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LUNENBURG -- Planning Board officials unanimously voted Monday that
Global Property Developers Corporation complied with demolition delay
bylaw requirements for three Whalom Park buildings, giving them the go-
ahead to obtain permits for demolition.

The structures, slated for demolition within the next five months,
include two actors' houses and the carousel building on the former
amusement park grounds. But Planning Board officials agreed that the
developers are still not in compliance with a demolition delay bylaw
for one Whalom Park building after an hour-and-a-half of discussion.

Emerick R. Bakaysa, vice chairman of the board, made a motion to ask
the developer to try and save the Lufkin House.

"I don't think they satisfactorily met the requirements for that
building," Bakaysa said.

Bakaysa's motion came after Carl Pearson, Global Property Developers
Corporation's vice president, described the company's efforts to save
or sell two actors' houses for $1,000 and $2,000, respectively, and a
carousel house for $10,000.

"Global has reached out to preservation groups. Global has placed them
on MLS real estate services," Pearson said. "At this point, structures
are planned to be demolished on or before May 1."

Historical Commission member Chriztine Foltz argued argued for the
delay, and Pearson said Lufkin House is currently off the market
because the developers are using it as shelter and an office.

"You don't have any paperwork on it," Foltz said. "As is, it cannot go
forward for a permit to be destroyed."

The developers had 180 days to try and save the buildings through
sales, restoration or moving them. And each structure, except the
Lufkin House, was on the market for 92 days, according to GPDC
paperwork.

The Planning Board told Pearson that GPDC has to put the Lufkin House
on the market for 90 days before it can rightfully demolish it. But
members expressed their satisfaction with GPDC's efforts at the old
amusement park nonetheless.

"The developer stepped up, cleaned it up," Bakaysa said.

Coasting to a stop at Whalom Park

By Jenna Russell, Boston Globe Staff
October 19, 2006

LUNENBURG -- There were plenty of signs the end was coming: When Whalom Park finally closed its gates, after more than a century as a Central Massachusetts landmark; when its ballroom burned down and its antique carousel was auctioned off, horse by horse; when a developer bought the lakefront site and made plans to build condos.

Still, for many area residents whose teenage years were defined by weekends spent at Whalom Park, who remember their first kisses at the roller-skating rink and their first dates in the Rose Garden dance hall, the end of the amusement park was not quite real until yesterday morning, when a roaring yellow excavator tore a hole in the park's best-loved attraction, the Flying Comet roller coaster (also known as ``The Black Hole").

As the 60-year-old wooden coaster was demolished, a steady stream of spectators, a few choking back tears, parked by the shore of Whalom Lake and stood outside the chain-link fence to watch.

``I'm broken-hearted," said Bill Murphy, the caretaker of the 30-acre park since it closed six years ago. ``It hurts; it really does. It's part of my childhood, gone."

By the end of yesterday, the roller coaster was gone, along with most of the other major structures on the property. The demolition, which began a week ago, is on track to be finished next week, officials said. Construction of 240 condominiums on the property will begin next spring, said Carl Pearson, vice president of Global Property Developers Corp., the Bridgewater firm that purchased the former park earlier this year. An appeal by neighbors who oppose the project was dismissed by a judge; they have appealed the dismissal, said their lawyer, June Riddle of Lunenburg.

Yesterday, as a piece of local history vanished before their eyes, reduced to a field of broken lumber and tangled, rusted, 20-foot sections of steel track, residents snapped photos and reminisced with strangers. Some visitors sought company, while others stood apart, quiet, seemingly lost in a fog of memory.

When it first opened in 1893, Whalom Park was a traditional, English-style park of gardens and walking paths, created by a streetcar operator in Leominster and Fitchburg as a way to lure riders on weekends. Its carousel, with 58 hand-carved animals, was installed in 1914. Animal exhibits, summer stock theater, and a dance hall arrived, The first roller coaster was built in the 1920s, according to Pearson. After World War II, with the added excitement of skee-ball, arcades, a funhouse, and bumper cars, Whalom thrived.

Its decline began in the 1970s, after Walt Disney set new standards for theme parks. The thrills of Whalom, along with other parks of its era, began to seem faded. One by one in the decades that followed, small, family-owned amusement parks were shuttered, from Rocky Point on Warwick Neck in Rhode Island to Revere Beach, once known as the Coney Island of the North.

The rides at Whalom -- the Black Hole; the Whip; the Bouncer -- ``were nothing compared to today, but back then, it was the cat's meow," said Gerry Farinelli, 65, of Attleboro, as he watched the excavator crush the roller coaster.

Installed in the early 1940s, after the infamous hurricane of 1938 flattened its predecessor, Whalom's Flying Comet coaster offered sweeping lake views from its high point 60 feet above the ground, but it was just as well known for its creaks, rattles, and ominous vibrations, onlookers said.

``It would always shake, and you knew it would shake, and you went on it anyway," said Jean DiBona, 63, who traveled to Lunenburg from her home in North Providence, R.I., to bid farewell to the roller coaster. ``I used to cry on the way up, and I'd cry on the way down -- and then I would go on it again."

David Pothier, 52, of Lunenberg, remembered the wooden slide in Whalom's Funhouse, where children would ride scraps of burlap. Another ride was a spinning wooden disc that children rode, without seat belts, until the speed of the rotation was enough to throw them off, he said.

Not all of Whalom's pleasures induced bruises or screams of terror. Residents recalled leisurely summer picnics under the pine trees on the property and trout fishing in the lake. An organ player provided live music in the roller rink. There were Easter egg hunts and New Year's Eve dances and car races on the frozen lake in the winter.

Perhaps the oddest attraction was featured in the 1920s, when a trained horse would ride a waterslide into the lake, Pearson said.

For many former patrons, Whalom was a place for young romance. Bill Phelps, 62, met his wife on the dance floor at the Rose Garden, where the roof opened up to the stars in the summer and some of the biggest names of the Big Band era played.

``If my wife was alive, she would be crying," Phelps said.

One section of the roller coaster's track was salvaged yesterday, along with some of its cars, and Pearson said there are plans to incorporate fragments and memorabilia into the final design of the condo development. The building where the carousel was housed may also be preserved.

Onlookers mused yesterday about the strangeness of the altered landscape and about the likely name of the condo complex.

``No matter what they call it," Nancy Nurmi said, ``people will call it Whalom Park."

Whalom coaster comes tumbling down
By Marisa Donelan
10/19/2006 Sentinel & Enterprise

LUNENBURG -- Susan Campbell remembers watching the sun set behind the roller coaster at Whalom Park from her uncle's lake house.

"You'd see the sun come right through the rails on the roller coaster, and it was like the roller coaster was coming from heaven," the Fitchburg resident, 49, said Wednesday. "It was an amazing, amazing thing."

Campbell watched with sadness Wednesday afternoon as a demolition crew from Roberts Corp., of Hudson, N.H., broke apart the tracks and railings from the iconic coaster, the Flyer Comet.

"It's heartbreaking," she said, shaking her head. "Your whole life as a child here was Whalom Park. If you didn't grow up around here, you can't understand. They're pulverizing generations of memories."

A worker used a bulldozer to smash up and separate the wood and steel from the roller coaster, which stood partially demolished around 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Workers have been tearing down buildings and rides at the park since last Tuesday, to make way for a 240-unit condominium project that Bridgewater-based Global Property Developers Corp. is planning to build there

.

Carl Pearson, vice president of Global Property, told the Sentinel & Enterprise last week that clearing Whalom Park will take about four weeks in total, and that he doesn't know when construction on the condos will begin.

Four buildings at the park will remain standing for now, under a town demolition-delay bylaw, Pearson said.

Bill Murphy, 52, who has lived on the property -- in a house the bylaw is temporarily protecting -- and worked as a groundskeeper since the amusement park closed for good in 2000, said deconstruction on the 1939 coaster began at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

"It's very, very sad," he said. "It hurts a lot."

The Flyer Comet, which featured a tunnel named the Black Hole, was Murphy's favorite part of visiting Whalom Park as a child.

"Without a doubt, when you reached the top on that first ride of the day, it was always a big rush," he said.

Murphy spent the afternoon wearing a Whalom Park Maintenance T-shirt and watching the bulldozer operator.

He also ran out frequently to nearby Lakefront Avenue, where a steady stream of drivers slowed to watch the demolition proceed.

Murphy kept bringing out scraps of wood from the falling coaster to drivers who wanted a memorial of Whalom Park.

"Everyone wants a piece, and you can't give it to everyone, but I'm trying," he said.

Charlton resident Alice Leeds, 68, who grew up a few blocks away from Whalom Park, snatched up a piece of the Flyer Comet's rails, as well as a floorboard from the now-demolished roller skating rink.

"We spent all of our time here. This was our very own playground," she said, holding up a plank of wood. "This right here is our childhood."

Leeds said she is unhappy with the decision to raze the park for condos, saying an influx of residents will cause traffic headaches in the neighborhood, where several of her family members still live.

Leominster resident Sheila Roy, 48, whose daughter worked at Whalom Park, also said she is sad to see it go.

"I'm not a big fan of the condo idea at all," she said.

Fitchburg resident Bobby Lupis, 32, said he was an assistant manager for rides and food service at the park in the 1990s.

"It hurts to see it gone," he said, while watching the demolition. "There's no place to bring your family anymore, unless you want to travel."

The Flyer Comet, with its views of Lake Whalom, was the main attraction of the park, Lupis said.

"The roller coaster had a mind of its own," Lupis said. "When it got to the top, it was like it said, 'If I want the brakes to work, they'll work. If not, everyone's getting another ride.'"

Lunenburg resident Rita Ragusa, 80, came to watch the demolition after seeing coverage of it on television news broadcasts Wednesday, she said.

"We used to come here every Friday night, and you could always get one thing, like fried clams, after dinner," she said. "We came with our friends and tried everything. I miss that. When I come by here, I think of that."

The roller coaster served as a big symbol of all the attractions inside the Whalom Park gates, said Dick Wise, 78, of Leominster.

"It was everything, the roller coaster, the roller skating rink, the ballroom dancing, the big-band music," he said. "At one time it was a very busy place. But times do change."


Disassembling Whalom Park
By James Downing
Date: 10/11/06
Source: Sentinel and Enterprise


LUNENBURG -- Workers began demolishing buildings at the former Whalom Park Tuesday, tearing down the roller skating rink and the ballroom, according to Carl Pearson, vice president of Global Property Developers Corporation.
"We have started our demolition program at Whalom Park," Pearson said in a phone interview. "The buildings will be removed from the park over the next four weeks, with the exception of the four buildings that are currently under the demolition delay bylaw."

The merry-go-round, two historic cottages and a historic house are the structures temporarily saved from demolition under the bylaw, Pearson said.

Global Property Developers is constructing a 240-unit condominium project at the site.

No workers could be seen at the site at 4:15 p.m., but piles of boards and other materials stood where the rink and ballroom used to be, and were visible from the street.

Pearson said he did not know how long it will take to build the 240 condominium units and accompanying commercial space.

Planning Board members praised the start of demolition at the park.

"I think it will be a benefit for the town, it will upgrade the town," Planning Board chairman Lynn Sallee said Tuesday.

Global's plan originally called for finishing work he condominiums within three years, but it would likely take a little longer as they are not likely to begin construction this year with winter approaching, Sallee said.

The project is also currently embroiled in a lawsuit.

The suit alleges the Planning Board violated open meeting and state zoning laws, as well as the Lunenburg overlay district in which the development is based. The overlay district is a special area allowing higher-density projects containing both residential and commercial components.

Sallee defended the board's and developers' actions, saying all guidelines were followed.

Pearson declined to comment on the suit.

The plaintiffs' homes would be affected negatively by the entrance to the development on Route 13, according to the plaintiffs' attorney, June Riddle.
"Whatever they do, they do at their own risk," she said of the demolition.
Planning Board member James Halloran echoed Sallee in saying the Planning Board -- which along with Global is named as a defendant -- followed due process.

Halloran said the development would be nothing but beneficial for the town, noting that it would be better than the decaying amusement rides and former concession stands that are there now. 

"As for my personal feelings, it's going to be a big improvement over what's already there," he said. "It gives the townspeople a place to go when they feel they can no longer keep up their own properties."

The development will also increase housing options in Lunenburg, he said.

Halloran said there was an effort to save Whalom Park, which ultimately failed, but he thought the park was on its way out 25 years ago.

"I was only there a couple of times," he said. "I thought to myself it was a failing business. It was something that was dying a slow death."

Selectman Tom Alonzo said he thought the process of how the development came about was fine, but he would have liked to see a smaller number of units.

"I think it's overwhelming for the area," he said.


Possible condos may keep Whalom theme
Date: 6/3/2005
Source: Sentinel and Enterprise

The Whalom Park theme may live on despite development, according to the park’s potential buyer.

Developer John Callahan said he expects to build upscale condominiums on the site of the former amusement park. However, the development may contain some Whalom Park artifacts, he indicated.

Whalom Park sale can move forward
Date: 6/2/2005
Source: Sentinel and Enterprise

The settlement of an ongoing lawsuit means the sale of the now-closed Whalom Park can go forward, according to one of the attorneys involved in the case.

Attorney Scott Fenton of Worcester, who represents the Whalom Park Amusement company, which owns the abandoned amusement park on Lake Front Avenue, said the closing date for the property is in early 2006.

Tuesday, May 11, 2004
CRANRAIL CORPORATION ASSETS TO BE SOLD AT AUCTION

Crainrail, the company that operated Edaville USA for the past few years, is selling off its assets in an auction scheduled for Thursday, May 13. Among the items on the block will be the Tumble Bug that Cranrail had purchased from Whalom Park some time ago. Whalom's Tilt-a-Whirl and Hershell Astronaut (kiddie) ride are also up for bids. Auction details are available from www.kaminskiauctions.com/edaville.htm.

Money Raised from *Whales* Returned to Enthusiasts

December 2003

Dear Friends,

I want to thank those of you who supported the effort to Save Whalom Park by buying a Whale. Your financial contribution gave much more than money to the project. It showed the spirit of the community, the belief and the desire that Whalom could capture the imaginations of children for another century.

Many of the checks I received were accompanied by notes: memories of loved ones met at the Park, or of loved ones lost who had worked at Whalom. There were nostalgic stories of other parks torn down for development in other states across the country. These letters motivated me to continue working on the larger effort to build a coalition of investors and financiers to restore and reopen the park. Thank you.

I began the Buy a Whale campaign two years ago, in January of 2002. The efforts to save the Park began even before, when Whalom closed and the property was put up for sale at the end of the 2000 summer season. Now, as 2004 approaches and the fate of the property remains in limbo, I feel it is time to return your money.

As such, letters with a check enclosed were sent out on Tuesday, December 9, 2003 to all enthusiasts who had bought Whales. I wish, with all my heart, that I could be sending you season passes to the Park, instead of your money. But for many reasons, those that have been made public, and those that never will, it has not come to pass.

If at some point in the future it does, I hope that you will remember the same sentiments that led you to contribute this time, and join us again. Until then, hold onto those pictures and those memories of Whalom, or of any bygone place that makes you nostalgic for your youth.

Sincerely,
Allyson Bowen

LOCAL BATTLES
Fighting off the amusement sharks
Jan 10. 2002
BY MIKE MILIARD

Since its opening in 1893, Lunenberg’s Whalom Amusement Park, with rides like the wooden Flyer Comet Coaster and the Tumble Bug, has been a favorite summer fun spot for generations — and a humble yet dignified rejoinder to brash young upstarts like Six Flags New England. In September 2000, however, "the playground of central New England" was put up for sale and has since remained closed.

But its owner, Whalom Park Amusement Company, has yet to sell the 33-acre site. An auction slated for January 8 was canceled, but another is scheduled for February. When that day comes, there’s a good chance the new owners will prefer the filthy lucre of real-estate development to the charm of the carousel. So a group of true believers is mounting a last-ditch effort to reopen the place true to its original glory.

True-believer-in-chief Allyson Bowen is heading up Save Whalom Park (SWP), an organization trying to cobble together the many millions needed to make a viable bid. The bulk of the group’s financing comes from a handful of people, with some ponying up as much as $100,000. But Bowen is also enlisting the public’s help: anyone with fond recollections of lazy summer days at Whalom can buy a "whale" for $50. In addition to helping SWP reach its goal, the purchase of a "whale" gives the owner discounts on admissions passes if and when the park reopens. Bowen hopes to make $500,000 from whale sales. (If the money isn’t raised, or if SWP is outbid, all donors will be reimbursed.)

Bowen sees four equally valid reasons to buy a whale: "First, you’ll be preserving a part of our cultural, architectural, and local history. Whalom is one of the 10-oldest amusement parks in the country, and it’s right in our back yard. Second, you’ll get discounts at the park next season. Third, you’ll be impacting the economic well-being of the community by creating jobs. Finally, on a gut level, this is for people who can’t stand the thought of having condos or a strip mall or some other noxious development built where they remember riding a roller coaster or eating cotton candy."

If the group succeeds in purchasing the park in the next month or so, "we could conceivably open for the 2002 season," Bowen says. "It would be a lot of work, but it’s doable."

Police: Teens set fire at Whalom Park

March 21, 2002

By Benjamin Cole

bcole@sentinelandenterprise.com

LUNENBURG -- After a three-week investigation aided by a hotline tip, police will file charges against four teens for allegedly setting the fire that razed a Whalom Park building on March 2.

The three-alarm blaze destroyed the park's 70-year-old ballroom. Damage to the building was estimated at $500,000.

The Lunenburg police and fire departments, state troopers from the office of the state fire marshal, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms conducted a joint investigation of the fire, which was deemed to be arson shortly after it occurred.

The investigation was aided by a tip phoned in to the state's Arson Hotline, police said.

"The successful conclusion of this investigation was as a result of information received on the Arson Hotline," Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said in a press release. "This shows how important community involvement is in solving the serious crime of arson."

Charges against four juveniles will be filed in Fitchburg Juvenile Court. Police allege that the youths, one age 15 and the others 16, illegally entered several buildings on the Whalom Park premises and lit the fire that destroyed the ballroom.

Two days after the blaze officials were calling it arson, after ruling out several other possible causes and taking into account several minor fires set in other buildings around the park.

Twelve engines and three ladder companies from Lunenburg, Fitchburg, Leominster and Townsend -- more than 90 firefighters -- fought the ballroom blaze, which fire officials could have easily spread to nearby wooden structures. No fire alarms or sprinklers were installed in the ballroom because they were not required when it was built.

Mutual aid at the Lunenburg station was provided by the Ayer and Ashby fire departments.

"I want to thank the communities who provided mutual aid the night of March 2 and commend the members of the fire investigation team who worked together all month to solve this case," said Lunenburg Fire Chief Dennis Carrier.

One of the youths charged with setting the fire is from Lunenburg, and the others are from area communities, Carrier said.

People rally for Whalom Park

By Bob Green


bgreen@sentinelandenterprise.com

March 10, 2002.

LUNENBURG -- One day last summer, Tom Ford and his family set out from their home in Newton for Whalom Park. But when they arrived they found the amusement park closed down, its front gates padlocked.

Ford returned Saturday to lend support to a grassroots campaign that is seeking to preserve the 108-year-old park.

"It's not fancy, but what this place is is a living museum," he said about the place he first visited in 1948, when his aunt and uncle took the 3-year-old Ford for a day of fun while his mother was giving birth.

He was among the 35 people at the intersection of Whalom Road and Electric Avenue toting signs with slogans like "Coaster or Condos?" and "Skeeball or Strip Mall?" and handing leaflets to passersby. Organizers of the "Save Whalom Park" campaign are hoping to raise money to buy the park from Whalom Park Amusement Co., which has reportedly signed a sales agreement with a developer.

James Gravallese, who grew up in Leominster, made frequent visits to the park as a child and is concerned that others might not be able to do the same.

"This place has a lot going for it," said the Littleton resident. "They just need someone with some money to come in here and help out."

Allyson Bowen, whose family owned a majority interest in the park for 60 years, organized Saturday's rally. She is attempting to raise $500,000, with donors receiving discounted tickets if and when the park reopens. To date, she has taken in $35,000. Bowen is also negotiating with banks and seeking out larger investors.

Last Saturday, a fire that authorities believe was deliberately set burned the park's ballroom -- built in 1933 -- to the ground. No arrests have been made.

The ballroom's charred remains are visible from Lakefront Avenue. Standing a short distance away, the park's wooden roller coaster was scorched by the blaze but did not suffer any structural damage.

Bowen said she was motivated to organize the rally after hearing comments following the fire.

"People said to me, 'I'm so sorry it's over,' but it's not over," she said. With the fire drawing people's attention, Bowen felt the time was right to build support for the preservation effort.

Many at the rally spoke of their dedication to the cause.

"I told (Bowen) if the park needed any fixing, I'd be willing to paint and help out in any way," said Linda Graham, of Gardner. Dressed in a clown suit, Graham compared the thrill of a childhood trip to Whalom Park to a visit to Disney World.

Kevin Coutermarsh, who drove to the rally from his home in Nashua, N.H., has been searching the Internet for amusement park rides to rent and has kept Bowen informed of his progress.

Admitting that he might be in the minority, Coutermarsh, a roller coaster enthusiast, said he would rather spend a day at Whalom Park than one of the more modern parks.

His brother, Michael, agreed: "This place still has a lot of rides that other parks have gotten rid of."

Bob Cornellier said he would make the hour-and-a-half trip from Hinsdale, N.H., to Whalom Park five or six times a year. What sold him on the park was the manageable crowds, the gentle, children-friendly rides and the prices.

"Family parks like this are on the way out, and if we don't save them we won't have anything but Six Flags (amusement parks) left," said Bob Cornellier. "And some people aren't able to afford them."\

Information about the campaign to save Whalom Park can be found on the organization's Web site, www.savewhalompark.com.

Fire destroys Whalom ballroom

By Benjamin Cole

bcole@sentinelandenterprise.com

LUNENBURG -- A three-alarm fire late Saturday, deemed suspicious by officials, destroyed the historic 70-year-old ballroom at Whalom Park.

Arson investigators called the park a crime scene yesterday and officials from the state fire marshal's office are expected to continue searching for a cause today, according to published reports.

The Lunenburg Fire Department responded to multiple calls reporting the blaze around 11 p.m. Saturday. On arrival, firefighters found the ballroom and restaurant fully engulfed in flames, fire officials said.

Twelve engines and three ladder companies from Lunenburg, Fitchburg, Leominster, Shirley and Townsend fought and quickly contained a blaze that could have easily spread to the many nearby wooden structures at the former amusement park, including the park's signature Flyer Comet roller coaster, which stands less than 10 yards away from the ballroom. The coaster was reportedly scorched by the flames.

The Ashby and Ayer Fire Departments covered the Lunenburg station during the blaze.

The fire was under control by 11:37 p.m., but firefighters remained on the scene throughout the night.

"Indications are it's suspicious," Lunenburg Fire Chief Dennis M. Carrier told the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester Sunday.

There were no injuries as a result of the fire.

During the Big Band era, the Whalom ballroom was a popular dance hall; top local orchestras and big-name entertainers performed there over the course of many years. In 1963, the banquet hall was set up to cater meals for large groups.

The Whalom Amusement Park was one of the last remaining 19th-century trolley parks in the nation. It had been in continuous seasonal operation for 107 years before for the 2001 season, when for the first time in its history, the park did not open.

In January, an unnamed buyer signed a purchase and sale agreement with Whalom Amusement Park Co. to develop the land, but likely not as an amusement park.

Despite the purported sale, efforts to raise money to save the park have been continued by Allyson C. Bowen of Westminster, whose family owned a majority interest in the park for 60 years.

Whalom Park created memories

Monday, February 11, 2002

George Barnes

BARNESTORMING

To me, the Winter Olympics bring out good feelings and memories.

There are always so many good moments during the games. I recall with fondness the Jamaican bobsledders, Eddie Eagle, the British ski jumper who was short on talent and long on heart, and daring downhill races.
OK, sure, there is now a little too much professionalism in the Olympics. (Admit it, if the U.S. hockey team wins the gold, it won't be the same as when we used to field an amateur team.) There also has been far too much focus on Americans in events at the expense of the top international athletes, but there will still be plenty of chances for great moments this year.

This kind of happiness and good memories are what we live for. Our ordinary existence is made more bearable by the occasional great time or good memory.

Long before television made it easy for us to find entertainment and good moments without leaving our homes, places such as Whalom Park were crowded with people having fun.

Whalom Park may soon be sold, bulldozed and paved over, but when it was operating, the Lunenburg amusement park was a place of fond memories for many people.

Allyson Bowen's family owns a minority share in the park. Although they were forced to agree with the sale of their ownership of the park to avoid bankruptcy, they don't want to see it torn down and replaced by a housing development.

Ms. Bowen spearheads a campaign to save the park, seeking donations from people who share her view that the park is worth keeping.

But Ms. Bowen may have finally run up against an insurmountable wall with the recent announcement that the park's owners and a potential buyer have signed a purchase and sale agreement. The deal seems to be near completion, but she still holds hope that the developer will back out of the project or be forced to negotiate a lower price her family can match or exceed.

What keeps her spirits up in the face of continuing bad news about the park's future are the people who responded to her “Save the Park” campaign. Attached to checks, she has received a flood of letters from residents urging her to fight on. Many also shared their fond memories of the park.

One woman from Leominster wrote that she met her husband in 1939 at the park's roller-skating rink. They married two years later and raised four children. They often returned to the park with their children on Saturdays and Sundays and hope to take their grandchildren there.

One woman who grew up in the Whalom area said she would help clean the park in the spring if it was reopened.

Many of the people who wrote to Ms. Bowen have deep connections to the park. Others have never been there, but love old, smaller amusement parks. They hate to see that type of Americana lost to development.

The campaign has involved unique financing. If the park is saved, it will be saved by small investors. Anyone donating $50 to Ms. Bowen's program was offered one free general-admission pass to the park for the entire year and a 25-percent discount on a season pass for the next season. If $100 was donated, the donor received a free general-admission pass to the park for one year and either a 25-percent discount on four all-day ride and slide passes or a 25-percent discount on two season passes for the next operating season.

All the money will be returned if the bid is unsuccessful -- and it appears now that the park will likely be sold. For many who wrote Ms. Bowen, the free passes were not the reason they sent money -- it was the memories.

One woman who grew up in Lowell talked about visiting Whalom Park and other small parks, including The Enchanted Forest (now The Great Escape) in Glens Falls, N.Y., Lake View Park in Tyngsboro, Canobie Lake Park in Salem, N.H., and Pine Island Park in Manchester, N.H. She said she visited Whalom Park as a child, returned with her children and donated in the hope she could take her grandchildren there. Others who had no money to give offered their labor if the park was reopened and to help advertise the fund-raising effort on their Web pages on the Internet.

There were many letters and e-mails from people who had family connections to the park as well. One man worked with Ms. Bowen's father when they were teen-agers. Another woman worked at the park as a cashier in 1983 and first went to the park as a customer in 1965. Another man is the great-grandson of a worker who assisted in the reconstruction of the Flying Comet roller coaster. He said it was something he took pride in mentioning.

The people who wrote are from every walk of life. Some are wealthy. Others could not afford to donate, but they shared memories of the little amusement park in their back yard.

There is still a lot of money to be made building and selling housing. Every scrap of land is being snapped up; you can't fault people for wanting to make money.

But at some point, we need to step back and take stock of what we are losing. Whalom Park is a place of good moments, of irreplaceable childhood memories. Those places are worth preserving.

Save Whalom Park raises $13,000 toward $500,000 goal

January 18, 2002 Fitchburg Sentinel

LUNENBURG -- The campaign to buy back Whalom Park has raised $13,000, according to Allyson C. Bowen of Westminster.

Bowen is leading a group of investors selling packaged discount packages, called "whales," for $50 and $100, with the hope of raising $500,000 toward purchasing the park. The money raised would be part of a larger financial plan for restoring and reopening the park next spring.

If the park reopens, the discounts can be applied to admission or rides. If the effort to save the park fails, the money will be returned to the contributors, Bowen said.

The investors have publicized the fund-raising effort through the American Coaster Enthusiasts, an organization with members across the country, Bowen said.

Most of the financial support comes from people living in Massachusetts, Bowen said, but many contributions have been received from people in Arizona, California and Florida.

The park directors have approved the selling the park and are negotiating with a prospective buyer.

However, Bowen said, so far as she knows no agreements have been signed and she believes the investors still have time to meet their goal.

People who want to contribute to the effort, she said, can send checks made out to "Save Whalom Park," to the Enterprise Bank & Trust Co. in Leominster, where an account has been established.

-- ANDRIENNE CLARK

There's still time to save Whalom Park

February 07, 2002 Fitchburg Sentinel

If you have a chance to read the latest newsletter from Historic Massachusetts, entitled "Preservation and People," you will see Whalom Park's rare, 1939 wooden roller coaster prominently featured on our cover. Whalom Park is listed on our Ten Most Endangered Statewide Properties list this year. We, as the statewide nonprofit historic preservation organization in Massachusetts, are very concerned about preserving this wonderfully historic treasure. This old amusement park should be saved for historical, cultural and, most obviously, nostalgic reasons. It's still not too late - we as a community, one that remembers all the great times in the park, have to act. As the former director of Preservation Worcester and now acting in that same capacity at Historic Massachusetts, I have witnessed development deals fall apart. This isn't a deal until it closes, and that hasn't happened yet.
We need to rally around the effort to Save Whalom Park. My personal interest in Whalom Park is as a historic site. But, unlike many historic sites with which I have had no personal contact, Whalom is different. My class trip as a freshman in high school - many years ago - was to Whalom. I still remember rolling around in the barrel in the funhouse. Years later, my family and another family would pack all our kids in the car and spend every Labor Day at the Park. The kids always looked forward to the annual outing. I'm sure so many people have these same great memories. It would be such a shame to lose the park. We've already lost too many amusement parks to development.

With nostalgia in vogue, we have to resist losing such treasures as Whalom Park. We never appreciate the loss until it's gone. Let's not lose another gem. There is an organized group called Save Whalom Park. You should contact them and see what you can do to help.

JAMES W. IGOE

Preservation of Whalom is government's responsibility

February 08, 2002 Fitchburg Sentinel

Whalom Park, one of the nation's last "trolley car" amusement parks, is in trouble. Its decline is marked by the paint peeling on the Whalom Park ballroom and missing carousel horses. Supporters are making a last-ditch effort to save this last piece of Americana.

Whalom Park was not helped by the condition of the public roads around it. The infrastructure was allowed to go to seed. Whalom Park Boulevard is pockmarked and pitted. A rusty chain-link fence keeps residents from the lake. The public fishing piers are off-limits. The boulevard is an eyesore.

How could this have been allowed to happen? Why weren't public moneys used to maintain the infrastructure around this central Massachusetts tourist attraction? Were locally elected politicians indifferent to the needs of Whalom Lake? Did the Big Dig suck all expenditures eastward?

In New Hampshire, a state known for its penny-pinching ways, we value our tourist sites. The Weirs Beach boardwalk on Lake Winnipesaukee was been rebuilt several times during the time Whalom Lake Boulevard was lost. There is even an effort to restore the original Weirs Beach sign. State moneys are also spent on the sea wall at Hampton Beach. While we begrudge such expenditures, we realize the value of tourist attractions to the state's economy.

As individuals in the private sector are being solicited to buy "whales" in an effort to save venerable Whalom Park, local and state governments should come forward with public moneys to return Whalom Lake Boulevard to its former glory.

STEVE LINDSEY



November 7, 2001

Investors hope to purchase, reopen Whalom Park

November 07, 2001By Andrienne ClarkStaff

WriterLUNENBURG -- A group of investors, led by the Bowen family, plan to purchase Whalom Park at an upcoming foreclosure sale and reopen it as an amusement park next year.

Whalom Park did not open last spring for the first time in its history.

If investors are successful in buying the property, they plan to reopen the park on Easter Sunday -- the park's traditional opening day. The date the park reopens depends, however, on when the foreclosure sale becomes final, Allyson Bowen, a family spokesman, pointed out.

Besides John A. Bowen and his wife, Beth Bowen, investors include New England businessmen and people within the amusement park business, according to Bowen. Equity investors backed by independent funding from other sources will finance the purchase, Bowen said.

Earlier this year the Bowen family, which owns 41 percent of the company, tried to buy out other minority stockholders. That offer was rejected.

"It's disappointing it had to come to this when we were poised to buy the property six months ago," Bowen said.

Diversified Credit Extension Corp. is foreclosing on the property due to an alleged breach of conditions of a mortgage given to Boston Concessions Group by the Whalom Park Amusement Co.

The foreclosure sale will be held at 11 a.m. Dec. 6 at the park on Route 13.

Boston Concessions Group in Cambridge, which ran the food concession at the park, is owned by Joseph O'Donnell, a minority shareholder in the amusement company and a member of the board of directors. O'Donnell is also, Bowen said, one of the people bidding to buy the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

The foreclosure terms do not specify a minimum bid, Bowen said, adding she believes it is unlikely a developer would bid on the property. The economy is declining, and the town planning office has received few telephone calls about the property.

Last winter and spring rumors circulated that developers wanted to buy the property, close the park and convert the land into some type of residential development. Marion M. Benson, chairman of the town's Planning Board, said at the time that the planning office had received a few inquiries about town zoning ordinances and how they might apply to the park. Interest, however, apparently never extended beyond initial inquiries.Whalom Park was recently included on the list of Massachusetts Ten Most Endangered Historic Resources, but the property has not been declared a landmark and the park could still be demolished if it were sold for development, an announcement from the investors stated.

"The Bowens respect the history and nostalgia of Whalom and plan to incorporate the historic rides and structures in their restoration of the 108-year-old park," the announcement said.

The park was built in 1893 by the Fitchburg & Leominster Street Railway Company, which created the "trolley park" as a way to increase profits by boosting its nighttime and weekend ridership.

Today, Whalom Park is a traditional amusement park with two dozen rides, some of which are rare, including the Tumble Bug, Whip, Flying Scooters and a 1939 wooden roller coaster. Impressive early structures include a turn-of-the-19th century roller skating rink and a Depression-era grand ballroom.

Anyone interested in becoming involved in the effort to save Whalom Park should send an e-mail to info@whalomparkcarousel.org or call (978) 874-0544.