Repairs no longer bugging thrill ride

The attraction is one of only two of its kind still operating.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CONNEAUT LAKE, Pa. -- Riding the Tumble Bug on Saturday was like graduating from Kiddie Land all over again for Nancy Manning.
As a kid, the Tumble Bug gave Manning her first taste of the "bigger" rides at Conneaut Lake Park.
"And there was no going back for me," she said. "Once I rode the Tumble Bug I was done with Kiddie Land for good. I was ready to ride with the big kids."
Manning, 58, of Meadville, Pa., said her trip on Saturday was just as thrilling as that initial ride, only for a different reason. Manning was one of 24 area amusement park enthusiasts to ride the Tumble Bug back into action. The ride had been out of service since 2002.
To mark the reopening of the ride, the park auctioned off seats and allowed the 24 high bidders to fill the ride's 24 spaces. At noon Saturday, with a small crowd to cheer it on, the Tumble Bug carried folks along its circular track for nearly three minutes. Bids, which opened Monday and closed at 7 p.m. Wednesday, started at $50. Park officials said the high bid came in at $150.
"It's great to see this enthusiasm," said George Deshner, park operations director. "A lot of people have lot of affection for this park and work really hard to keep things going."
A long history
Deshner said the ride was out of service for so long because replacement parts for the machine are hard to come by. The ride was installed at the park in 1925. Built by the former Travers Engineering Co., of Beaver Falls, Pa., the rides were once very popular at amusement parks throughout the world.
There were two variations. One looked like a bug, hence the name Tumble Bug. The second looked like a turtle and is the reason that this ride is sometimes called the Turtle Ride.
At Conneaut, the cars that carry passengers look like bugs. The "bugs" travel around a circular undulating track.
Including the ride at Conneaut, there are two remaining operating Tumble Bugs in the world.
"And I'm glad we have one of them here," said Ed Kaufman of Conneaut Lake. As a birthday present for their dad, Kaufman's daughters Wendy Seeley of Johnstown and Melodye Koppler of Princeton, W.Va., secured a space on the ride Saturday for the 76-year-old grandfather. Six of Kaufman's grandchildren accompanied him.
Kaufman and Manning are former park employees.
"I think I first rode this ride 65 years ago," Kaufman said. "I still love it. I hated to see it down. My daughters rode this when they were young and my grandchildren did, too. This really was a great birthday present. It makes me feel young again. I think that's always a good thing, no matter how old you are, to enjoy something so much that it makes you feel good and young again."