Farm Show- Goers Can Give Carousel a Whirl
By Michael Lello
Mercury, January 14, 2005

BIRDSBORO --The Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg is in its 89th year, but for the first time ever, it has a carousel.

And that carousel is courtesy of a Berks County company, Oscar’s Amusements.

Kim Imes, office manager at Oscar’s Amusements, said the proceeds from the carousel rides are being split between two charities: the Pennsylvania State Showmen’s Association scholarship fund and the farm show’s scholarship fund.

"It’s just an effort of good will," Imes said. "We don’t hand out business cards, and we don’t have a sign there promoting (the business). What we get out of it is just being part of something that has been a large part of our family and promoting the industry in a better light."

Warren Imes and Betty Imes started the company in the 1950s, and Kim Imes said Warren was an integral member of the Showmen’s Association and a big part in starting its scholarship fund. Members of the Imes family are still involved with the organization.

The carousel is a full-size, six-year-old High Lite carousel, Imes said, with "very traditional" horses.

"We take it to all our events," she said.

In the dead of winter, though, it wasn’t needed, so Oscar’s Amusements was happy to get it out of storage and showcase it at the event for a good cause.

Imes said it took two trailers to transfer the piece of equipment to Harrisburg, and four people to set it up. The company also needed an insurance rider, and it is inspected every day, she said.

The farm show, which began Jan. 8 and concludes Saturday, is expected to draw more than 400,000 spectators and competitors.

Exhibitors will win a total amount of $346,273, more than $11,250 more than what was offered during Farm Show 2004, according to the show’s Web site.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Farm Show, visit www.farmshow.state.pa.us. For more information on Oscar’s Amusements, visit www.oscarsamusements.com.

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A Good Turn at the Farm Show
By Mike Trask
Reading Eagle,  January 14, 2005


HARRISBURG — Patrick Imes of Douglassville loaded up his horses and headed to the 89 th annual Pennsylvania Farm Show.  But his colorful animals weren’t entered in any equestrian events or rodeo competitions.  They are part of Imes’ carousel, and their job is to delight the young and young at heart.

Imes is owner of Oscar’s Amusements, and he brought his carousel to the event for the first time to help raise money for the Pennsylvania Showmen’s Association and the Youth Farm Show scholarship funds.  He and his friends spent four hours assembling the merry-goround prior to the farm show.

Throughout the week, Imes has stood in the center of his carousel, operating the ride and earning smiles.  "I’m not a rich man so I don’t have a lot of money to donate," Imes said. "But if I can help out with stuff like this, it’s nice."

Imes and his fellow showmen may help more than a little.  He predicts more than 8,000 people will ride the carousel by Saturday, when the farm show concludes. At $2 per ride, that would bring in $16,000 for scholarships.  For this year, the ride has been moved inside from a parking lot to the main hall. It certainly draws attention there.

Caleb J. and Zachary T. Foote, 4-year-old twin brothers from Hamburg, waited for about 20 minutes to go round and round, and up and down on the ride’s horses.  Their mother, Kim, said the boys enjoy the farm show.

    "We were her last year for the first time," she said, pushing a double-sized stroller. "They loved it. They like the animals."

    Organizers said they have been surprised by the lines, but have been excited to raise money for the groups.

    Plus, they like being in the heated building, rather than out in the often-bitter-cold January winter.

    "They put it outside and we didn’t make any money," said Sue Pfeffer, president of the showmen’s association. "It’s nice we got it inside."



Reading Eagle: Lauren A. Little Four-year-old Caleb J. Foote of Hamburg enjoys riding a carousel at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. The merry-go-round is owned by Oscar’s Amusements in Douglassville and is operating as a fundraiser at the event.

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It’s a Carnival Life
By Julia Nazimov
Reading Eagle, June 8, 2003

They’re a staple of the summer season in small towns, suburbs and small cities everywhere; a part of our collective consciousness. They’re the local carnivals, sponsored by your local fire department, church or community center.

Going to a local carnival is not like going to Hershey Park or Dorney Park, but for families, it’s almost as much fun and more affordable. It’s a chance to not only give the kids something special to do, but to socialize with friends and neighbors you maybe haven’t seen since last summer.

Carnivals are especially meaningful for the Imes family of Douglasville, which for three generations has successfully operated and grown it own carnival business.

Kim Imes, whose husband Joseph, one of the founders sons, compares family carnivals to family farms. Like farmers, their work is seasonal, is dependent on the weather and is regulated by the state Department of Agriculture.

Betty J. Imes and her late husband, Warren Imes, got into the business about 50 years ago, and the result is Oscar’s Amusements Inc. The Douglasville-based firm travels around Berks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties during the warmer months.

All but one of Betty and Warren Imes’ six children are in the family business, and the only son who followed a different career path – Michael, a schoolteacher in Milwaukee paid his way through college working at the carnival.

“It’s almost like a genetic thing,” said Kim. Even her children seem to have inherited that gene, she said. “My children (who are 14, 12, and 5) just love it”. Kim said she feels very strongly about dispelling the popular image of carnivals and carnival workers.

Oscar’s Amusement and similar operations are wholesome, family-orientated businesses working primarily at fund-raisers for churches and other community organizations, she said.

“We are a small company that travels only 40 miles from our home,” Kim said “We do not live in trailers on the carnival grounds. We employ local help. Our objective and sole purpose is to raise money for nonprofit organizations.”

Because they are locally based, they have a regular crew, almost mostly local people, and they pay then benefits. Almost all their engagements are within an hour’s drive – so they can come home at night.

Everywhere they go, they have contracts with community nonprofit organizations to stage the carnival, and have worked with many of those organizations for years. The nonprofit organization gets a percentage of the take, and can make more profit if members of the organization get involved as security or traffic control, or set up their own concession stands on the carnival grounds.

“Our company gets paid on a percentage basis,” she said. “We receive a percentage of the gross receipts. Our committees sell tickets and manage the ticket booths and at the end of each week we reconcile and receive our portion. We usually run on five-year contracts,” Kim said.

Kim also stressed the safety of carnivals. The department of agriculture spot-checks them regularly, and carnival owners inspect their own rides daily. While summer is by far the busiest season, there’s plenty to do in the winter. There’s always a convention in the winter where they go to check out new rides and concessions.

“We try to add a new ride every year,” Kim Said. “We try to keep things fresh.” Oscar’s has 23 rides from kiddie to adult thrill rides, including a Ferris Wheel, a Tilt-A-Whirl, a giant Slide, a Super Sizzler, and a Carousel.

The conventions are attended by other carnival operators and many of the companies which make the rides for the small town carnivals. There are some specialized companies all over this country and in Europe, which make the rides. This year’s new ride is called the Star Trooper. “It’s their new toy,” Kim said of her husband and children.

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Carnival Business a Family Affair
By Michael Lello
The Mercury, May 15, 2003

The company, which brings its rides, games and concession stands to carnivals, picnics and fairs in Philadelphia, Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties, began in the 1950s when Warren and Betty Imes operated games at local carnivals to supplement their income. The family eventually bought some equipment and grew into the operation it is today, with Betty Imes and her son Patrick Imes now at the helm of the Birdsboro-based business.

Oscar’s Amusements will be at the Birdsboro Street Fair through Saturday before moving on to the Harleysville Jaycees carnival next week as part of an April-through-September schedule that includes more than 20 events. Oscar’s Amusements works exclusively at events sponsored by nonprofit organizations, helping those organizations raise money.

Patrick Imes’ son, Nick Imes, works for Oscar’s Amusements, as does Betty Imes’ son, Joe Imes, whose sons Zack, 14, and Sam, 12, help on weekends.

Another of Betty Imes’ sons, Steven Imes, runs Pebble Beach Games and Concessions with his daughter, Hilary, and they both also work with Oscar’s Amusements.

Betty Imes’ daughter, Sue Ellen Pfeffer, and her husband, David Pfeffer, operate the Douglassville-based Tons of Fun Shows, another carnival company, along with their children Francine, Ben and Ellen.

And finally, Deline Ketcham, another daughter of Betty Imes, and her husband, Jon Ketcham, run Wade’s Shows, a nationwide amusement company. Their children, Sara, Daniel and Kate, as well as their grandson, Dylan, work with them.

"It’s funny because it’s so natural for all of them," said Kim Imes, the office manager for Oscar’s Amusements. "They all have this love and natural flow and ability with it."

While Tons of Fun travels the East Coast and Wade’s Shows is a national operation, Oscar’s Amusements chooses to stay regional.

"First of all, it’s a lifestyle choice," Kim Imes said. "I know we chose that path because we want to lead a traditional lifestyle."

Oscar’s Amusements is committed to helping nonprofit groups raise money, but that doesn’t change the fact that the general public often harbors a negative attitude toward the carnival industry. Kim Imes said there’s sometimes a perception that "we’re a traveling show that comes to town, steals from the kids and moves on."

And the misconceptions don’t end there, she said.

"Our industry is so much safer than people realize," she said.

"Each week, there’s at least one person that screams because their child isn’t tall enough to get on a ride. They’re asking me to jeopardize their child’s safety for $2."

Safety, she said, is the top priority. Every day, the company inspects its games and rides, which include a ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, a tilt-a-whirl and more modern offerings such as a Star Trooper and a Gravitron. Once a week, unannounced, the state Department of Agriculture inspects its rides.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, amusement rides constitute one of the safest forms of recreation available to the public. Bicycling, soccer, skiing, snowmobiling and numerous other recreational activities lead to hundreds of thousands more injuries and many more deaths every year than amusement rides, according to the commission.

Despite the industry’s solid safety record, insurance premiums have greatly increased, Kim Imes said. Oscar’s Amusements’ insurance costs have gone up 20 percent in the past five years, she said.

"We haven’t raised our ticket prices in over four years," she said. "Our insurance has hit us personally. We’ve all had to take a personal hit."

With the challenges, though, come rewards. By staying in the region and working only with nonprofits, Kim Imes said the effort pays off.

"We get to build relationships in communities," she said. "At the end of the week, we walk away knowing that we helped.

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