A Fair to Remember

When I was growing up in Oklahoma, nothing heralded the coming of Fall like the Tulsa State Fair. The Fair usually blew into town with the first cool temperatures and crunchy leaves and brought with it an air of excitement and tradition. One of the things that made the Tulsa State Fair so wonderful was Bell’s Amusement Park, a charming park that was open most of the year. The Fair was connected to Bell’s, so in addition to the Fair rides, the Midway and the exhibits, you also had the perk of your favorite rides at Bell’s. The big white wooden roller coaster, known as ‘Zingo’ was Bell’s crown jewel. Built in 1968,‘Zingo’ was a series of giant hills and breathtaking drops, up to 82 feet. You entered the park by walking under one of the hills of the roller coaster, excitement growing as you heard the ‘clack clack clack’ of the coaster and the happy screams of its victims. Being old enough to ride ‘Zingo’ was a definite rite of passage in my day. There was also the ‘Phantasmagoria’ spook/fun house that you rode through in a cart (a notorious make out ride), the ‘Himalaya’, which went round and round to the sound of sirens and loud music du jour, and a big ominous Ferris Wheel. One of my all time favorites was the giant Super Slide, that we flew down on old burlap sacks. I think the Super Slide was removed sometime in the late 1970s or early 80s, as I’m sure it was pretty dangerous. Other favorites included the Log Ride, the Octopus, the Scrambler and the Super Round Up. A day at Bell’s was always a dream come true for me and I often got to go there for my birthday. The Fair was like Bell’s on steroids. Although I don’t really care for Fair food, I like the smells, I love to walk around and people watch, check out all of the rides and revel in the cool night air. When I was in Middle School, my friend, Karen and I were allowed to go to the Fair by ourselves (during the day only). Wow, did we think we were grown up! We spent a dizzying day riding rides and looking for cute boys all on about $20. When I was in high school, the Fair was the ultimate date. I mean, it had all of the perfect romantic elements – the opportunity for your date to win you a stuffed animal (thus proving his manliness), the prospect of holding hands as you walked around the Midway, the pleasure of getting to wear one of your brand new sweaters in the cool weather, and the chance that you might kiss on the Skyride as you glided way up over everyone and swung gently from the cables. Oh, yes! A kiss was quite possible, being that he was the most manly-stuffed-animal-winning thing this side of the Arkansas River. Alas, I am now grown and Bell’s amusement park is no longer. It was closed a couple of years ago and ‘Zingo’ now sits somewhere in a warehouse, quiet and dismantled. I drove by where it used to be one time and was devastated to see a huge expanse of concrete and grass where my Mecca used to be. It actually hit me harder than I thought it would and I swear a couple of tears slid down my cheeks. Maybe I can find a cute guy to take me to the Fair to cheer me up. Maybe I’ll even kiss him on the Skyride.