Kings Island Historical Society

[alluna]

ahoy. I have a reputation as a 'do-er' and when I see so many other people interested in preserving the park, it makes me want to do something.

In response to threads like this thread, this one and this one, I wanted to know if there is a KI historical society of some kind, outside of Cedar Fair.

Since KI has been such a long-standing part of our community, it seems like there would be a lot of families out there that sat in the Flintstones car or enjoyed a day in Oktoberfest and are at least somewhat invested in preserving the history and beloved attractions of the park. Is there such a society outside of Cedar Fair? There is the NAPHA, but it seems awfully widespread. They have a heritage fund which helps to restore rides, etc. at various parks, so this is telling me that outside organizations can work with parks.

If there isn't one in existence, I'm proposing that there could be an outside organization that is invested in the nostalgia of the park. I know there are a lot of people here who are ready to hand KI a shovel and a shrub. CF responds to money, so maybe lighthearted fundraisers could do things like fix our clock or buy a freakin bed of flowers. Little things that aren't on the KI agenda because they are working on bigger things like getting new rides. It may sound like a silly reason to raise money, but I've seen money raised for far goofier things. Where there is a will, there's a way.

Thoughts? (also, if there is such an organization in place, sorry if I haven't noticed your work and I don't mean to step on any toes, here)

[raptor]

Or fix the carousel organ, but that would take some serious donations.

[Thrill_Biscuit]

Like a "Friends of Kings Island" organization? That would be nice, in a 'perfect world'. I think that there would be too much legal and policy red tape in the way of providing even "semi-voluntary(?)" help in improving the park. It's a business, and as such it is responsible for all of its assets and liabilities.

Perhaps such an organization can be a liaison between the public and the park's customer relations department (i.e., one that has the time and focus to produce more in-depth presentations of suggestions for improvement; versus the normal channel of brief customer calls & letters). I dunno. Maybe.

[XGatorHead 8904]

I love the idea of having a group such as this. I'm one of those that are old enough to have been going to the park since the early 70's... my first trip was 1972 if you count my mom going to the park & riding The Racer while she was pregnant with me ... and I've been going every year since. Believe me, I would be one of the first people to sign up for something like this.

But the pessimist in me agrees with Thrill Biscuit. Besides the legalities he pointed out, there's also the impression that the existence of such a group might give the GP. If a group were to be formed, some members of the GP may get the impression that CF doesn't care about their properties enough, and that may not be the impression that CF wants to give it's customers. However, I could be totally wrong and the GP may think it's a great thing, or they may not even care at all. You never know how public opinion will go.

#1 on my list, and it unfortunately has been for years: fix the carousel's organ & reinstall it!

[Cory Butcher]

Let me direct you all to the Southwest Ohio Amusement Park Historical Society (SOAPHS) co-founded by Scott Fowler and Kevin Miller. The website is easy to remember, it is www.soaphs.com.

There are forums much like this one, as well as a large photo gallery for Americana/LeSourdsville Lake as well as other amusement parks that used to reside in the Southwestern Ohio area.

The website is currently under renovation in places, so be sure to check back often for the forums to come back on line! Some of the links are also broken, but there is some more information on the society on their Facebook page as well, so check it out!

[Johnnygolucky08]

@Cory Butcher Do you know when the site will be back up and running?

[Cory Butcher]

I do not know, however, I will find out for you! I was quite active over there until recently when the website was taken down and moved and had other maintenance done.

Let me get in touch with Scott, and I will post that information here!

[Johnnygolucky08]

i see americana's page is running

[alluna]

Here is a link to the SOPHS page that Cory was talking about:

http://www.soaphs.com/ Not sure if this is the new site or if a new one is being worked on...the 'Preservation Projects' link doesn't work, so I'm not sure what they are targeting with donations at the moment.