Gaslight Village and Storytown
Dad got a job as the night watchman at Storytown. Each year he got free tickets for all of us after the park would be closed during the week when school started in the fall. I'm not sure if all families of employees went the same day or if we could choose what day we went. Throughout our lives in both Kingsbury and Argyle we would go there at different times. Sometimes when I worked at the Catheter place we would have company picnics at Storytown. I'd usually take one of Millie's kids. I think we took them all one time along with us kids too. I know I took Helen to Time Town and to Storytown and one time I took Susan by herself to another park. We took Cathy to the Magic Forest. Cindy's oldest boy Ronnie works there in the summer time.
Dad went to Gaslight Village on his own. I don't think he took Mom with him. He loved all the old things. I think I inherited that from both of them because Mom did too.
Both of these places and some others were began by Charlie Woods. Dad had worked for him before painting some of his big houses in Lake George. I think one was a hotel and he had to paint the outside of it. That was scary. We were all afraid he'd fall.
This picture is of two men who worked as actors at Storytown. Storytown was divided up into sections. They played the bank robber and he Marshal in the Ghost Town part. The Marshall was Windy Bill McKay. He handed out metal star badges to all the kids so they could pretend they were marshals too. The actors did a good mini play of the robbery every day including firing blanks and jumping on horses to ride off around the corner while Bill chased them. Kids really loved that stuff and it didn't matter how old they got.
Enid and Nancy in the whale's mouth. This was in the story town part.
Enid and Sue with the old man. He was made of plaster mostly. I watched them building cactus once. They used a chicken wire form and then put plaster sections over it before it was painted and had prickly things added to it.
Me and Sue, same old codger.
Later after I was married I came here to Gaslight Village before it closed. I had a great time. I got to see skaters performing and life was looking good.
Dad loved all the stone horses. He just loved all horses. That's an old trolley in the back of the photo. I think there were more than one at the time to haul visitors around the park.
This was the time Dad went on his own and someone else took the photo for him.
Most of this bunch Dad took on his visit to Gaslight Village. He may have taken Mom once but I just don't remember. I know he had a tale to tell about here. He went on the Ferris wheel. When it was up high you could see over the fence onto maybe the Northway. When he was on the top of the wheel and coming down some older boys were down outside the fence on the ground. They threw a rock up there and hit him in the back of the head. He was really angry about that but still there wasn't much he could do that wouldn't get him fired from his job. If he'd made a stink and it hit the papers it would have been bad press and no place can afford bad press.
I'm not sure but I think this carriage is from Gaslight Village. There was a ride at Storytown in the Wild West section called the tornado that had cars on rails that went through a dark area and wind blew at you. You even went through one part where you were inside a tube that rotated around you and made you think that was what being in a tornado looked and felt like.
I have some color photos I took of Storytown which I will add here later. Storytown went on to become the Great Escape theme park and is now owned by Six Flags.
Most of the other places are long gone. Either sold and torn down or sold piece by piece. Woods had one place that had all kinds of antique cars. Those were all sold off.
Here you can read about the history of Storytown.