!