Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 50 L OOKING BACK AT MY CHILDHOOD, I have fond memories of visiting Wonderland, just south of Billings, where I could ride the horses on the carousel. I also remember riding the hors- es on the merry-go-round at Columbia Gardens just outside of Butte. Wonderland closed in 1960 and Columbia Gardens in 1973. For the next twenty years, if you wanted to ride a painted pony and reach for the brass ring, you had to wait for your local fair to open with its concessionaire-owned rides. The National Carousel Association publishes an online Index of North American Carousels. That index lists seven carousels in Montana, including merry-go-rounds in Boulder, Butte, Co- lumbia Falls, Helena, Missoula, Shelby and Somers. Of these seven, three are seasonal, but four are open to the public year- round and have other attractions on-site or nearby. This article serves to introduce you to the carousels of Montana, but the only way to really experience them is to get on that pony and ride. A CAROUSEL FOR MISSOULA Chuck Kaparich, a Missoula cabinet maker, had a dream. He had grown up in Butte and remembered the Columbia Gardens carousel. His dream was to own his own carousel horse, so he approached an expert, seeking to buy one. The expert told him in no uncertain terms that if he want- ed a horse, he should carve it himself. So he did. In fact, he carved four and his dream grew. In 1991, he approached the Missoula City Council with the idea of building a carousel for Missoula. Chuck's dream took hold, and as I recall, al- most everyone in Missoula got on board. Chuck taught vol- unteers how to carve basswood, and how to assemble the various parts, which then had to be sanded and painted. Indi- viduals and organizations adopted horses, which gave them some say in how the horse was painted and decorated. The mechanism that runs the carousel dates back to 1918 when it was built by the Hershell-Spillman company. Missoula ac- quired it from Nevada's Ponderosa Ranch theme park. The carousel, with 38 horses, two chariots, and 14 gargoyles, opened on May 27th, 1995. It sits in its own building next to the Clark Fork River in Missoula's downtown Caras Park. THE DREAM MAKER SOMERS Perhaps the most charming carousel in Montana is the one Bob Cherot built for his granddaughter. Overlooking Flathead article and photos by BRYAN SPELLMAN W o o d e n W W i l d H H o r s e s :

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