Merry-go-round still broke down
Staff writer
One of Marion’s oldest settlers was supposed to return in time for Old Settlers Day, but the event will go forward without Central Park’s century-old Mitchell Whirl merry-go-round returning.
There is no new completion date for restoration of the merry-go-round, which was more than a year ago. The initial goal was for the merry-go-round to be finished before Chingawassa Days and later by Labor Day or Art in the Park.
The center pole has been repaired, but worn bushings, painting, and possible seat work remain, city administrator Brian Wells said.
“It’s taking longer than we anticipated,” he said.
The Mitchell Whirl was removed in September, 2025, after its center post rusted out and collapsed around Chingawassa Days that summer. It had been cordoned off with hazard tape before crews dismantled it ahead of last year’s Art in the Park and Old Settlers Day.
Marion Manufacturing was contacted about restoring the ride, which has entertained generations of park visitors.
By May, its pieces still sat at city shops. A “miscommunication between parties” had delayed ordering a needed part, Wells said then. The city was holding the disassembled ride until Marion Manufacturing was ready for it.
Wells took over oversight of the project after the delay was discovered in early March. Neither staffing nor budget problems contributed to the delay, he said.
The initial repair estimate was $2,500, to be covered by the city’s general parks repair budget.
By June, additional repairs to the upper structure had pushed the original Chingawassa target back.
Wells told council members he was “pretty confident” the ride could be finished by Labor Day or by Art in the Park at the latest.
The work originally requested is complete, but the city requested additional repairs, Marion Manufacturing co- owner David Richmond said.
“I finished the part that I was supposed to finish, and then they asked if I would do some more work on the upper end,” he said.
The pole is ready to install, but Richmond is still determining how to manufacture replacement pieces for the worn upper assembly.
Parts are no longer available, he said.
The work requires care because the ride’s lower portion hangs from those pieces. Richmond wants to avoid a failure that could injure someone.
He has given the city no completion date and is fitting the repairs around other jobs.
“I’ve just been trying to work this in as we’ve got time to do stuff,” he said.
Council members on Monday approved payment of $2,475 bill from Marion Manufacturing— $600 for materials and $1,875 for labor.
Estimates for the remaining bushings and painting had not been received, leaving the final restoration cost unknown, Wells said.
A family offered roughly $1,500 in memorial money toward the restoration. That contribution has not been applied because the city is waiting until the work is finished, Wells said.
“Our goal is that when we get it done, we’ve done it right,” he said.