| 03/13/09 05:45 PM |
#845
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Tom Held
RE: Uncle John's Kiddieland....I found this article.
June 5, 1960 Vincennes Sun Commercial: "Uncle Johns Kiddie-land Began 12 Years Ago" Without fanfare or publicity, Uncle John's Kiddie-land, one of Vincennes' most thriving enterprises, had its humble beginning just twelve years ago today. With only a small roller-coaster and a phonograph to furnish music, John Russell started his venture on a vacant lot across from Gregg Park on Niblack Avenue. Today marking the twelfth year of continuous operation. A giant 50 foot ferris wheel has been added to the other eight attractions on the lot. "uncle John's has almost become a standard word in the vocabulary of the youngsters of this community. However, only by accident did the venture receive this name. Originally, since the roller-coaster had been purchased in Hollywood California, Russel had planned to call his venture "Hollywood Kiddie-land". Before setting up operations a carnival was appearing in Vincennes and Russell's nephew, knowing that his uncle John was associated with the carnival business, told all his friends that the carnival was "Uncle John's". It did not take much further encouraging for Russell to change the original name or as Russell said "What kid doesn't have an uncle?" Despite one move from its former location to its present location on North Sixth Street just across from the Kelso Creek Bridge, the enterprise has continued to grow. Owner and manager Russell is no stranger to the saw dust and tinsel of the traveling carnivals, having appeared in this first tent show when only eight while traveling with his show people parents in Pennsylvania. His father, John B. Russell, appeared in an act plaing basketball on roller skates, while his mother, the daughter of Ollie Pickering, the former big league baseball player, was appearing as a fancy and trick roller skater. Although born in Vincennes, Russell has spent most of this life away from here. At (illegible...)with a carnival which was then appearing at Washington Field here in Vincennes. His experience was to take him eventually with the Clyde Beatty circus as a cage hand for several years. In 1933 he appeared with this show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. That year by accident or bad luck, he left show business. He travelled from New York to Chicago to find employment at the World's Fair which was then playing there. He could find no work, so he took a job in the steel mills. In 1935 he returned to Vincennes. To settle down as a permanent resisdent of Vincennes was not in the cards for Russell although he had taken a job on the Vincennes police force. A change of politics found him without a job again. By this time the war had begun, so back to the steel mills in Gary. At the end of the war, the carnival was calling to Russell again. He took a job as a concessionaire with a carnival outfit, owning his own consession. In 1946 he was named assistant manager of the Blue Grass Shows and in 1947 held the same position with Craft's 20 Big Shows of Californina. It was in 1948 when he bought his first piece of equipment. this was the small roller-coaster which he used to start his first operation here in Vincennes. In the summer of 1948, he played the fairs in California. Each year has seen the local enterprise expand. the next attraction after the roller-coaster was a stable of ponies. He added these in 1950. The same year his father bought the miniature train. The merry-go-round was added in 1951, and the boat ride in 1953. In 1954 he sold the ponies and purchased a larger roller-coaster and an army tank ride. In 1957, Russel moved from his first location to the present location on Sixth street. The next year he added a handcar ride for little tots. This year he has added the giant ferris wheel to attract not only the youngsters, but also the teen-age crowds as well as mothers and dads. Despite the pervaders of gloom who could not visualize a kiddie attraction flourishing in Vincennes, Uncle John's has continued to grow. The reasons for this growth are numerous. First, all rides are kept clean and in first class condition. Safety is almost a religion with Russell. Secondly, the kids have been given their money's worth. And lastly, the merry-go-round and ferris wheel are universal attractions to kids of all ages. Russell married the former Mary Hasty in 1935. They have four children. John Oliver, now in the US Navy, Maxalee Russell Black, Nancy Jo, at school in Ferinand, Indiana, and James Lawrence, at home. Report
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