Carousel craftsman Great America painter will retire after more than 30 years at the park
February 6, 2007
By DAN MORAN DMORAN@SCN1.COM
GURNEE -- Hidden deep, deep within Six Flags Great America, in long brown sheds far removed from the glamour of Raging Bull and Vertical Velocity, men like Rich Dickerson work year-round to keep the park from looking its 30-plus years.
In fact, up until last week, Dickerson had been working in the park for all of those 30-plus years.
"March 29, 1976 -- two months before the park opened," said Dickerson when asked exactly when he became one of Great America's original employees. "We did a lot of 10- and 12-hour days to get things done in time."
During his final week on the job, Dickerson -- a painter whose primary task has been keeping the park's signature Columbia Carousel looking brand-spanking new -- had a practical realization that he would soon be handing the job to someone else.
"This one ain't so bad. I'm just filling in the cracks and spot-priming it," he said, starting to sand away patches of worn paint on one of the carousel's three stationary chariots. "This whole thing will take me two weeks to do -- but I'm leaving on Friday, so whoever comes in here will have to finish it."
Dickerson will leave behind a silent legacy of craftsmanship in the 104 horses, tigers, ostriches and other circus animals that adorn the carousel. He revealed that there are 56 on the first level, 48 more on the popular second deck and five kept in reserve, but not a one of them bears the name of the painter who has cared for them over the decades.
However, those taking a spin on the Columbia should pay attention to the details. On many of the animals' bridles and saddles, Dickerson lent his talents to such accents as the profile of a bald eagle, or the multicolored head of a wood duck. He also noted that the ostriches are colored "exactly like they are in nature."
"I've been painting my whole life," the Chicago native said. "I took a three-year course in commercial art, and then my first job when I got out of the service was painting water heaters on an assembly line."
After moving north in the early 1970s, Dickerson landed a job as a painter at what was then Marriott's Great America, keeping rides up to standard and maintaining many of the signs that dot the park grounds. But between every fall and spring, he was mostly busy tending to the Columbia's animals and benches, re-painting those that needed attention.
"Look here," he said, pointing to spots on the bottom frame of the chariots. "This is where they get all worn down from people getting on and off. We have to do those every year."
He noted that all of the Fiberglas animals are as original to Great America as he is, manufactured by the Dentzel Carousel Company. Stripping and re-painting a horse completely takes the better part of a month, and he said the application "will last four to five years, maybe six years, but that's about the max."
Watching Dickerson work on his final project, Bill Schultz, another original Great America facilities employee, teased him about whether or not the job would be done by retirement day.
"If you get that done in 12 hours," Schultz said, "you aren't leaving here for another 30 years."
But Dickerson said it is time to step down, if not turn in his airbrushes.
"I want to do some scrimshaw work, and some landscapes and seascapes," he said. "And I've got cars I want to work on. I've got a 40-by-80-foot pole barn ... On one side, I've got my cars. On the other side, I've got my easel."
What will take up most of his time? "I have an old, 1930 Model A Ford," said Dickerson, "that's in about 1,000 pieces."
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