Bushkill Park Was Featured in Tonight's American Pickers

[slicknixon]

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment/index.ssf?/base/living-1/1291611915100240.xml&coll=3

 

Just finished watching it. They bought a bumper car, a no smoking sign from the Barl of Fun, and some original freak show banners (maybe other stuff, i don't know, i turned it on half way through).

 

I have mixed feelings about how the deals went down. Basically, the owner has confirmed that they are planning to reopen the park in the future. This must mean they need money. The pickers only gave him $500 for the bumper car which is worth $1500. You could tell he didn't want to sell it for that price by the look on his face. He wants the park to get the publicity of being on the show because I guess he thinks it might be beneficial to when he plans to re-open the park. However, I think he might have been better off selling or auctioning the stuff he didn't want to keep in the park at their real value. I mean, it really seemed like he didn't want to sell the stuff and that he was only doing it to get the park (or himself) on tv. I mean, when they're walking through the Barl of Fun, the one guy (yeah i don't watch the show normally) asked about the no smoking sign which could have very well been original. "25 bucks?" he says and the owner just looks at the sign for a second and says "ok" in an unsure manner. Then the guy just rips the sign off the wall and goes "wow, now i have a piece of the oldest funhouse in the country"

 

I dunno, i think shows like these should be paying royalties (especially if it comes out on DVD) to the places featured because the people are selling the stuff for good prices only for the fact that if they don't, then they don't get on the show. And it's kind of detrimental to a defunct park that is struggling to re-open by basically robbing the place of it's stuff that could have made the owners much more money. Who knows, they might pay them more for being in the show for all i know, but chances are pretty good that they don't.

[Reality15]

If you kept watching, you would know that they gave $5000 of the proceeds from the banners to Bushkill Park.

 

-Jon "A TV show just did a better preservation effort than Save the Big Dipper" Roost

[slicknixon]

Well that certainly changes things!

[thrillrider]

It looks like this park is missing from the park index.

[megalyte]

Hopefully the 5,000 dollars the park got at the end will help the park reopen. The Whip looked pretty beat up to be restored for only 3-5 thousand dollars that was mentioned on the show.

[Jim S.]

Is anyone here personally familiar with the park? In doing research on it after seeing the show advertised, I found a website done by someone with quite a different story: www.bushkillpark.org

 

This could be the product of someone with a grudge, or it could be the truth. Which one, is what I'd like to know.

[Chrisrad]

 

The pickers only gave him $500 for the bumper car which is worth $1500. You could tell he didn't want to sell it for that price by the look on his face.

 

It's a lot like Pawn Stars..

 

Someone brings in an item and they want, say, $500. Then, a knowledgeable appraiser looks at the item and claims it's worth $1000. Immediately - in most cases - the person who is selling the item wants the higher price.

 

While that's understandable, the pawn shop guys cannot buy an item for the exact price that it's worth. They have overhead, taxes, etc., etc... Sure, the owner can refuse the sale and sell it at an auction or privately, but again, there will be fees, and the possibility that they don't get anywhere near the supposed value of the item.

 

 

 

So.. long story short - sure, the bumper car might be worth $1500 (to someone, somewhere). But just like the Pawn Star guys, that is their livelihood - they have immense costs involved with traveling the country looking for merchandise.

 

And if you've ever seen other episodes, they never force anyone to sell an item, and don't always get something for the price they want to pay.

[larrygator]

I mean, it really seemed like he didn't want to sell the stuff and that he was only doing it to get the park (or himself) on tv. I mean, when they're walking through the Barl of Fun, the one guy (yeah i don't watch the show normally) asked about the no smoking sign which could have very well been original. "25 bucks?" he says and the owner just looks at the sign for a second and says "ok" in an unsure manner.

 

I'm upset I missed tonight's show as I usually watch it. Since you don't typically watch the show you should know the places that don't sell any pieces are sometimes featured if the merchandise is unique.

 

It's funny how the show portrays Danielle (their assistannt) as the one finding this lead when it was really the producers of the TV show.

 

"American Pickers" purchase old rides and banners from Bushkill Park in tonight's third season premiere

Monday, December 06, 2010

By KELLY HUTH

The Express-Times

When he heard from a friend that Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz of "American Pickers"-fame wanted to "pick" Bushkill Park in Forks Township, former owner Neal Fehnel was surprised. He had never heard of the duo or their hit History channel show.

 

But on July 21, Wolfe and Fritz pulled up in their "Antique Archaeology" van to rummage through the old rides and memorabilia from the amusement park's glory days.

 

The Bushkill Park episode will air on History at 9 tonight. It is the first in a batch of episodes in the show's third season. The show follows the two pickers across the country as they scour backyards and barns for valuable antiques or collectibles.

 

"I don't think they're ever looking for something specific," Fehnel says. "They're buying with the plan to resell."

 

A bumper car, some banners and an old Coke machine

 

Jim Comunale, owner of Furniture and Firearms Depot in Upper Mount Bethel Township, e-mailed the show's producers last year to tell them to check out his stash. The pickers took the bait.

 

Producers called to set up a time to visit, but asked for a few other places in the area to showcase. Comunale, a friend of Fehnel's, suggested the park where he used to play as a kid in the late 1970s. When producers heard about the nonoperational amusement park, plans changed.

 

"I ended up getting kicked to the wayside and they went to Neal (instead), but it's OK-- he's a good friend," Comunale says.

 

Comunale ended up bringing his favorite items to the park -- such as an old Coke machine the pickers later purchased -- and stuck around for the filming. He and Fehnel were featured on camera, but neither man is sure how much they'll be shown on the episode once editors finish cutting.

 

"It's not rehearsed or scripted," Fehnel says of production.

 

Comunale says producers told them to expect the pickers on a certain day, but didn't give them a timeframe. So the surprise on both their faces when the van pulls up is genuine, Comunale says.

 

"They seem like pretty solid guys," Comunale says of the show's hosts. "Mike (Wolfe) said he'd been pitching the show for four or five years before it got picked up."

 

The pickers left with a bumper car from the 1940s worth an estimated $1,500, and banners that used to hang on the park.

 

Fehnel says the car and banners aren't the only things they bought or brought to the park, but he's saving the details for tonight's episode. One thing he will reveal is that the July production day was not the pickers' last visit to the park on Bushkill Park Drive.

 

"I really hope it gets the park back on its feet," Comunale says of the episode.

 

Restoring a landmark

 

Fehnel says he was nervous about being on the show, but thinks the exposure for the park will be positive.

 

"People will know there is going to be a future at Bushkill Park," Fehnel says.

 

Fehnel purchased the property in 1990. He sold the business to Sammy Baurkot in 2004, before Tropical Storm Ivan flooded the Bushkill Creek and Delaware River. Fehnel and Baurkot still co-own the park land. An attempt to revive the park in 2006 to 2007 failed amid financial problems. Further flooding caused an already tired park to break under the financial strain of much-needed repairs and waning profits.

 

"Do I want to reopen it? Definitely," Baurkot says. "The flood just ruined us."

 

Baurkot cites financing as the biggest hurdle to reopening.

 

"The focus (of Bushkill Park) was never about making money -- it was about providing a fun place for children," Fehnel says.

 

Fehnel, also known as Balloons the Clown, joined the Ringling Bros. Circus in 1977 when he turned 18. He's spent his whole lifetime entertaining, he says.

 

Easton Transit Co. purchased the plot of land in 1898 and turned the area into a trolley park. Trolley companies intentionally built parks at the end of their lines. The goal was to keep the trolley operational seven days a week, since families would need a way to get to the amusement park. Bushkill Park was considered a "stop along the way," and parents took their kids on rides before or after a shopping trip, Fehnel says.

 

When Fehnel and partner Bill Hogan took over in 1990, local businesses were still using the park for company picnics and parents were scheduling children's birthday parties.

 

"By 1993, the park was only open five days a week," Fehnel says. In the early '90s roller skating picked up, and children enjoyed an indoor moon bounce and on-premise chocolate shop, Fehnel recalls. "But by 1998, the park was pretty tired," he says.

 

Fehnel hopes to one day see the park return as an area landmark.

 

"Steps are being taken for it to reopen again," he says.

 

 

Is anyone here personally familiar with the park? In doing research on it after seeing the show advertised, I found a website done by someone with quite a different story: http://www.bushkillpark.org

 

This could be the product of someone with a grudge, or it could be the truth. Which one, is what I'd like to know.

 

Jim - It's a bad he said/she said situation.

Edited December 7, 2010 by larrygator

[slicknixon]

If what has been said about this Neal Fehnel guy is true, then the future of the park doesn't look good. I don't mean to sound like a jerk or anything, but there's also something about this guy that creeps me out a little.

 

He's a (quite creepy looking) clown:

 

I noticed this extremely creepy looking corner of the Barl of Fun when I was watching the show:

 

You'd think that he would've moved those kid's toys or something for the show..

 

I could be wrong about this, but i'm pretty sure the facade of Barl of Fun was repainted under his ownership (possibly by his family, who knows)

Either way, this facade is all kinds of wrong. Even if it was because the original was ruined by the flood or w/e, i mean what were they thinking?

 

here's the original:

 

 

here's the repainted one:

 

Now don't get me wrong, I don't even know this guy. But from the surface it seems like he doesn't know what he's doing. I mean especially if the taxes thing is true. Either way, I hope I'm wrong and he could somehow pull it together and keep the park from the (alleged) IRS getting a hold of it.

[jamesdillaman]

^ Seems like someone doesn't like clowns...

[PSiRockin]

That is one badly-drawn clown. This park seems nice. I think I might have visited it once, as a child long ago.

[kidcoaster 2]

You can now watch the episode online here

 

http://www.history.com/shows/american-pickers/videos/playlists/season-3-full-episodes#american-pickers-a-banner-pick

 

Also the episode will be back on Friday at 10 EST

[larrygator]

I noticed this extremely creepy looking corner of the Barl of Fun when I was watching the show:

 

You'd think that he would've moved those kid's toys or something for the show..

 

I could be wrong about this, but i'm pretty sure the facade of Barl of Fun was repainted under his ownership (possibly by his family, who knows)

Either way, this facade is all kinds of wrong. Even if it was because the original was ruined by the flood or w/e, i mean what were they thinking?

 

Regarding removed the kid's toys. They are in a kid's only area of the fun house. Remember they made fun of Frank for riding one of the kid's rides. Why would they need to be removed for the show?

 

I could be wrong but I think the facade was repainted because the "theming" in the Barl of Fun changed from a jungle theme to a circus theme.

[slicknixon]

I mentioned the toys because it just seems to me like if you're going to be showcasing the gem of your park on national television, which could very likely qualify as a national historic landmark, you'd try to present it to the best of your ability. I don't know, the kids toys just looked strange sitting there to me. As far as changing the theme goes, I have a feeling you are correct on that one. The interior walls had some pretty bad artwork as well, but who knows. All I can say is that a jungle theme sounds a lot more fun and inviting than a circus theme with cracked-out looking clowns that look like something out of someone with coulrophobia's nightmares in every direction you look.

[spaceace12]

Mark your DVR's, show will re air on Monday at 7pm.