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What Trimper's Rides has meant to Ocean City and its visitors...
I have a favorite photograph which sits framed on the dresser in my bedroom. It was taken in July, 1971. It is a photo of me, with '70's long hair, holding my 15 month old daughter on a beautiful, white carousel horse on Trimper's antique Merry Go Round in Ocean City, MD. That 15 month old daughter now works for Maryland Life magazine, where I just read about the possible demise of Trimper's Amusement Park. Every time I go to Ocean City, I go back to look at that beautiful Merry Go Round to revisit the many happy memories that took place there. And, by the way, that daughter has gone on to be a fine equestrienne who now owns a few horses of her own.
I am not happy with the high rise condominiums and hotels invading the Boardwalk, and I fervently hope that Ocean City is wise enough to save not only Trimpers but also some of the beautiful historic hotels along the Boardwalk and in south Ocean City. ... Nancy Sponseller Fleshman
The lure of Trimper's ...the smells, sights, and sounds...is what brings my family and I back to Ocean City each summer. Having visited annually since I was a teen..and now bringing my wife and children....Trimper's is THE highlight of a trip to the beach. We need to find a way to keep this gem intact. Trimper's has provided so many memories over the years....I can recall as a teen the exciting ride on the old Wild Mouse, racing against my friends in the Indy 500 cars. And now, watching my own children's faces while they ride the Kiddie Whip. We simply cant afford to lose another traditional amusement park....it's a disturbing trend underway nationwide. These historic playlands can never be replaced.... ... John Coleman, Omaha, NE
I have been coming to OC for years with my family. When my moms chemo finished on my 40th birthday we made a girls weekend pact to spend every birthday there. The movie Violets are Blue was filmed there in the park.I have a picture of me on the same animal as SISSY and to me that photo is priceless. I notice everytime I go something old disapears.PLEASE DO NOT LET TRIMPERS GO. Please leave the inlet area alone and allow it to create new memories for others. Old OC is pretty much a memory now. WHO NEEDS THOSE D---N CONDOS ANYWAY. Money is not everything. Thanks for the memories.. ... Kandy, Baltimore
I have been going to OC my entire life. I am 45. I have enjoyed many rides on Trimpers amusements. So have my 3 children and my grandaughter. As well as my mom before me. OC would NOT be OC without Trimpers. If you take away Trimpers you might as well take away Thrashers and everything else that reminds us of the ocean and the wonderful times we have shared with our families. It is very very sad! Please EVERYONE e-mail everyone on the "save a landmark" list and let them know how you feel. ... Stephanie Bear, Delaware
I have so many fond memories of summers spent in Ocean City all my 35 years and the majority of them have to do with Trimper's. I just returned from a long weekend in OC with my wife and 2 children, ages 4 and 2, and the joy I was able to relive in their smiles and laughter was a beautiful memory I'll keep with me forever. Before we left for this trip I had made plans to photographically document the rides at Trimper's for posterity just in case our elected representatives don't come to their senses and allow Ocean City to lose its reason for being... sure the beach is nice but it wouldn't be worth the drive for a few hours in the sun.
Trimper's is what makes Ocean City fun and keeps me coming back. While I was photographing the rides I found myself welling up with tears as distinctive memories about each amusement brought back vivid images in my mind of a small me in my flip-flops boarding each one giddily apprehensive about what thrill I was going to encounter. By the time I got to shooting pics of my kids and my twin niece and nephew on the Snoopy airplanes, the Fairy Whip and the boats I had bittersweet tears on my cheeks, a smile on my face and a sorrowful lump in the pit of my stomach. Trimper's must be saved! Losing it would eliminate any need to go to the boardwalk whatsoever and losing it would be like losing a piece of ourselves! ... John Knott
"That amusement park is our soul." ... Rob Greenbaum
Trimper's and Ocean City are synonymous. It would be difficult to imagine one without the other. Much worse, it would be difficult to enjoy America's finest beach resort without the landmark institution that has given great joy so many for generations." ... Paul Russell
"Ocean City would lose a legacy by allowing Trimper's Rides and Amusements to close. I understand the difficult situation the Trimpers face. As many did, the Trimpers could have cashed in years ago with the demand for condos, but instead decided to keep the family business alive and running.
What is amazing is that all these years, it was the Trimpers and their extended families who made this park an amazing place to visit, year after year. It's not just the park, but the people and an organization that had prided itself in helping the community.
Many have seen it firsthand: the Trimpers bring to many local school events an entourage to volunteer and make sure every kid wins a prize. Numerous parades, athletic events and fundraisers have seen years of service by Granville and his father. They have helped thousands of people.
I thank the Trimpers for the lifetime of fond memories at their park -- as a kid, teenager, an adult and a parent. I thank Granville for keeping the tradition alive. It is appreciated by many.
I also thank Granville for watching us from "His Bench" every night to make sure his customers and employees were safe and having fun.
Condos and other businesses could never replace these cherished times. I plead to local government, the OCDC, the governor and the community: Make it right for them to stay. Delaware has lower taxes. I am sure that state would welcome a legacy with the Trimpers' track record." ... Matthew J. Odachowski
"We just moved here last fall, and I'd never been up close to your amusements until the weather turned warm recently. We'd been down on the beach, and I said something like, 'Shall we get a closer look at the amusements?' As we walked throught the storybook-like scene, I told my husband how unlike other places of its kind (Atlantic City and Wildwood, NJ, for example) Trimper's is. It was clean, pretty and staffed by just-aggressive-enough, enthusiastic people. I loved staring at the carousel - I stood there with a smile on my face, feeling nostalgic for the last time I was on one, probably (gulp) 40 years ago. I said I'd never be hesitant to bring any child there, what a wonderful job has been done keeping it up.
What a tragedy if you really are going to give up on it, but who could blame you? I just wanted to say, I read the history of Trimper's and it is a lovely story. If you can't find a way to make it feasible to continue, please accept my sympathy and thanks for a beautiful place which must hold so many memories for so many families, as well as your own." ... Joanie Brown
"It's an institution and an important part of our economy." ... Ocean City Mayor, Rick Meehan
"Please don't close. To me, when I think of Trimper's, I think of memories, not rides. I am 13 and it's been there all my life. I go to OC every year about 3 times and it's a memory. I really don't want you to close. I saw it on the news and I am still crying. Please don't close." ... Anonymous
"I was shocked and saddened to see that Trimper's may be a thing of the past. Our family has owned a nearby house for over 40 years and, since it is not our principal residence, they are taxing us out of existence. If you schedule a "tea party" on the docks I am sure you will get a large crowd." ... Rick Wright
"Ocean City's Boardwalk and rides is a great place for a family of all ages to have fun. If you want to relax and just sit back and enjoy, there are many benches where you can sit and have that Italian Ice or slice of pizza. I have been going here since I was a baby." ... Anonymous
"I really hope you can find a way to keep the Trimper's Rides property as is. My kids enjoyed the rides when they were little and I hope when I have grandchildren in the next few years that they can enjoy them just as much. It would not be Ocean City without Trimper's." ... Cheryl Peters
"I am an Atlanta resident but grew up in Maryland and spent every summer at Trimper's Rides. I have great memories of Trimper's over the years. I could never get enough of the land boats. I hope that you all stay in business. Ocean City will be dull without you." ... Jane Wells Abrams
I just read an article in the Washington Post that the Trimper family is thinking about closing the park. Please don't. It's a treasure not only to the people who live there, but to the millions of visitors, like myself, who have experienced it." ... Sherrill Berger
"Ahh, yes, the Whip. That was always my favorite ride at Ocean City. I'm from Baltimore, so I go to Ocean City every summer and Trimper's is definitely one of the must-visit spots every time! The carousel is awesome." ... Anonymous
"I just got back from a week in Ocean City, MD. I haven't been to many 'beach' amusement parks, but Trimper's is something else. They have several rides that have been at the park for generations and this carousel is one of them. They even have the old pipe organ that used to play the music for the carousel on display." ... Anonymous
"I want to help. I have gone to OC almost every summer for 30 years. Trimper's is an awesome family owned business, and we would not be willing to spend money in OC if it were not there. To whom can I write? How can I help? This is history being wiped out by big business and politics." ... Edith B. Taleb
The thought of future generations losing the opportunity to experience this special, romantic, and nostalgic icon is troubling. Long live Trimper's, both on the "Boards" and in the many fond memories within each of us.
There have been many changes since my grandfather moved my family to OC in 1924. The one change OC can't afford is to lose Trimper's Rides - it is Ocean City's single biggest asset in billing itself as a "family resort". ...Tony Villani, Jr. - OC Native now residing in Richmond, VA
After all, isn't that what keeps people coming back again and again? The promise of the familiar, the continuation of tradition. Trimper's provides all of these.
Having Trimper's close would be like losing a part of myself.
Trimper's is where she told me she loved me, and a year and a month later we are still going.
Besides the beach, the carousel is the next best thing in Ocean City. (Except for my family, of course!)
Where can you go for .50 and shoot a piano player in the butt, make squirrels jump and birds holler?
I had a blast after work. I even fell in love with a Parisian installing the funhouse there. I left Ocean City that fall to follow him to France for an unforgettable fall in Paris. I'm now 48 and visit Ocean City every summer with my family.
...August 1979. I was standing on the carousel supporting my 9-month-old daughter, Sara, on the horse as she was preparing to enjoy her very first merry-go-round ride. Mr. Trimper was walking throughout the carousel collecting tickets as the ride began. He saw Sara laughing delightedly as her horse went up and down, up and down. Mr. Trimper turned to me and asked, "First time?" I nodded yes. He smiled and said, "No charge" and moved on.
Some memories and places need to stay so no matter how much older we get we have a link to those simpler times.
If it weren't for Trimper's I would have never met and married my soul mate and had our two beautiful children together.
I came from Va. Beach, when all the games left the boardwalk, the hotels took over...Now Va. Beach has no soul, only hotels...The mayor wants casinos.
The loss of revenue for the restaurants and shops would be enormous-what are you thinking? You have something so unique and viable as a family attraction-you MUST preserve the Trimper rides
I have great memories of my father riding the merry-go-round with me when I was small. And I remember when he was so sick that we didn't know if he would live to see another summer and by the Grace of God he did. And when he did he wanted to take his first grandchild to go ride the rides most especially the merry-go-round. So After that night at Trimpers he died but he got to ride with his first granddaughter.
Four generations of my family have been coming to our favorite east coast resort ...I know that there are many tasks at hand for elected officials to tend to... The entire tourist community is counting on you. Show what you are made of and make a difference for this beloved "base of the boardwalk."
Trimpers is the only place that really attracts me back to OC. It was the only affordable memory of days gone by. Most places spend money to save historical landmarks not destroy it.
I took a picture back then and I took a picture again this year - what a great memory! It actually brought a tear to my eye seeing the happy faces of both my daughter as a 4 year old and my granddaughter at 3 being on the same ride!!
This wonderful simple (by today's big amusement park standards) amusement pavilion embodies the innocent joy that stays in the hearts of all who have spent time there. We can't let this place fade into the dust of time. We need places like this.
No Trimper's? Well, you might as well remove the boardwalk and Thrasher's and call the place Virginia Beach.
I caught this picture of a child's first ride on the Merry go round. She was laughing and smiling by the time it stopped. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
To think my kids could ride the same little boat and
scary haunted house rides I did, and look in the same funny mirrors - what a
sense of connection with the past and future...Trimpers Rides gives Ocean
City its sense of place. That's why we all keep coming back.
Trimpers IS Ocean City--there are other places with hotels and beaches but Trimpers is one of a kind. It is the reason we come to Ocean City.
The first night on vacation the entire family walks down the boardwalk telling stories of past years. After several blocks and many laughs, we finally arrive at Trimpers. We immediately run in front of the crazy mirrors as if we are 4 years old again.
I look at the colors and smell the smells and listen for the little sounds that will all be gone if Trimpers moves on to oblivion. I pray that what we have there now, will be there to last many more lifetimes to come, for our children and our children's children...and on and on...
...my wife and I, our 5 adult kids, and our 10 grandkids loved the bumper cars - rode them over and over.
I have my own little girls now. They love the beach, but they can go to the beach here in Virginia. They love the ice cream and French fries on the boardwalk, but I wouldn't drive five hours for it. You can play miniature golf anywhere. But the look on their faces that first time they zoomed around the turn on The Whip! That is what keeps us coming back to Ocean City...What Ocean City needs is to keep filling children with joy and wonder. What Ocean City needs is Trimper's.
My wife & I watched the historic Atlantic City Boardwalk destroyed by big business & government. Now MD government is going to destroy a true historical landmark in Ocean City. It sickens me...Being out of state I can't even vote them out - all of them from local to state. Sign me up for the Tea Party.
...it would not be the same without Trimpers! With all the money our government wastes every year, surely we can find some to save the things that are important to us, the special things we want to pass down from generation to generation.
...seeing this article made me think of all the great business men and friends I made all those many years ago, I'd like to think that they are partly responsible for who I turned out to be. Take care Mr. Trimper you have touched many including myself, OC will NEVER BE THE SAME.
I'll cast my stone in the pond in hope that the ripples it makes may influence someone that will help save a place close to my heart. I say this because I have devoted almost a Quarter of a century as the lead carpenter for Trimpers. I also Had the pleasure of running the Tidal wave coaster for seven of those years. I have seen so many happy faces and made so many friends in the public that I can't believe this may have to end as I know it. Behind the scenes I have preformed an amputation on one of the horses and made a nice new hickory leg so a young child could make a memory and perhaps a memory saved. The little things that all the employees do may go unseen but now I see that the public does notice the care that goes into making a park a happy safe clean place to spend an afternoon. Some nights when I ran the Coaster we would have to stay late to fix a problem into the wee hours so that we could open on time. You know the show must go on right. Also so much training for all of our staff. We have gone coast to coast and hours on hours learning safety and keeping up with all the mega parks and if I might say we did a dam fine job of it. We compete with all the big parks even the MOUSE and we brought back some of the prestigious training awards. An average day for most employees is 12 hours a day six days a week in the summer. And for some of the Trimper family that actually run the park the days just run into the next. The park has made it possible for me to go places and do things and meet people I may have never been able too. In closing my best Memories are the mornings when you walk through the building and the quiet echoes of the MILLIONS of people seem to ring in your ear and the smile that comes to your face and heart to know you're part of it. So folks come and enjoy I hope we can always be a part of your Ocean City experience. ...Fritz Pielert
I grew up in Pasadena Maryland, every summer meant catching crabs off our pier, lightning bugs and trips to Ocean City. Now I am 39 years old and live in Arizona. Nearly every summer we vacation back in Maryland with family, my sister, Bonnie lives in Berlin (Ocean Pines). So 15 minutes over the Route 50 bridge is heaven! Smells of ocean air, Thrashers french fries, Dumsers's ice cream and Trimpers rides. My sons are 13 and 11 and have been to Ocean City and the rides since they were 9 months old. It is a full circle feeling when you can bring your own children to the place that brought so much family joy and memories to you. I only hope that Trimpers will be around for my granchildren to enjoy and experience. Thank you. Andrea in Arizona.(Maryland will always be home to me).
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