Carousel group not just running in circles

Woodcarvers raise money for project

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo File Photo Robert Boyce, president of the Southern Maryland Carousel Group, stands at a recent event in Indian Head with an unpainted ‘‘Uncle Sam” horse and a photograph of the original horse, which was once on the carousel at Marshall Hall. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story   Adopt a carousel figure The Southern Maryland Carousel Group is seeking people to ‘‘adopt” carousel figures for the amusement ride planned for Laurel Springs Park on Route 488 in La Plata. Call Burkey Boggs at 301-934-1366 or Robert Boyce at 301-392-9620, or drop by the group’s shop 313 Charles St. in La Plata. Donations may be mailed to the Southern Maryland Carousel Group, P.O. Box 2227, La Plata, MD 20646.

The Southern Maryland Carousel Group is working hard to start a whole new set of memories about the ride on brightly painted horses, lions, giraffes and chariots to tunes played by an organ in Charles County at Laurel Springs Park just outside the town limits of La Plata.

The nonprofit carousel group has set up shop in the Davis building on Charles Street next to Martin’s service station in La Plata.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, residents are invited to drop by and watch master carvers create carousel figures that will adorn the merry-go-round they plan to build at the park.

La Plata residents and woodcarvers Robert Boyce and Burkey Boggs dropped by the town hall last week to ask the La Plata Town Council to ‘‘adopt” a carousel pony for $6,000. The group has raised between $10,000 and $11,000 toward the project, Boggs said, adding the Greater Waldorf Jaycees recently contributed $2,000 toward the cause.

Earlier this year, the council asked Boggs and Boyce to come back and discuss a donation from the town once they had raised some money for the project.

Although the mayor and council showed interest in the project when the group met with them Tuesday, they were still reluctant to donate the money to adopt a horse.

Mayor Gene Ambrogio suggested the group apply for a town grant.

‘‘I appreciate all that you’ve gone through to raise money for the project, but in the past the council has only made donations to the rescue squad and the fire department,” he said. ‘‘Anything else we usually handle with grants.”

Ward 4 Councilman Vic Eugene Newman complimented the men on the work they have accomplished in raising money for the project.

‘‘The last time that you were here I was kind of against it,” he said. ‘‘I felt that you couldn’t raise the money. We asked you to prove to us that you can raise money for the project, and you’ve come back and showed us that you can.”

The carousel group has already finished two horses, ‘‘Sundance” and ‘‘Miss Scarlet,” said Boyce, who serves as the group’s president.

Somerset Development Co. in Bel Alton adopted ‘‘Sundance,” and a carousel enthusiast in New York adopted ‘‘Miss Scarlet,” Boggs said, adding that people who adopt the figures also give them names.

The men are carving two more horses, and there are three more figures in the works, Boggs said. The Antique Arts Association of Charles County has adopted a rooster, he added.

The name of the people, businesses or organizations that adopt the carousel figures will be engraved on brass plagues affixed to the bases of the figures, Boggs said.

Many of the carousel figures will be replications of those that once adorned the Marshall Hall Amusement Park merry-go-round in Bryans Road. The park closed in the 1970s, and collectors from all over the country purchased the carousel figures.

The carousel group is not only aiming to build a 50-foot diameter merry-go-round with rows of figures, however. The ride will be housed inside a building that will contain a woodcarving and carousel museum, gift shop, snack bar, learning center and shop area where the Southern Maryland Woodcarvers will hold seminars and other functions, Boggs said.

‘‘This project is not going to fail,” Boggs told the council Tuesday, adding the town will gain tourism dollars from the project.

‘‘You have to look at the benefit to the town, the tourism dollars that will go into the town. La Plata will actually benefit,” he said.

Ambrogio suggested that the town might also be able to offer the group in-kind services to help launch the project.

The council will consider the group’s grant request during the July 18 meeting at the town hall.

‘‘This is an initiative that the town has to take,” Boggs said. ‘‘We’re willing to work with anybody in town to bring this to fruition.”

E-mail Nancy Bromley McConaty at nmcconaty@somdnews.com.