The historic Roseneath Carousel may no longer be one of central Ontario’s best-kept secrets now that it’s featured as part of a new Canada Post stamp collection celebrating five of Canada’s vintage carousels.
And for Barb Foreman, secretary/treasurer of the Roseneath Agricultural Society, the stamp was a 15-year project in the making.
“We have been waiting years and years to do this,” Foreman said. “Finally, now we’re going to get the recognition we deserve.”
The agricultural society owns the carousel which was built in 1906 in Abilene, Kansas, by C.W. Parker, an amusement park operator who constructed and sold carousels for fairs and carnivals throughout the United States and Canada.
Originally a portable carousel, it is the only one in Canada to receive the National Carousel Association (U.S.) Historic Carousel Award, Canada Post notes.
Foreman says the carousel has a long history, originally serving a number of fairs and carnivals until finding its first home at the end of a rail line at Mohawk Park in Brantford, Ont.
When the rail line closed, Roseneath Agricultural Society purchased the carousel for $675 in 1932 and transported the 40 basswood horses, three abreast and two metal boats, back to Roseneath, a community located 30 kilometres north of Cobourg in Alnwick/Halidmand Township.
It has remained at the fairgrounds ever since, placed on a cement slab and surrounded by a 16-sided wooded building on County Road 45.
The agricultural society maintains the carousel, which operates each Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. from May 24 to Thanksgiving Sunday.
Maintaining the more than century-old amusement ride has required extensive funding for regular repairs and upkeep to ensure the ride maintains its original look. A $400,000 fundraising campaign in 1987 ensured the carousel was in rideable condition. The grand re-opening of the Carousel was held on July 17, 1993.
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“You’re looking at 1906,” said Foreman of the carousel’s colours and design.
Last year, the carousel’s 1925 Wurlitzer military band organ underwent extensive renovations.
“It’s probably why it’s so loud now,” quipped Foreman.
Stamp campaign
Thursday’s announcement by Canada Post was a 15-year wait, said Foreman who explained the society first contacted the Crown corporation in 2007 to inquire about a possible stamp of the landmark amusement ride.
Foreman said Roseneath Agricultural Society never received a response. However, she said five years ago, the society received an email from Canada Post requesting photos of the carousel for a possible stamp collection.
She said the pandemic put a pause on the project, but three weeks ago she received another email from Canada Post highlighting the stamp collection with the July 21 launch.
The stamp announced on Thursday shows the carousel’s horse 103, says Foreman.
“I was so surprised — I just couldn’t believe that it was finally going to happen,” Foreman said.
Other stamps announced in the Canada Post collection include:
- C.W. Parker Carousel No. 119 (Burnaby Village Museum, Burnaby, B.C.): Built in 1912 and now fully restored, the carousel features 36 jumping horses, four stationary horses, a chariot and music provided by a 1925 Wurlitzer band organ.
- Bowness Carousel (Heritage Park Historical Village, Calgary): Built by Herschell-Spillman Co. in 1904, it is a rare three-row track machine, where the horses’ rocking motion comes from eccentric drive wheels under the platform.
- Lakeside Park Carousel (Lakeside Park, St. Catharines, Ont.): Built by Kremer’s Carousel Works circa 1903, the large carousel boasts 68 animals and four chariots in four rows. It still costs only a nickel to ride. The carousel was referenced in rock band Rush’s Lakeside Park song.
- Le Galopant (La Ronde, Montreal — former Expo 67 site): Built around 1885 in Belgium, it was originally a travelling carousel powered by steam. It made its first Canadian appearance at Expo 67.
The stamps are designed by Paprika and feature illustrations by René Milot. The stamp issue includes a 10-stamp booklet designed in the style of a traditional circus, midway advertising posters, a souvenir sheet of five stamps, an Official First Day Cover and a set of five postcards. Stamps and collectibles are available at canadapost.ca and postal outlets across Canada.
Foreman has been involved with the carousel since 1987 — or as she says, “my grandchildren thought I owned it.” She said the stamp will put her community on the map.
“It’s something I never thought was going to happen,” she said. “We’re only a small, little place. Who knows Roseneath? But when we go to conventions for the fair board, as soon as we say Roseneath, we hear, “Oh, that’s where the carousel is.’ People do know. I can spend $8,000 to $10,000 a year on advertising and we still have people who don’t know anything about it.”
“We’re now global,” she quipped.
And what’s next for the carousel?
“Someone asked me the other day, when were they going to mint a coin?” Foreman recalls. “I thought, ‘Oh no, is that my next step?'”
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