originally posted on 3/17/2025
Celebrating and advancing a message of preservation is essential to ACE’s purpose. On February 14-16, 2025, ACE volunteers threw a virtual T-shirt Gala, an event focused on roller coaster preservation and fundraising. The inspiration for the weekend was to offer all ACE members the opportunity to engage with fellow members, learn more about our mission and the impact of our preservation efforts to keep coasters rolling and enjoy the fun of acquiring some cool items through an auction.
Xander Lee designed the T-Shirt that references the entrance to Rocky Point Park.
All photos: courtesy ACE (unless otherwise noted). View full-sized image.
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The festivities included speakers from parks that have received grants from the ACE Preservation Fund, an auction of rare and one-of-a-kind treasures, a photo contest, preservation trivia, fun and games, an exclusive T-shirt, the ERTini mocktail toast and door prizes.
The hosts — Josh Brown, Jes Niemiec, Luke Fillion and Hunter Lawrence — created an engaging environment for all to celebrate and connect with fellow members.
As members entered the Zoom, they were asked to name a movie they love that features a roller coaster or theme park. There were quite a few votes for the National Lampoon movies plus support for “Rollercoaster.”
ACE Digital Events Coordinator Jes Niemiec and ACE History and Preservation Director Josh Brown.
American Eagle.
Photo: Michael Horwood. View full-sized image.
Shock Wave.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
The first person to speak was ACE History and Preservation Director Josh Brown. He explained what ACE’s 501(c)(3) status means and announced that Playland Park in Fresno, California, will be a recipient of a donation from ACE. ACE Pacific Southwest will be hosting an event there March 8, 2025, to celebrate the park. Brown also announced that ACE will recognize at least two new ACE Roller Coaster Landmarks in 2025: Six Flags Great America’s American Eagle and Six Flags Over Texas’ Shock Wave. These two roller coasters will join the exclusive group of 50 roller coasters that have been recognized for their historical significance. Read more about this recognition here.
The toast to ACE preservation was next, with many members sporting some really fun roller coaster or theme park glasses.
Photo: Lee Ann Draud. View full-sized image.
The first park speaker of the weekend was Jack Boylin of Camden Park (Huntingdon, West Virginia). During the Q&A, he was able to tell some great stories and speak about the significant difference the 2024 preservation donation from ACE made for his park.
Camden Park has been a part of Boylin’s family legacy a long time. His grandfather purchased the park in 1946, and having grown up in Huntingdon, Boylin has some great memories of visiting the park in his youth. For a time, the park wasn’t owned by his family, but then it came back to the Boylin clan in 1995, making this season his 30th year of operation.
Boylin answered questions about the now-defunct Thunderbolt Express, the looping roller coaster pulled from the park in 1999. The questions then turned to the park’s themed events. Boylin shared that their winter event never came close to the attendance of their Halloween event, and because of this, the winter event hasn’t happened the last few years. The Halloween event features stunts, a haunted train ride and maze. This haunt event is now in its 26th year of existence and still going strong.
Camden Park’s Hawnted House.
Photo: Cheri Armstrong. View full-sized image.
When asked to name his favorite ride in the park, Boylin answered that it is “probably the Hawnted House,” largely because he appreciates the art and the unique layout. With his fine arts background, the artistic elements speak to him. Because of this, he was able to paint a collage of Camden Park’s rides including Big Dipper, Hawnted House, the Clown Sign, Thunderbolt Express, Jewel City Sternwheeler, Train Ride and the Whip.
Questions then turned to other happenings in the park. The miniatures of the rides that were once for sale are potentially coming back. Look for the mascot, Cammie, who has been a part of the park since before Boylin returned after completing his formal education. Some fun additions for this summer are the Hurricane simulator, which will be added to the midway, and some bumper cars purchased from the now-closed Coney Island in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Because ACEers care about their tastebuds, the questions then turned to food. Without hesitation, Boylin shared that the most iconic food item in the park is the Pronto Pup (the park’s version of a corndog). In addition to Pronto pups, snow cones are among the most sold items in the park. The snow cone stand started with an original four flavors but has since expanded to offer a few more.
Camden Park’s attendees have changed over the years. Corporate events were more common prior to COVID-19 but have seen an increase in scheduling in recent times. Being the only park in West Virginia, Camden Park tries to give back to its home state.
Brody Rose’s Iron Wolf shirt.
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Following Boylin was Brody Rose, the self-named coaster doodler. He was sporting some great coaster items, including a classic Big Bad Wolf hat, which prompted compliments from many in the room.
As for his artistic endeavors, no single medium speaks to him more than any other. He has a graphic design job that he enjoys but has creative restrictions there that called him to go back to drawing. During his commute to and from work, he would pick up a newspaper, flip through it, find an illustration that spoke to him and then add a roller coaster to it. He shared a few of these drawings, which spoke to the fact that he “sees a roller coaster everywhere he looks.”
His projects now start with a trip to the thrift store, where he wanders around until he finds something that inspires him. Some art pieces house a coaster better than others. The process is all about transformation — a powerful word, both in this context and in other areas. He shared slides of the original pieces, which he transformed through his creative process, and the final product. Rose donated some of these pieces to the ACE Preservation T-Shirt Gala auction.
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The first night of the gala ended with ACE Preservation Trivia, with questions generated by Dave Hahner, ACE historian, and Danny Tucker, member of the ACE digital events team. There were 26 questions about coasters that are ACE Roller Coaster Landmarks, ACE Coaster Classics or defunct coasters. ACEers who missed the trivia fun are able to see where they stack up in the for-fun version, found here: https://kahoot.it/challenge/06095886?challenge-id=ba46ff45-3a69-40a1-a7db-ef382357d280_1739631760679
Rocky Point Park.
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Day Two of the gala included some great speakers, fond memories and enjoyable conversations. The night started with showing the new limited-edition Preservation T-shirt featuring the debut of an ACE Preservation logo. This shirt, with “American Coaster Enthusiasts” emblazoned on the archway of the now-defunct Rocky Point Park (Warwick, Rhode Island) was on sale through March 17.
The first speaker was Daryl Kirby, founder of Kirby Family Farm in Williston, Florida. This is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization supporting outreach for children in the system, or what Kirby refers to the “unrecorded” children in less-than-ideal environments who aren’t in the system officially.
The discussion turned to funding the charitable side of the organization. What was Kirby’s favorite themed weekend? He spun quite a yarn about Six Gun Territory Wild West Weekend and the inspiration for the event, which now happens a few times a year. Six Gun Territory in Ocala was a place Kirby visited in his childhood, and he remembered the stunts and gunslinging fondly. This park had a huge impact on Florida tourism as the state started to build the reputation of being a good place for theme parks.
The other event on the calendar that garners the shared top spot is the Scary Train Event. Kirby described this as “a Florida redneck’s version of Halloween horror nights haunted farm.” These weekends include a haunted train ride and other haunted attractions spread over the 110 acres. The crown jewel of the event is a hearse maze in which visitors are chased by a zombie.
The farm has a unique workforce made up of full-time staff and volunteers. Teenagers volunteer to add experience and service hours for their graduation, but they also help the farm connect with more people who need help. The organization also works with established charities, including Make a Wish and the Ronald McDonald House to support those in need.
Flitzer once operated at Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City, New Jersey.
Photo: Michael Horwood. View full-sized image.
Questions then turned to the coaster on the premises, Flitzer. The recent ACE donation was meant to help with the rebuilding and support of this German-made coaster. Before arriving in North America, it bounced around Germany until the mid-1980s when it ran at Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City, New Jersey, and then on to Florida.
The main attractions at the farm are the locomotives on site. The farm houses a huge variety, but they are most known for their narrow-gauge trains. There are some classics, including two from the now-defunct Six Gun Territory and the original Opryland locomotives. One of the trains on premise, the Glover, is considered among the rarest in the world, with fewer than 200 of this model ever made.
Building and maintaining the locomotives were expensive, and the endeavor put a lot of financial pressure on the family. They decided to open the farm to the public to begin alleviating some of the financial pressure and get them in a position to support their charity.
Initially, the Wild West Weekend was put on the backburner because of concerns for safety. Eventually a call from a volunteer group that runs train robbing reenactments for children’s charities opened the door to making this nod to the past a reality. What was initially going to be a one-time event was so successful that it is now happening multiple times a year. The train robberies always end at the preserved train station from Six Gun Territory, which the Smithsonian confirmed is rare and worth maintaining.
Most of the farm’s rides arrived through lucky opportunities. Kirby said that he is “not an investigative genius,” but rather takes advantage of tips he receives from others.
When asked to identify his dream ride to add to the collection, there was no hesitation: a dark ride. Even without that dream coming to fruition, Kirby would be “quite honored” to have an ACE event at Kirby Family Farm, and he would be “a proud rooster, strutting around showing off all their attractions.”
Kirby shared that he used ACE’s preservation funds to work on fixing Flitzer. Because of the cost of transporting the ride to Germany, Zierer gave its blessing to having it fixed in the United States by one of the approved maintenance companies. When asked when Flitzer would be ready to ride, he replied that he wants to “underpromise and overdeliver” and said he hoped it would be opening soon.
About the food options at the farm, Kirby didn’t hesitate in reporting that the most sought-after food item is a corn dog, the recipe for which came from a traditional carnival troupe who only shared it reluctantly. He was excited to share that foodies come just for the corndogs! “They come, pay their $20 gate donation, and don’t ride anything!”
Those interested in donation or volunteer opportunities can email info@kirbyfarm.com.
Lenny Adams.
Photo: B. Derek Shaw. View full-sized image.
Chris LaReau’s Blue Streak shirt design.
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The third speaker of the weekend was Lenny Adams III, formerly rides maintenance supervisor at Conneaut Lake Park in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania. He spoke about this and his current position as a Pennsylvania state rides inspector, fielding questions about both roles.
Twister.
Photo: Bobby Nagy. View full-sized image.
Adams has been a part of parks for a good portion of his life. His father started working with structural technology related to rides, which meant that Adams was able to engage in the family business from a young age. His first project was Knoebels’ Twister during his senior year of high school. This project hooked him, and he has been involved in amusement parks ever since.
During the discussion of his work on the Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake Park, he remembered working to get the coaster rideable again and that giving up was not an option because they “can’t do that to ACE.” He was adamant that the ACE Coaster Classic and ACE Roller Coaster Landmark Blue Streak reopened because of the preservation funds donated by ACE. The bulk of the funds went toward supplies, with the reworking going down to the dip through the switchback. The bill for the project was $350,000 for just that turn, and it was able to happen in large part because of ACE’s donation. The legitimacy the donation brought to the project led to obtaining some grants to finish the project.
Blue Streak.
Photo: Mark Rosenzweig. View full-sized image.
With sadness, Adams expressed how much he misses Blue Streak. When he wasn’t working in the park (which was rare), he could sit in his home and hear the Blue Streak running through different hills. He was so in tune with the ride, he could tell by the sound if the coaster train was on hill one, two, three or four.
Speaking about the park as a whole, he often referred to it as an “operating museum” because it was a collection of historical rides. The park was full of one-of-a-kind classics, which were awesome but also “a nightmare to keep running.” History and preservation were reasons to keep going, but maintaining rides with ages in the triple digits was extremely difficult because of the need for specialized and rare parts.
When not at Conneaut, Adams worked on a variety of rides all over the country. He consulted on Flying Turns at Knoebels as well as Thunder Road and Hurler at Carowinds. Other projects included Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas, rides at Geauga Lake and Shivering Timbers at Michigan’s Adventure.
Switching to the requirements of his current job, Adams spoke about the need for quality control and how well-maintained rides are able to pass every inspection. As a ride inspector, he knows that almost 100% of the accidents in parks can be avoided by listening to the rules.
When asked if there was a classic ride he would love to see return, he mentioned a Staride, which he described as a “Ferris wheel which goes extremely fast and there is almost a vertical view downward.” With only a few still in existence — and those standing but not operating — it’s not likely to happen.
Lenny Adams received an Industry Appreciation Award from ACE Western Pennsylvania in 2024 at CoasterBash!.
Photo: Sarah Windisch. View full-sized image.
Adams was sharing all these stories in front of a wall of memorabilia. On it is one of his most prized possessions, a photo from a construction project at Knoebels that included three of the four Leonard Adams to have ever lived: his grandfather, father and himself. Also on the shelf was the ACE Western Pennsylvania Industry Appreciation Award that he received in 2024 at CoasterBash!.
The third and final day of the inaugural ACE T-shirt Gala brought attendees together for an interactive conclusion to the event’s lineup. A weekend of wonderful preservation stories and efforts was winding down, but not before putting the “T-shirt” in “T-shirt Gala”!
Luke Fillion.
Photo: S. Madsonna Horcher. View full-sized image.
Hunter Lawrence.
Photo: courtesy The Gravity Group. View full-sized image.
Moderated by Luke Fillion and Hunter Lawrence, the day kicked off with a fun question posed to attendees to answer in the chat: “How many coaster/park shirts do you think you have?” The answers ranged from 10 to 400!
Fillion shared a compilation video of Rocky Point Park footage, provided by Bill and Marie Perry. It was a treat to see some footage of the park that served as the inspiration for the new ACE T-shirt design that premiered for sale during the gala.
From there, Lawrence took over hosting duties to initiate the celebration of all things T-shirt. An ACE member for just over 10 years, she has spent the latter half of that time searching out and acquiring vintage shirts and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. She encouraged hand-washing vintage shirts with gentle soap and air-drying them to help them last into their golden years. Lawrence noted the unique color palettes, hand-drawn artwork, variety of sleeve styles and classic printing techniques that give older T-shirts a different vibe from that of their modern counterparts.
Lawrence is an engineer for The Gravity Group, where she is able to slowly show off her collection during the company’s Coaster T-shirt Fridays. Her coaster/park collection currently contains around 330 shirts, and about 180 of them are vintage. (“Vintage” for these purposes generously meaning 1990s or earlier, with 70s/80s being preferred.)
T-shirts, especially vintage ones, are a unique mechanism of preservation, as they can help keep the memory of our favorite rides alive. In some cases, shirts and other souvenirs become the only remaining physical ties to parks that aren’t around anymore. Shirts are conversation starters to aid in the sharing of stories. Acquiring T-shirts from the original owners is the most meaningful because they can share stories about the park and their experience of being an enthusiast when the shirt was purchased.
Lawrence had prepared a selection of 20 shirts to share with attendees. The unifying theme for the bunch was defunct coasters/defunct parks, again demonstrating how shirts are able to celebrate a bygone era. Attendees were fondly reminded of parks such as Ghost Town in the Glen (Rocky Glen), Crystal Beach, Williams Grove and Buckroe Beach, among others. Memories of rides like Americana’s Serpent, Westview’s Dips, Libertyland’s Zippin Pippin and Idora’s Wildcat were brought back to life momentarily. Even a defunct designer/manufacturer pair was represented: Dinn & Summers.
A sampling of shirts by Hunter Lawrence.
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The conclusion of Lawrence’s virtual shirt exhibit was the cue for the share-your-shirt portion to commence. With 52 ACEers on the call at peak attendance, it was decided that using breakout rooms would ensure that everyone would have time to share. The recommended discussion points for each participant were to show and discuss their shirt and then answer the following two questions: What is your favorite defunct credit that you’ve experienced and what is the defunct ride you most wish you could have ridden? Lawrence kicked it off by showing her Roaring Tiger shirt, declaring Conneaut Lake Park’s Blue Streak as her favorite obsolete credit and citing Comet from the defunct Cascade Park as a credit she wished she could have experienced.
Circus World Roaring Tiger.
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Busch Gardens Williamsburg Drachen Fire.
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Belmont Park Giant Dipper.
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Whalom Park.
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After reconvening, Fillion provided some final updates on other portions of the event. The photo contest winners were revealed: Dan Brewer’s Magnum XL-200 photo took third, while second and first place followed a Racer theme. Kings Island’s Racer was symmetrically depicted in second place’s composition by Christopher Yarbrough, while Kennywood’s Racer was beautifully spotlighted by Laimis Belzinskas, taking first. Winners of the opening-night trivia were recognized: Chris LaReau placed third, Elizabeth Ringas second and Doug Perry first.
Lawrence switched from her vintage T-shirt enthusiast persona to her industry professional one to finish up the gala with a brief rundown of what The Gravity Group is up to for the 2025 season. This little bonus segment harmonized perfectly with the theme of preservation, as The Gravity Group takes great pride in helping cherished wooden coasters stay wooden and running their best. At the time of the Gala, only four of the company’s eleven Engineered Precut Track upgrade projects for the 2025 season had been announced. Each ride that receives precut track gets a three-letter project code as well as a specific project color.
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Racer 75 at Kings Dominion (KDR) received vertical track for both lift hills, while Raven at Holiday World (HWR) will see its first drop redone in vertical track. Mighty Canadian Minebuster at Canada’s Wonderland (CWM) is receiving a sizable 960-foot stretch of vertical track, spanning from the first drop to the turnaround, including some reprofiling. The classic Wildcat at Lake Compounce (LCW) will get its second round of precut track for 2025, finishing out the ending of the ride with both vertical and horizontal track.
Saving and wearing shirts depicting long-gone rides and actually retracking real-life roller coasters couldn’t seem more disparate, but when thought about at a deeper level, each is a valuable form of preservation, despite the difference in scale. This is proof that preservation, in whatever way possible, is a worthy goal that can unite enthusiasts, parks and manufacturers.
The online auction raised $1,033 for ACE’s preservation efforts. Appreciation was extended to all who participated, including those who donated items. In case you missed it, the fun and games are still available at American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE).
Thanks were given to all who participated and came dressed for the occasion!
— Jes Niemiec, Digital Events Coordinator, with contributions from Elizabeth Ringas and Hunter Lawrence
#ACENews