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A few of my tales of old about Balboa Park. In my day, the carousel was the “Merry-Go-Round.” It was located on the Florida Canyon side of Park Boulevard, just to the right of were Laurel Street intersected. There was a streetcar trestle behind it. I got many brass rings on my rides. You threw the non-brass rings at a doll part way around. It was always a decision — do I ride the stationary outside animals and perhaps get a brass ring, or ride the inside animals that go up and down?
The dump (as it was called then) was there during World War II. I can remember seeing it smolder as I rode along Pershing Drive, across from the golf course, south of where the nursery is now. The dump was moved to near Federal and Euclid, then to Chollas Heights (Navy Antennas) then to Miramar.
During World War II, the Army would establish small encampments just about where ever they liked. My sister was nine years older than me. She had a boyfriend who was in an encampment west of the Morley Field Plunge. One day I went with her to visit him. He took us on a jeep ride along the sides of Florida Canyon.
Gosh — that was a long time ago.
Ruth Hayward is a sculptor, a retired engineer and a speaker at our recent Balboa Park edition of A Meeting of the Minds.
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