Comments on: Enchanted Forest of the Adirondacks, Old Forge, NY 1956

By: Bill McGowan

Bill McGowan — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:25:25 +0000

I worked here in 1973 when I was 18 years old, as well as 1974, and 1975 and had a blast. I was on my own, originally from North Attleboro, Massachusetts, and staying in my own cabin in Old Forge. Thankfully, my first cousins, the Camerons, lived in OFNY year-round and I had their network of friends to hang-out with, as well as meeting tons of kids my own age (18, 19, and 20) who also worked at the Enchanted Forest those summers. I still travel to Old Forge regularly and love the people of the town and the area. Yes, the Enchanted Forest is 10 times the size it was back in the 1970s, and it’s predominantly a water slide park (biggest in NY state). But the current owners were wise to keep a portion of the park as it was back in 1976 when they acquired it, thus allowing generations of past vistors, those who visited in the 1950s, 1960, and beyond, the opportunity to visit and reminisce whenever they see the original portion of the park. – Bill McGowan (always in-search of past employees of the Enchanted Forest. Reach me at McGowanRealtor@aol.com)

By: Van

Van — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:10:47 +0000

Charles….how funny that you remember me……yes I did work on Pee Wee’s playhouse circa 1988 on the Christmas Special…We annimated the flowers while Grace Jones sang….I am now a psychologist in San Francisco……go figure……from Pee Wee to Head Shrinker…….not a stretch I guess…Cheers to you and your endeavors……Van

By: Terry

Terry — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:41:17 +0000

I can’t think of 2 people I’d love to travel across Americana with more than you and Paul! I saw him do Pee Wee for the first time, when we were in the Groundlings together, and have been a fan ever since. I am also a biker chick in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure!

By: Jombi

Jombi — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:22:38 +0000

This is cool. I’m a big fan of Pee Wee, but I also grew up in Old Forge during the entire decade of the 1970′s. Enchanted Forest was somewhat different then. Many of the older storyland attractions are still there, but now there’s an immense water park as well.

Every summer back then, the Forest used to get The Flying Wallendas to perform for a couple of weeks and we’d go there to see the tightrope act. My parents owned a little hotel, and many times the Wallendas stayed with us while they were in town.

Ah the memories!

Also, if you’re interested, many of the parks like the Forest in the Adirondacks were designed by an artist named Arto Monaco. Here’s a site dedicated to him. Cool stuff.

http://www.artomonaco.org/

By: Danny Miller

Danny Miller — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 23:52:36 +0000

Your Enchanted Forest story was a double pleasure for me. My parents took me there as a child (probably around 1967) AND I worked as Paul’s on-set assistant on the Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special and a couple of other episodes. I used to pick up his cheese omelette every morning at the Gower Gulch Denny’s, park his car, and help him into the Pee-wee jacket just before he went to the set. When Grace Jones sang “Little Drummer Boy”, I was behind the window with a guy named Van Hedwall making the flowers sway back and forth. The Playhouse set was an enchanted place itself and I have a scrapbook of pictures from what will always be the coolest job of my life. I even got to crawl inside Jambi’s box. Long live Pee-Wee.

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 05:58:08 +0000

I am soooo jealous. Pee-Wee is my hero. I’ve been letting my kids watch every night…man, I love that show.

By: Derek Drymon

Derek Drymon — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 13:46:13 +0000

Except for all that canoeing, hiking and swimming it sounds like a great trip. I would have spent the week at the Enchanted Forest.

By: John DuPree

John DuPree — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 06:06:23 +0000

Regarding Pee Wee!

I’m orignally from Kansas City, and I worked with a pal that actually had the priviledge of having Pee Wee as a guest in his home back in the late 70′s or early 80′s. The story I remember is that Pee Wee had a huge late-night munchies craving and so they went to a 7-11 and indulged. I’m not sure what it was he ate, but it was alot! Anyway, just a little side-note about Pee Wee. Love him.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:28:42 +0000

As a former weird tour guide and active aficianado of mimetic
architecture, neon and fairy tale amusement parks, I have been reading your weekly dispatches with great enthusiasm. The lastest one pushed me over the edge into writing. An old-style theme park *and* the company of PeeWee? I never doubted that your life was charmed, but this is undeniable
evidence!

My daily travels take me past a recently shuttered 1950s vintage park called Fairy Tale Forest. A photo tour and commentary await here: http://fortuna.home.pipeline.com/ (scroll down to Chef’s Specials.)

Whatever you’re doing, it’s working!

By: Danil

Danil — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:20:15 +0000

I am SO envious of yr life. you get the looks, the humor, the charm, the style (yrs rivals santino and daniel’s from the second season of project runway), and NOW you get to rub elbows with peewee in an upstate new york enchanted forest? Next you’ll probably tell me that you ran into russ meyers at Dollywood.