11/27/2012
Finally, the story of Roller Coaster on Naples Island, shared by Tom Poe.
The Roller Coaster was built in 1967 by Louie, a Dutch workman at Superior Milk Products in Artesia, and our father and grandfather, Miny Poe. Miny had always dreamed of having a roller coaster encircling his front yard around the Ferris Wheel, Whirligig, and Carousel which had been built in 1964, 1965 and 1966 respectively. The Roller Coaster is based on the old and famous wooden Cyclone Racer Roller Coaster at the Pike in downtown Long Beach. Miny would give Louie the idea and approximate size of each ride and pay for the materials. Louie would design the carnival rides and Miny would help him assemble them. Louie , a skilled craftsman who had emigrated to the United States after World War II, was given a job at the “plant” by Miny and worked for him for decades. They were great friends.
When the Roller Coaster was built, it originally had four cars. It had not been tested prior to being set up in the front yard where you see it today. The cars were placed on the queue ready to be pulled up the slope and then cascade over the top and around the track and back to the base. We all waited anticipating the first run. Up, up, up it went to the top. The first car cleared the top and then the second and then the third and finally the fourth each one pulling the ones behind with greater and greater force. When the fourth car cleared the top, it exploded with so much speed that it derailed at the very first curve and all the cars went sailing into the neighbor’s yard. Realizing that the weight of the cars caused too much centrifugal force, they scaled back and removed one of the cars and tried again with only three cars. This time, the first car cleared the top then the second and then the third and final car. But it happened again!
The cars derailed and flew once again into the neighbor’s yard. They were retrieved and yet another car was removed. On the third try, we again held our breath as the first and then second car cleared the top. The two cars hit the then infamous first curve and HELD. They continue rolling past the second curve, the front slope and back around to the bottom. It worked! So over the years, we have always had two cars in reserve to use whenever the other cars became damaged and needed repair. It was once estimated by
Darwin Mayfield, a neighbor who was a professor at Cal State Long Beach, that each year the Roller Coaster travelled far enough to circle the globe if it had gone in a straight line. That’s a long ways!
This year, 2012, marks the 45th year of its running. Today, grandparents bring their grandchildren here to “see the Roller Coaster” and then tell us that their grandparents first brought to see the Roller Coaster when they were young decades ago. This means that over five generations of spectators have been entertained by this one-of-a-kind exhibition.
Miny Poe passed away in 2009 but the family has continued to put up the display each year to spread the joy of Christmas for future generations. We hope that this display brings you and your family and friends as much joy as it has given us as we watch the thousands of smiles we see from our living room each Christmas season.
