What Goes Up Did Come Down ...

What is it that used to go up really slow, hesitate, and then swoosh downward really fast? Lots of things I am sure. However the first time such an occurrence happened to me was in 1946. But as usual, I am getting ahead of the story so allow me to restart.

We always loved driving from Beaumont down to Port Arthur. Especially we enjoyed visiting Pleasure Island. This was an 18 mile long man-made body of land located across the canal from downtown Port Arthur. The U. S. Corps of Engineers created the island from deposits dredged while constructing the Port Arthur Canal, completed in 1899, and the Sabine Neches Intracoastal Waterway, completed in 1908. A small dance hall and a roller coaster were constructed in 1913. In 1941, the Pleasure Pier Ballroom, a midway, and the largest roller coaster in the south were completed.

Anyway one day in 1946, Dad drove his family in our old 1938 Plymouth down to Port Arthur. After cruising along the street that ran along side of the canal, we crossed over the drawbridge and entered the Pleasure Pier Island area.

We walked along the midway looking at all the rides and the booths. A funny thing happened that day that has stayed with me all these years. There was a man standing on a small stage with a public address system. He was selling pots and pans. He told everyone to gather around and watch him fry an egg on his lap. So we stopped and watched. The salesman heated up a skillet on a little one-burner gas stove. Then he sat in a chair and spread a newspaper across his lap. He set the hot skillet on the newspaper and cracked open an egg. He proceeded to fry that egg on his lap. Then he made the claim, “If I can fry an egg with this skillet on my lap, then you should know that you can cook anything anywhere with this skillet.” People lined up to buy one of his amazing skillets. That really impressed this 11 year old kid.

Then we strolled over to the roller coaster. I had never seen a roller coaster before much less ridden on one. Dad and I sat side by side in one seat. Mama and my big sister sat in the seat behind us. The coaster started up the track at a pretty steep incline. All I could hear was, “ … clickity-clack, clickity-clack …” as we made our way to the top. I remember thinking, “This isn’t so bad … it’s really neat looking out over Sabine Lake and enjoying the scenery.”

The coaster crested the top of the track and started down. It appeared to me that we were headed straight down to the ground at lightening speed. Then my thinking was, “I want off. I want them to stop this thing and get me off.” All I remember is seeing ground … sky … water …ground … more sky … would it ever stop!

Then I became aware of a strange sound emerging from behind me. It sounded like the siren of a large fire truck. Then I realized that the noise was not a siren but my big sister screaming. Ann always did have a southern drawl. Have you ever heard someone with a southern drawl try to scream? Yep, the siren of a large fire truck. That’s the only way to describe it.

Dad asked me if I wanted to ride the roller coaster again. I replied, “No, I want to go back over to the stage and watch that man fry eggs on his lap.”

I’ll always remember Pleasure Pier, those amazing skillets and my first roller coaster ride.

Winston Hamby
WinHamby@comcast.net