4 minute read
The Screaming Mimi
Screams filled the air and H. Scott Taylor grinned. His new slide was dubbed the Screaming Mimi in honor of his mother, Mimi, and screaming thrill seekers.
From 1952 and into the 1970’s, swimmers could brave the ride at Star Plunge for 10 cents. Those who dared – or were dared - lugged a heavy wooden cart with metal wheels up steps built into the side of the red hill. An attendant greeted the rider and helped set the cart on the metal tracks. The attendant then held the cart steady with their foot while the thrill seeker would situate themselves on the cart. Once the rider was seated upright, the attendant would release the sled, often giving the cart an extra boost with a hard push.
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The ride started off on a level slope and quickly accelerated as the track’s descent grew steeper. The speed would continue building so that when the rider hit the mineral hot pool, the cart would skim over the water. The more adventurous riders pulled back on the handles and laid down. This made the sled buck and hop over the water, much like a skipping rock.
“We would have contests,” Scott’s daughter-in-law, Kathy, remembered. “We would go down as fast as we could to try and hit the far wall.”
If someone hit the far wall of the pool, they would win 12 free rides. It wasn’t an easy feat, “In all the years we worked at the Star,” Wedgwood, Scott’s son, said, “only once did I see someone make it to the wall. That was one in a thousand who went the distance!”
H. Scott Taylor, who dreamed up the Screaming Mimi, was an idea man from back East. He attended Dartmouth and Cornell with plans of becoming a master apple tree pruner. During his years in college, his best friend and roommate set him up with a blind date in Thermopolis. This changed the direction of his life when the date was successful and he married Ercil Thompson.
After World War II and having served in the Navy, Scott tried his hand at managing a chicken farm in Connecticut with his wife Ercil. When he decided that wasn’t what he wanted in life, he borrowed money from his mother-in-law and the young married couple bound a train for Hot Springs County where
As for the Star Plunge, it was sold to Wolfgang Luehne and his family in the 1970’s. The Screaming Mimi was eventually sold to a water park in Denver where it remains as a popular attraction. Wolfgang’s son Roland continues to run the pool to this day.
Today, the Star Plunge boasts a large outdoor slide for the brave of heart. Visitors can grab a mat and hike up to the top of the red bluffs before sliding down in a thrilling ride into the hot water below.
Star Plunge, Screaming Mimi Courtesy of Wedg Taylor
they had just bought the Star Plunge.
The Star Plunge featured just one indoor pool in a wooden building. Scott built an outdoor pool and grew his business. He was passionate about water safety and swimming, paying out of his own pocket for instructors so he could offer free lessons to local kids.
During this time, he was hired as the Superintendent of the Hot Springs State Park and oversaw the growth of the park as well. After quitting the park over a dispute about a new bridge, Scott continued to run the Star Plunge and investing in his community. He even introduced the first cable television to the county and Wedg recalls burying the cable lines for the new service.
With a business partner, Scott bought land just north of the Hot Springs State Park. This property had its own hot springs for his private use.
In 1993, Wedg and Kathy moved to the Red Ranch Retreat. They took over the operation of the property after Scott and Ercil passed away. Today, the couple run the Red Ranch Retreat and rent out the hot springs pond for a private swimming experience in the world famous mineral hot springs.
“Dad said it was the best business investment he made that didn’t work out,” Wedg said, gesturing to the pond where Kathy has taught generations of local kids how to swim. “It is a lot of work but well worth it.”
