Julian Like Disneyland?

I read with interest the article in the Julian News on October 6, 2010 about someone’s love of carousels and their interest in bringing one to Julian. Since this is Julian, expect some howls of indignation, 50 % will love it and 50% will hate it and of course it’s not historical. Presumably it would be a carousel with riding figures reflective of Julian such as a mountain lion, coyote, raccoon, wild pigs and turkeys. Don’t forget the flattened road-kill possum for the little ones. For horses we could have some bucking broncos to represent our cowboy heritage and few old nags like many people keep today. When I was a small boy there was a merry-go-round near where I lived and I made sure my mother stopped whenever we took that road. It was actually a very fine old carousel but you don’t call it that until you are at least a teenager. It was placed a ways off of Highway 14, next to some woods, out of town like somehow it had accidentally fallen from the sky and killed a wicked witch. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t go on it in the winter when it was covered in canvas tarps. It shows that not all carousels are in cities or amusement parks, but Julian would be really random. Of course this was way before we had “theme parks”, in fact it was before we even had themes. In my older years I have made a point of riding carousels with my children since I loved them so much, such as Seaport Village, Balboa Park and of course Disneyland but never the imposters that they brought to the Del Mar Fair. I am fearful now of taking any children on the really old carousels in California because they have to have the Prop. 65 warning of illness or reproductive harm due to remnants of old lead paint. When gift stores first appeared in Julian in the late 70’s and tourists started coming in numbers year round, the local curmudgeons complained that “Julian was turning into Disneyland.” Well, even today Julian hasn’t turned into Disneyland. As well as Disneyland is done (much better than Julian), it is fake. Julian is still the real thing even with all the gift stores and problems. Let’s just see Disneyland come up with a devastating forest fire and Julian’s Main St. is not 5/8 scale. If you go down Banner Grade at the same speed as Space Mountain you can really get a thrill and the ride is longer if you make it. Remarkably coincidental is that a Julian resident vacationing in Arkansas this summer got an unbelievable deal on a ride similar to Disneyland’s teacups at an amusement park that had gone bankrupt. It just needs a place to go, perhaps with the carousel. Before everyone again howls with indignation, read on. Instead of teacups it was a ride with giant jugs. The sides were cut out for passengers, the jugs were painted with XXXX markings and it was called the “Moonshine Special” ride. It specialized in making you feel like you had just drunk a lot of moonshine. All it takes is some non-lead paint to turn them into some cider jugs and voila- you have the “Julian Cider Spin” (only not as regurgitant as the Moonshine Special). Even if both of these projects come to pass, Julian still won’t be like Disneyland. The town is still real and the people are real.

©2010 Eric Stamets