The First Tee Sea Coast

During the spring and summer, Lake Compounce is bustling with
families riding the theme parks roller coasters and splashing
around in the water park.

When the seasons change and the weather turns cold, the
amusement park on the Bristol-Southington town line closes down to
the public. But the business doesnt shut its doors, send its
employees home and wait until May to come back.

A crew of maintenance workers, including painters, carpenters
and mechanics work five days a week fixing up the park. Theyve
been busy maintaining rides and facilities since the park closed in
late October. Theyre making sure the appearance of the park is up
to par and the thrill rides are in good running condition for the
following season, said Lake Compounce General Manager Jerry
Brick.

On Tuesday, about an inch of slushy snow covered the theme
parks grounds. The boots of workers traveling back and forth from
buildings made indentations in the white slush. Inside a large
building, roller coaster cars from the Zoomerang rested on the
concrete. Mechanics were testing each cars wheels while they
listened to classic rock tunes on a nearby radio.

We take them apart and check for cracks, said Brian Cooney,
whos been working with thrill park rides since he was 19 years
old.

Cooney and other mechanics in the facility looked as if they
were in an automobile shop working on cars, but instead they were
taking apart and checking the theme park rides. Theyll look at all
40 of the parks rides before the park opens, Brick said.

The mechanics attend yearly seminars and classes hosted by the
roller coaster companies to learn about how the coasters are put
together, Brick said. The rides run 10 hours a day every day for
five months and therefore it is necessary to break them down and
make sure theyre tuned up for next year. Brick said if a person
ran their car for 10 hours straight every day, it would need work
too.

Cars that make up the Enterprise ride were worked on Tuesday as
well as the swings and pirate ship ride.

The carts and cars are important, but so are the tracks they run
on. Brick said loads of wood are hauled in every year to fix up
roller coaster tracks. The Wildcat ride was built in 1927. Its one
of the theme parks oldest rides, but wood wears out, warps and
splinters when a car carries about 10,000 pounds over the wooden
tracks dozens of times each day, Brick said.

Over in another building, rides that were fading in color
received a fresh coat of glossy paint. The kid swing ride wasnt as
bright as it once was and needed to be spruced up, Brick said.
Painters took pieces of the ride and painted them yellow, silver,
red and green.

You get to see the before and after, said Richard Gargas, a
painter at Lake Compounce.

Painter Jim Stevens said the swing ride is one of their bigger
projects and takes up a lot of time. When hes taking a break from
the swings, hes putting a coat of paint on the Boulderdash roller
coaster cars. Stevens also just finished painting a large water
raft ride bright green. The ride will also soon receive new
seating.

Besides keeping up with the rides, workers pay attention to the
general appearance of the park. Signs with directions, food
listings and games are touched up each year.

Ninety percent of our signs are made in house, Brick said.
Our carpenter cuts many of them out from plastics.

The weather plays a big role in deciding what materials the
signs are made of. Wood expands and breaks after a while and other
materials bend, Brick said.

All the signs are taken down for the winter, said safety and
training manager for the park Bryn Goldbeck. Shes also in charge
of designing and painting many of the signs. Were constantly
busy, she said.

Construction is also going on at the first aid building inside
the park. A larger area for people feeling sick is being developed.
Two nursing stations for mothers will also be available in the
coming season, Brick said.

Off-season maintenance work will continue until the park opens
in May.