Remember this park well. My loving parents both passed on would take my brother and our friends there every year. My present wife and I got to go later in the parks history. We also went the last year of the park. Sad to see this wonderful park is gone but those memories are priceless and fondly cherished. I tell my children what these long gone parks were like (Rocky point Mountain park ). 😢😊
This is the first time i saw this film. When i saw my brother speaking, i cried like a baby. I miss Mark and will for the rest of my life. Both losses are so huge, that of Whalom Park, and that of my brother Mark Chester. Funny how Mark chuckles when he mentions that the carousel mechanics sit in a garage in Pennsylvania.. That was his garage, he purchased the carousel mechanics. With the passing of our mother, I am now the beneficiary of that piece of history and will be gifting it to Knoebel's of Pennsylvania as one of the few dying wishes of my brother.
Well really can't believe this suddenly came across my feed, I'm Billy Murphys kid. So glad to see this is still around somewhere. We lost my dad to a heart attack in '16, and we lost the tape of this special in a fire and really thought we had permanently lost any recording of his interview
I worked with Paul, Fran, Beth and Mark. Will Fregeau lived and breathed Whalom Park. He loved the park and devoted his life to it. I was fortunate to work with him in the Park Office from 1975 to 1980. Rena Seney, Peter Grenier and so many other wonderful people. Thank you for putting this memory together. When my sister called and told me the carousel was being auctioned I was brought to tears. I traveled back home from half way across the country to attend the auction. I needed to be there and no matter what it cost i needed to bring a piece of my life, my history, my parents and aunts and uncles history back with me. I was fortunate enough to purchase Greg, an outside row jumper. Whalom is part of who I am and the people, the love, the happiness will never be forgotten. Its sad that greed wins over the love of what was. The years i worked in the office at Whalom Park where some of the best times of my life.
Thank you to everyone involved with this video. I was born in 1960, grew up in Wakefield MA. I never got to Whalom Park, but I do remember the ads on the radio, “For a whale of a time!”. I got married in 2003, and in 2006 moved to Pepperell, MA. My wife’s son would spend every other weekend with his father. Neither my wife nor I were familiar with the area, so every weekend Trevor was with his dad, we would go on roadtrips, checking out the area. In October (if my memory is correct) we found the park, the rollercoaster was still standing, but I felt an air of sadness for what had been lost. Then in the week that followed there were pictures in the papers of them demolishing the roller coaster. I at least got to see the roller coaster once, before it was gone. All condos now. Trevor and his wife did buy a house in Lunenburg on Wavest, which looked down on the lake, and where the park had been. I love history, but prefer seeing the real thing to pictures. Alas I have reached that age where my ,mind is filled with memories of places that no longer exist. Thank you again for all the work.
I expect it's like going to Hull and still expecting to see The Giant from Paragon Park and instead all there is is a bunch of crummy high rise condos where once was a great seaside amusement park. I grew up in a Boston suburb in time to go to Paragon a few times before it closed, and Whalom Park was one of the other parks in the region that I expect was kind of like Paragon, not huge, plagued with family-ownership problems towards the end, and also like Paragon, not having the physical space to expand and compete like Riverside, but Whalom was one of the parks kids in the Boston area heard about, but as I suspect, was too far from Boston, and too small (i.e. too focused on the younger set) to make the pilgrimage worth it unless you had another reason to be in that area if you were an adult, so you either went all the way to Riverside (now a Six Flags) or to Canobie Lake, which I was glad to hear is still in operation.
I grew up with Whalom Park as a child and young adult. Our Family of 7 loved Whalom. My Mother and Father met on the Dodgem Ride. My Grandparents remember coming in the 1920’s and everyone dressed to come to this park. I remember the last years we seen the signs of it coming to a close.
This was a nice stroll down memory lane for me. This was a great park in its hey days. Spent large part of my early teens here on wkends. The whip and tilt a whirl were my SH^T😂🎉🥳👍👌
my house was right near whalom park....I could see the lights at night and hear the rides. We used to go over all the time......I lived at the top of Hollis Rd.....right adjacent to the driving range.....memories
Wow, I had a picture with my deadbeat dad(90%) in that exact shot as 1:38, I just got hit with soo much nostalgia. Sad that back in our day you lose photos and they're gone. But now everyone's photos are stored forever online.
I grew up in Lunenburg and Whalom Park was a big part of our summers, especially "Dollar Days." Loved to try to ride the goat on the Carousel, as he was the only animal which was a riser but not a horse. Saddens us to go by those condos and think of what once was. Thank you so much for posting this and bringing back happier memories.
Growing up just east of Boston, you'd think I'd never be out in Lunenburg for anything, but somehow my Dad found this cool place. We'd make annual trips to Whalom Park and they were awesome! Most times, just the park, but one year, my Dad said "Let's go swimming", so we spent 1/2 the day on the beach and the lake. When I got my driver license, I'd pack some friends in the car and we'd enjoy our own days at Whalom Park. More so when I got to Fitchburg State College in 1993....when I was having a day or had several hours between classes, I'd sneak over to Whalom Park, and maybe hit the Lakeview driving range across the street from the park. They had 1 left handed driver. Haha. I'm glad we went to Whalom....seemed like it was so far away...except when I was at FSC, since I lived in an apartment in Leominster. Thanks for sharing this video!
The park was part of my childhood. The carousel was "especially special". I rode that carousel until I had no tickets left, over and over again. I would watch and stake out my favorite horse and run to be in just the right position to claim it when the previous ride stopped. Just before the closure of the park, I offered to help restore the carousel. I had no idea that plans were already in the works to shut down. Part of me died when the park closed and especially when the carousel was auctioned off. Now, many years later, I have been able to obtain an antique hand carved carousel horse that I will restore but it's not part of the Whalom carousel. Still, it helps me to remember. I'm sad that children growing up in this area will never experience this park. It didn't have the fastest or tallest rides, but believe me, riding that roller coaster in the late 90's was scarry enough with the way it shook! The carousel was a work of art that isn't being produced anymore. The whip might have been low tech, but was still a thrill, especially when sitting next to a cute boy you just met. The park had innocent magic which is now gone.
My brother, Mark Chester, purchased the mechanics of the carousel. It is housed in his garage at Pennsylvania. Since his death, I have spoken with Knoebels Park to offer the carousel to them, which they accepted.
I ran the Carousel with a friend for one season in 1982, I was one of a few college kids that year, most were in high school. That was before they put a fence around the ride inside the carousel building. It was tremendous fun jumping on and off the ride while it was moving, of course we tried to discourage the patrons from doing it. We spent a lot of time polishing those brass poles on cloudy days. Most nights the crew would end up at the drive-in after the park closed. That was a fun summer.
Thanks for posting this. My family used to make this an annual summer trip. My aunt and cousins would come down and we'd go. What a feeling of anticipation leading up to it. Watching the cooler being packed.. you knew it was going to be a great day. God bless my parents for really giving me a fun childhood. I loved the scrambler, the tilt a whirl, the funhouse, the whip and bumper cars. The arcade too! Everything really. As I got older I eventually got on the comet with my friends lol. So sad it's gone and it makes me sick seeing those damn condos.
Spent many summers at Rocky Point, Riverside (Six Flags), and here. Watching this video brought up a lot of memories. Would love to experience one more day there.
I’m originally from Worcester Massachusetts, but now in Fitchburg Massachusetts… I’m not to far away. I miss going as a young girl. But unfortunately they are only good memories
My dad used to take me to Whalom Park when I was a kid. It's too bad all these amusement parks have gone under. I also really miss King's Castle Land in Whitman. Wish these places were still around so I could take my daughter to them. 😟
My grandfather actually helped build the Flyer Comet and then performed maintenance on the coaster for several decades. As a young child I have fond memories of this park. I was sad to see that it was demolished and replaced with condos. Such a sad ending to a historical place.
I was born in 83 and liked Whalom Park as a kid The advertisements for the comet having the black hole was cool but as I got older I definitely prefer to go to Riverside and especially when it became six flags so I think that was definitely the death of Whalom Park put a place like canobie lake has been able to survive so maybe it was more poor management in the end
Whalom Park, Lincoln Park, Mountainside, Paragon Park all closed, Riverside at least sold and re-branded as a Six Flags but still there (I remember riding the Black Widow back in the day). Seems like Canobie Lake is the last of the great regional New England amusement parks to still exist.
I went to Lincoln park back in 1985 when my grandparents lived in new Bedford mass I rode the roller coaster with my grandfather very scary I was in my early teens it was a very cool park I still remember it this day 👍😎 r.i.p Lincoln park
My dads work Mitre Corporation had their outings their from the 1970's to around 1988. Went to most to them and stop going to Mitre outings when they moved it to Canobie Lake Park.
Went here SO many times as a kid in the 90s. My dad's company would host a family day/company picnic there every year. Great memories with my daddio, who just passed 1.5 year ago, and my 2 brothers. The rollercoaster always reminded me of "Fantasy" by Mariah Carey as a kid lol and our last ride each time before we left the park was the Yo-Yo
I was born in 1959, miss the all summer long carnivals...I totally understand.maybe I'll check out the Carousel I didn't know was still there. I have a Spiritbox channel, maybe some past employees Spirits linger...it's so sad. I was blessed to live while these sweet places. ❤
Remember this park well. My loving parents both passed on would take my brother and our friends there every year. My present wife and I got to go later in the parks history. We also went the last year of the park. Sad to see this wonderful park is gone but those memories are priceless and fondly cherished. I tell my children what these long gone parks were like (Rocky point Mountain park ). 😢😊
Born in '63. Mom and Dad drove us up there on routes 12/140/13 before I-190 was constructed. Best memories of my life.
I hate going by that area anymore I have so many years of memories from that place
This is the first time i saw this film. When i saw my brother speaking, i cried like a baby. I miss Mark and will for the rest of my life.
Both losses are so huge, that of Whalom Park, and that of my brother Mark Chester.
Funny how Mark chuckles when he mentions that the carousel mechanics sit in a garage in Pennsylvania.. That was his garage, he purchased the carousel mechanics. With the passing of our mother, I am now the beneficiary of that piece of history and will be gifting it to Knoebel's of Pennsylvania as one of the few dying wishes of my brother.
Well really can't believe this suddenly came across my feed, I'm Billy Murphys kid. So glad to see this is still around somewhere. We lost my dad to a heart attack in '16, and we lost the tape of this special in a fire and really thought we had permanently lost any recording of his interview
I'm sorry for your loss. My brother, featured in this film, Mark Chester passed in 2020.
I worked with Paul, Fran, Beth and Mark. Will Fregeau lived and breathed Whalom Park. He loved the park and devoted his life to it. I was fortunate to work with him in the Park Office from 1975 to 1980. Rena Seney, Peter Grenier and so many other wonderful people. Thank you for putting this memory together. When my sister called and told me the carousel was being auctioned I was brought to tears. I traveled back home from half way across the country to attend the auction. I needed to be there and no matter what it cost i needed to bring a piece of my life, my history, my parents and aunts and uncles history back with me. I was fortunate enough to purchase Greg, an outside row jumper. Whalom is part of who I am and the people, the love, the happiness will never be forgotten. Its sad that greed wins over the love of what was. The years i worked in the office at Whalom Park where some of the best times of my life.
I have Mark's horse. It sits in his home at Pennsylvania. The carousel mechanics are being donated to Knoebels Park in Pennsylvania.
Good one. Good memories.
Christ, use a low pass filter tho.
Thank you to everyone involved with this video. I was born in 1960, grew up in Wakefield MA. I never got to Whalom Park, but I do remember the ads on the radio, “For a whale of a time!”. I got married in 2003, and in 2006 moved to Pepperell, MA. My wife’s son would spend every other weekend with his father. Neither my wife nor I were familiar with the area, so every weekend Trevor was with his dad, we would go on roadtrips, checking out the area. In October (if my memory is correct) we found the park, the rollercoaster was still standing, but I felt an air of sadness for what had been lost. Then in the week that followed there were pictures in the papers of them demolishing the roller coaster. I at least got to see the roller coaster once, before it was gone. All condos now. Trevor and his wife did buy a house in Lunenburg on Wavest, which looked down on the lake, and where the park had been. I love history, but prefer seeing the real thing to pictures. Alas I have reached that age where my ,mind is filled with memories of places that no longer exist. Thank you again for all the work.
I expect it's like going to Hull and still expecting to see The Giant from Paragon Park and instead all there is is a bunch of crummy high rise condos where once was a great seaside amusement park. I grew up in a Boston suburb in time to go to Paragon a few times before it closed, and Whalom Park was one of the other parks in the region that I expect was kind of like Paragon, not huge, plagued with family-ownership problems towards the end, and also like Paragon, not having the physical space to expand and compete like Riverside, but Whalom was one of the parks kids in the Boston area heard about, but as I suspect, was too far from Boston, and too small (i.e. too focused on the younger set) to make the pilgrimage worth it unless you had another reason to be in that area if you were an adult, so you either went all the way to Riverside (now a Six Flags) or to Canobie Lake, which I was glad to hear is still in operation.
It was a beautiful carousel!🎠Many thanks to the woman who restored it in the 70’s! I will never forget it!
Beth was one of the parks ownership
I remember going w/ my parents in the 50s & 60s, then taking my own kids in the 70s & 80s. Loved the place.
Fantastic video. Heartbreaking that we’ve lost so many of these great family parks due to greed. How does no one step up to save them!?
I grew up with Whalom Park as a child and young adult. Our Family of 7 loved Whalom. My Mother and Father met on the Dodgem Ride. My Grandparents remember coming in the 1920’s and everyone dressed to come to this park. I remember the last years we seen the signs of it coming to a close.
This was a nice stroll down memory lane for me. This was a great park in its hey days. Spent large part of my early teens here on wkends. The whip and tilt a whirl were my SH^T😂🎉🥳👍👌
I’m 36 and still hold memories I’ll have for life from my childhood and visiting whalom park. This brought back some great memories. Thank you.
my house was right near whalom park....I could see the lights at night and hear the rides. We used to go over all the time......I lived at the top of Hollis Rd.....right adjacent to the driving range.....memories
Wow, I had a picture with my deadbeat dad(90%) in that exact shot as 1:38, I just got hit with soo much nostalgia. Sad that back in our day you lose photos and they're gone. But now everyone's photos are stored forever online.
I grew up in Lunenburg and Whalom Park was a big part of our summers, especially "Dollar Days." Loved to try to ride the goat on the Carousel, as he was the only animal which was a riser but not a horse. Saddens us to go by those condos and think of what once was. Thank you so much for posting this and bringing back happier memories.
I've never been to whalom park always wanted to but never got the chance
@@ricknova1973it was magical....like so much happiness... Everywhere
@@Arianna-sl2hv it must of been awesome just like spooky world back in the 90s
I miss whalom park😥
Growing up just east of Boston, you'd think I'd never be out in Lunenburg for anything, but somehow my Dad found this cool place. We'd make annual trips to Whalom Park and they were awesome! Most times, just the park, but one year, my Dad said "Let's go swimming", so we spent 1/2 the day on the beach and the lake. When I got my driver license, I'd pack some friends in the car and we'd enjoy our own days at Whalom Park. More so when I got to Fitchburg State College in 1993....when I was having a day or had several hours between classes, I'd sneak over to Whalom Park, and maybe hit the Lakeview driving range across the street from the park. They had 1 left handed driver. Haha. I'm glad we went to Whalom....seemed like it was so far away...except when I was at FSC, since I lived in an apartment in Leominster. Thanks for sharing this video!
I miss this place so much!!!!
I was supposedly there on its last day of operation. I would have been around 11. I remember that roller coaster and loved it!
Thanks for making this, I remember going as a kid with a cousin. He passed away years ago and I wish I could go back there and remember the good days.
I miss this park. Spent many years in the 90s as a kid enjoying it. It closed two days before my 13th birthday 9/6/00
The park was part of my childhood. The carousel was "especially special". I rode that carousel until I had no tickets left, over and over again. I would watch and stake out my favorite horse and run to be in just the right position to claim it when the previous ride stopped. Just before the closure of the park, I offered to help restore the carousel. I had no idea that plans were already in the works to shut down. Part of me died when the park closed and especially when the carousel was auctioned off. Now, many years later, I have been able to obtain an antique hand carved carousel horse that I will restore but it's not part of the Whalom carousel. Still, it helps me to remember. I'm sad that children growing up in this area will never experience this park. It didn't have the fastest or tallest rides, but believe me, riding that roller coaster in the late 90's was scarry enough with the way it shook! The carousel was a work of art that isn't being produced anymore. The whip might have been low tech, but was still a thrill, especially when sitting next to a cute boy you just met. The park had innocent magic which is now gone.
My brother, Mark Chester, purchased the mechanics of the carousel. It is housed in his garage at Pennsylvania. Since his death, I have spoken with Knoebels Park to offer the carousel to them, which they accepted.
I ran the Carousel with a friend for one season in 1982, I was one of a few college kids that year, most were in high school. That was before they put a fence around the ride inside the carousel building. It was tremendous fun jumping on and off the ride while it was moving, of course we tried to discourage the patrons from doing it. We spent a lot of time polishing those brass poles on cloudy days. Most nights the crew would end up at the drive-in after the park closed. That was a fun summer.
That carousel meant the world to me.
Thanks for posting this. My family used to make this an annual summer trip. My aunt and cousins would come down and we'd go. What a feeling of anticipation leading up to it. Watching the cooler being packed.. you knew it was going to be a great day. God bless my parents for really giving me a fun childhood. I loved the scrambler, the tilt a whirl, the funhouse, the whip and bumper cars. The arcade too! Everything really. As I got older I eventually got on the comet with my friends lol. So sad it's gone and it makes me sick seeing those damn condos.
Wow the memories! The good ole days!
Spent many summers at Rocky Point, Riverside (Six Flags), and here. Watching this video brought up a lot of memories. Would love to experience one more day there.
I’m originally from Worcester Massachusetts, but now in Fitchburg Massachusetts… I’m not to far away. I miss going as a young girl. But unfortunately they are only good memories
Brings back so many memories when I was A kid thanks for uploading this video
My dad used to take me to Whalom Park when I was a kid. It's too bad all these amusement parks have gone under. I also really miss King's Castle Land in Whitman. Wish these places were still around so I could take my daughter to them. 😟
I remember doing this coaster and feeling genuinely unsafe
That's what makes wooden coasters like this one way more fun than modern steel coasters.
My grandfather actually helped build the Flyer Comet and then performed maintenance on the coaster for several decades. As a young child I have fond memories of this park. I was sad to see that it was demolished and replaced with condos. Such a sad ending to a historical place.
Thanks for this. I appreciate all who were involved.
Use to go there in the 90s as a kid was so much fun! Wish they kept it open !
I was born in 83 and liked Whalom Park as a kid The advertisements for the comet having the black hole was cool but as I got older I definitely prefer to go to Riverside and especially when it became six flags so I think that was definitely the death of Whalom Park put a place like canobie lake has been able to survive so maybe it was more poor management in the end
Whalom Park, Lincoln Park, Mountainside, Paragon Park all closed, Riverside at least sold and re-branded as a Six Flags but still there (I remember riding the Black Widow back in the day). Seems like Canobie Lake is the last of the great regional New England amusement parks to still exist.
I went to Lincoln park back in 1985 when my grandparents lived in new Bedford mass I rode the roller coaster with my grandfather very scary I was in my early teens it was a very cool park I still remember it this day 👍😎 r.i.p Lincoln park
We need an amusement park in southern New England driving to Springfield and New Hampshire sucks
My nearest amusement park is almost 400 miles away, and it's kind of panned as mediocre, but at least it qualifies.
I loved Whalom as a young child. I was sad when I delivered concrete to build all the goddamn condos that are there now.
I used to go here every summer...I can't believe my childhood park is gone
My dads work Mitre Corporation had their outings their from the 1970's to around 1988. Went to most to them and stop going to Mitre outings when they moved it to Canobie Lake Park.
Went here SO many times as a kid in the 90s. My dad's company would host a family day/company picnic there every year. Great memories with my daddio, who just passed 1.5 year ago, and my 2 brothers. The rollercoaster always reminded me of "Fantasy" by Mariah Carey as a kid lol and our last ride each time before we left the park was the Yo-Yo
I was born in 1959, miss the all summer long carnivals...I totally understand.maybe I'll check out the Carousel I didn't know was still there. I have a Spiritbox channel, maybe some past employees Spirits linger...it's so sad. I was blessed to live while these sweet places. ❤
If I had known the park was closing, I would have bought all the equipment lock, stock and barrel.
Me too. And while I'm dreaming, I want a pony.
Shame on everyone involved to take this wonderful place away from us. Heartbroken
Mark D here, living on wilder like Mark, I sold my paper route to mark for $30 dollars and the rest is history.
Wtf is with all the fires....was pam Voorhees doing it?
Was thinking the same thing. Then when the lady said "we had a fire that WASN"T arson", I cracked up. Insurance scam for 100 years plus. Haha.
it turned into condos.....ugly ones
Really ugly. What a bad spot to pollute the lake too...... Horrible
Same with the ugly-assed condos in Hull, where Paragon used to be.