10 minute read
DARLENE BUECHEL
Bay Beach, Baby!
As a kid growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, no summer was complete without a trip to Bay Beach. Green Bay was less than an hour away from our Hilbert home, so several times a summer we would hop in the station wagon and set out for a funfilled day at the amusement park. Of course, planning and dreaming of Bay Beach was half the fun. The day before the trip Dad would gas up the station wagon and check the oil while the rest of us planned the picnic lunch. Gr ound bologna sandwiches and potato chips were usually standard fare, as well as Orange Crush soda and a Diet Tab f or Mom. Mom and Dad sent us to bed early the night before, but who could sleep knowing action and adventure was just around the corner? My brother Dennis would dream of the crashing and smashing of Bumper Cars, while sister Diane and I plotted what to do first—the Helicopter, Ferris Wheel, or Scrambler. The next morning we’d be dressed in a flash and slurp down our Captain Crunch in record time before starting the chorus of “Is it time yet?” Finally Mom and Dad would load the cooler and tell us to pile into the back seat. I was the middle child who never had to sit in the middle since I got easily car sick and needed to hang my head out the window like a Saint Bernard. Dennis and Diane would have a short spat about who got “stuck” in the middle, but soon enough we’d be on the road and the chorus of, “ Ar e we there yet?” would begin. by Darlene Buechel
Diane (left) and Darlene braved the Zippin Pippin.
A cheer of joy filled the air as we pulled into the Bay Beach parking lot. Dad would stand in the ticket line while the rest of us headed to the bathrooms. Bay Beach has always been affordable fun. Back then tickets were 10 cents each and our eyes always bugged out when Dad returned with a stream of golden tickets longer than we were.
Bay Beach hours zipped by at lightning speed and soon enough we’d load our sunburned selves back into the station wagon for the much quieter ride home. Most trips ended with more tickets than time, but that only meant we had to make a return trip before school started again.
My kids, born in 1985 and 1987, spent many summer days at Bay Beach when they went with Gr andma and Gr andpa Totzke. My parents were brave enough to take all six grandkids and since tickets were still a dime in the 1990s they could have a fun day and not break the bank. They usually ate a picnic lunch, too, and made sure to bring plenty of extra bread or donut holes to feed the flocks of pigeons on the Bay Beach grounds. Fast forward a few decades and I’m going along to Bay Beach with my Fun was had by all on a trip to Bay Beach in Green Bay last August.
daughter Dani, son-in-law Mark, and grandkids Maverick and Ax el. When I tagged along on Satur day, Aug. 10, 2019 Bay Beach was still fun, exciting, and affordable. Ti ckets were now 25 cents each and some rides required more than one ticket, but it was still a big entertainment bargain.
We agreed to meet my sister Diane, brother-in-law Pat, and their 20-month granddaughter Ril ey at Bay Beach on that warm (but not humid) Satur day. Diane and Pat had charge of cute little Ril ey while her parents were in Door Count y so they thought it might be a good time to introduce the toddler to her first amusement park. Axel, almost 6, planned to accompany Ril ey on the Ladybug, B oats, and a few other “little kid” rides, but Riley was a bit too scared. Stil l, she went on the train and braved the helicopter with Gr andpa Pat. Ril ey also enjoyed a carousel ride with her grandpa, so much that she didn’t want to get off! Grandpa just shelled over more tickets and—problem solved— another fun ride for the toddler. After that Ril ey spent over an hour on the free playground equipment and enjoyed a good lunch.
As for the bigger kids, Maverick (9½) was gung-ho for the Zippin Pippin along with his mother Danielle. Ax el didn’t quite make the four-foot height requirement, but he did the Falling Star, Sea Dragon, and Yo-Yo (Big Swings) for the first time.
My sister Diane readily agreed to try out the roller coaster, so I took a deep breath and jumped out of my comfort zone to join them. Introduced to Bay Beach in 2011, the Zippin Pippin is one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the U.S. and it was Elvis Presley’s favorite when it was located in Libert yland Amusement Park in Memphis, Tennessee. While Elvis probably chowed down a few peanut butter and banana sandwiches before squeezing onto the Zi ppin Pippin on Aug. 8, 1977 (just eight days before his death), I was glad I’d only had a plain banana for breakfast on Aug. 10, 2019. Danielle and my grandson Maverick were strapped in the coaster car just ahead of Diane and I. Maverick looked back and grinned at us oldsters just before the coaster took off. Later , when asked about his favorite Bay Beach ride, it was no surprise that Mav mentioned the roller coaster. “ I loved the Zi ppin Pippin. Gr andma screamed the whole time, but it’s not even that scary!” Mav grinned. I loved the roller coaster too, but the 2,500-foot long ride with hills of between 35 and 70 feet was indeed scary to me. My sister Diane agreed the Zi ppin Pippin was a blast. “Best dollar I’v e spent in a while,” she said. Diane also said she liked watching her great-nephew Maverick be the brave kid showing the old folks how it’s done. Later we asked Axel what he liked best about the day. “My favorite was the Bumper Cars because I got to ride with Mama and crash into Maverick like 1,000 times!” Ax el said. I guess that is a win-win to finally get to sock it to your big brother. I hav en’t mentioned all the rides we conquered, but in a flash it was almost
4 p.m. and time to hit the road— another successful Bay Beach trip in the books. Later I texted Diane and her summary of the day was spot on. “I think places like Bay Beach are great because they’re innocent fun and because they’re generational. I love that we can pass it on and still enjoy
going 50 years after a first visit.” The late, great Elvis Presley was once asked his feelings on leaving a legacy. “Do something worth remembering,” Elvis said. I’d say a trip to Bay Beach—complete with a ride on The King’s favorite roller coaster—will be remembered for many years to come.
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