Gift that goes around comes around
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
It was probably inevitable that Loretta Yajima would get her merry-go-round. For years, she dreamed of having a real old-time carousel.
Discovery Center founder and chief executive Loretta Yajima polishes a horse on the old-fashioned carousel donated by E.K. Fernandez Shows, in perfect answer to her wish and a perfect fit for an unused round room.
"I have always loved them," she said. "They symbolize all that's good about childhood, fantasy and imagination."
Although vintage merry-go-rounds are scarce, expensive and often not running, Yajima has a knack for making dreams come true in the face of impossible odds.
A decade ago, when she dreamed of transforming the city's abandoned and dilapidated Kaka'ako incinerator into a fantastic playground where children could learn and discover, even her staunchest admirers thought she was over the top.
"They said I was crazy," she said.
Today at 11 a.m., the 37,000-square-foot, $12 million Children's Discovery Center will celebrate its fifth birthday with a gala party — free cake, ice cream and all. And the No. 1 attraction will be the unveiling of a genuine, old-time, working carousel donated by the E.K. Fernandez Shows, Hawai'i's signature amusement company.
The party will feature genuine, old-time ticket prices: a nickel a ride.
This particular merry-go-round is an American classic, built in the 1950s by Allan Herschell Co. of North Tonawanda, N.Y. Herschell, who left Scotland for America in the mid-19th century and began making carousels in the 1870s, pioneered what's known as the "county fair" style carousels, which have horses with outstretched legs and flattened ears.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Herschell's portable carousels made it easier for small amusement park operators to transport them from fair to fair. Herschell also was an innovator of the mechanical organ that played the musical melodies associated with merry-go-rounds.
The "Little Beauty" Carousel, used at the E.K. Fernandez fairways until 1973, puts a new spin on the Children's Discovery Center.
The center's carousel is an example of the Herschell company's "Little Beauty" children's model. It's believed to be one of the only such models still in operation, Yajima said.
The center's acquisition of the rare carousel came about as the result of another birthday party: this year's 100th anniversary of the E.K. Fernandez Shows.
Yajima, the center's founder, president and CEO, said a member of the board of directors brought Scott Fernandez, president of E.K. Fernandez, to the museum one day and showed him the facility's round room. Designed to be a theater in the round, it sat empty. The theater never materialized and Yajima was considering turning the space into a square room for education.
"So we showed him this round room, and I said, 'You know, Scott, it has always been my dream to have a carousel," Yajima said. "And he said, 'Loretta, you shall have it.'"
Fernandez said he did not recall the incident exactly. He only knows that Yajima was convincing.
"She's wonderful with people," Fernandez said with a laugh. "She got a carousel out of me. If you go to the fair, you're lucky to get four free tickets out of me — she got a whole ride."
Yajima got more than a free ride. Fernandez's workers completely overhauled and refurbished the merry-go-round. Fernandez said he had no idea how much the carousel would sell for, but the refurbishing alone would cost tens of thousands of dollars.
• What: Fifth birthday party for the Hawai'i Children's Discovery Center. • Where: 111 Ohe St. near Kaka'ako Waterfront Park • When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today • Admission: $5 today only; bring a Toys for Tots gift to receive a discount coupon for a future visit.
The Herschell "Little Beauty" was purchased by his grandfather, E.K. Fernandez, in 1958, and used on the midway when his late father, Kane Fernandez, ran the company. It was phased out after the company bought a larger carousel in 1973, and sat in storage for years, he said.
At a glance
Today, "Little Beauty" lives up to its name, looking almost as if it just arrived from the Allan Herschell Co., which went out of business more than three decades ago.
For folks like Eric and Vicki Okamura of Hawai'i Kai, whose two children are among the 60,000 who visit the center each year, the addition can only enhance the wonderment.
"My kids already think the Discovery Center is great," said Eric Okamura. "I enjoy going there myself — I get to play kid with my kids."
The 20-horse children's carousel is 19 feet in diameter and fits perfectly in the center's round room, which measures 35 feet across, leaving an 8-foot walkway around.
"I don't know whether it's serendipity or just the way things are supposed to be, but the room looks like it was made for the carousel," Yajima said. "It fits perfectly. 'Little Beauty' has found her true home."
Fernandez agreed.
"I rode on it when I was a kid," he said. "It's brought a lot of smiles to people's faces over the years. I'm just glad to think that it could be bringing smiles to faces for a hundred years to come."
Reach Will Hoover at 525-8038 or whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.
