glider18 is sad tonight

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I was surfing the internet and discovered that a dear acquaintance of mine is deceased. His name was William Parker of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was the owner and founder of the Grand Strand Amusement Park there. Today, the park is known as Family Kingdom and owned by the Sea Mist Resort.

When I was a tall skinny teenager in the early 1980s, I once got the courage to take an 8mm movie camera on the Swamp Fox roller coaster at this amusement park (Grand Strand Amusement Park). Before I did, I thought it might be best to walk straight into the administration office and ask to see the owner. My parents were skeptical, and I was too, but...there, at the front desk, appeared an older black-haired man who was a bit heavy set. He said he was the owner of the park. I told him how I loved roller coasters and that the Swamp Fox was my favorite---and that I wanted to film it. He said it was fine by him. I left, and filmed it on the old camera.

The following year, I went back with a better camera. I walked into the administration office, and he remembered me. He asked how the film was. He invited me into his private office and we talked...and talked...and talked. Wow, it was wonderful. I had met someone with the passion for roller coasters like me. And here I was talking to the man who owned my favorite roller coaster. He taught me many things about the design and physics of wooden roller coasters. His office was wonderful because the roller coaster ran overtop the office. The roars were wonderful. Then, he handed me a book of tickets for free, and told me to enjoy the Swamp Fox. When I went to the loading platform to film, he had phone-called the workers of my coming with the camera. Because of safety, I got to ride the coaster by myself as waiting patrons looked curiously at me with the movie camera. The film turned out brilliantly.

Well, each year my family returned to Myrtle Beach I visited William Parker. He was always polite to me and spent as much time talking to me as I wanted. He would then give me a special pass to ride whatever I wanted for free---with no expiration date on the pass. I had the run of the park for free. Wow!! ! I spent hours there each summer vacation.

When I was in college, the college paper ran an article on me and roller coasters. I named the Swamp Fox as my favorite coaster and I gave William Parker a copy of it. He seemed pleased. He later said he didn't know how much longer he could operate the park. It just wasn't as popular as the nearby Pavilion amusement park---and business wasn't going to good for him. He said he might sell the property for condominium development. I told him he needed publicity for it on a nationwide scale. I told him that ACE (American Coaster Enthusiasts) needed to visit the park. They should be contacted. You know what? The following year, upon my next visit to Myrtle Beach, he arranged for ACE to be at the park when I was there. I met with them and we rode the Swamp Fox together. They agreed with me that it needed ranked. It got named in the top ten wooden coasters in the U.S. William Parker decided to not sell the park. I felt like I helped save it. The park got more popular and business was good.

Then---Hurricane Hugo struck in 1989. I had just taken a teaching job after college and learned that the Swamp Fox had been damaged. William Parker was going to sell the park. I wanted to save the Swamp Fox. I called him on the phone, and he told me that I could try to sell the Swamp Fox for him and have it moved to a new location. The deal was that he wanted $100,000 for the roller coaster and I could keep whatever money over that $100,000 I could sell it for. I almost had it sold to a park in Florida for twice that amount, but they couldn't follow through with the purchase because the Busch Gardens corporation was in the process of purchasing them. Then, William Parker sold the park to the Sea Mist Resort---and they restored the park and the roller coaster. It seems they were fans of it since the roller coaster was ranked in the top ten.

I often look back and wonder why William Parker treated me so well. He treated me with respect and not in the typical way you would expect a big business man to treat a teenager. Perhaps it was because of my extreme fascination with his roller coaster. He claimed it was a special design that had a mysterious kind of engineering put into it by its designer, John Allen of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. I have a copy of the blueprints for the Swamp Fox that I obtained from the president of the company.

So...after learning that he died sometime in the past, I am sad tonight. William Parker was an important part of my teenage (and early 20s) years when I was on vacation. I looked forward to talking to him. Honestly, he was the only person I have ever met who talked to me hours on end about my roller coaster passion. He never seemed to tire of me. As busy as he was...he always had time for me. I wish that his wife, Cynthia, knew how much I respected her late husband. I don't often show emotion---but I am teary eyed tonight. "I miss you William Parker...thank you for making my Myrtle Beach vacations magical."

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm also dealing with a loss. My Grandpa passed away, this morning.

I am sorry, CockneyRebel, and Glider18, for your losses.

My next door neighbour passed away just over a year ago. He was in his early 70s. He was especially kind to me, he used to invite me over to see the orchids he had grown in his greenhouse. I loved flowers so it was great to see them. He spent hours and hours on them, they were a real passion for him.

Thank you CockneyRebel and Zen Mistress. And I am sorry for your losses too. Thank you for reading my post.

I'm sorry for all your losses, glider18, CockneyRebel, zen_mistress.

William Parker sounded like an amazing man. I would have loved to have met him.

My grandpa also passed away today, but in the afternoon. He was my last grandparent (they're all gone now).

Thank you Gina-ghettoprincess. I appreciate your sympathy.

Hi Sunshower---I am sorry about your grandpa. I will be thinking about you. Like you, I have no grandparents left either. I think you would have liked William Parker had you met him. I was telling my wife today that he was the only person I have ever known that talked with me hours on end about roller coasters. She was saddened to learn he had died too. She got to meet and talk with him once.

I'll be honest - I have no idea what it feels like to find out someone I respect and had a close connection with has died. I figure it must be difficult, and I know that you, glider, are a great person here on WP and if you are sad then I give you my condolences. That was an excellent story to honor William Parker.

Thank you WaterWater for your kind words. I still get teary eyed when I read my post on William Parker. It's strange how much of an impact he had on me. It was like I had found someone to fill a need in my life back then. One thing I always thought would be neat would be to own an amusement park---and he owned one. And he was willing to talk with me anytime I wanted to. And he owned my favorite roller coaster.