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115/923-2332 ̂* CsN for Tee Timti 2 GREEN FEES FOR INC PRICE 0F1 Offer Good tlirv /tag. lttk. Page 34-3Kew MedU flroup 1M2 Pair Quid* Fair features Building the big Ferris wheel By J.L. Schmidt Associated Press writer JACKSONVILLE, 111. - The Eli Bridge Co. doesn't build bridges - they never have and probably never will. But since 1900 they have been building Ferris wheels and other amusement rides. It began in 1900 with Grandpa W.E. Sullivan who built the first of what has become the Big Eli, Standard Wheels as they are known in the carnival business . Sullivan started the industry in his native Roodhouse, a Greene County about 30 miles southwest of here. "He called it a bridge company in the wheel huflftWff flopped," --ih Sullivan Jr., the grandson who now heads the hand-me-down firm. Grandpa Sullivan saw his first Ferris Adam's Bras. Radiator Service Bringing You The Very Best In Radiator, Auto Heater & Air Conditioning Service Since 1955 WHEN THERE HAS SEEN A NEED FOR RADIATOR/AUTO HEATER OR Alt CONDITIONING SERVICE. PEOPIE HAVE ALWAYS LOOKEO TO ADAM'S BROS. RADIATOR SERVICE FOR EXPERT CRAFTSMANSHIP AND SERVICE. Adam's Bros. Radiator Service 300* W. Rout* 120 • McHwiry 3S5-07S3 at the IMS World's Ooharihian Ex­ position in Chicago. Designed ysdflcany for the exposition, it was 289 feet high and had II10 p see anger cars the stm of troBey cars on it, Lee Sullivan said. "Grandpa came home sod built a 42-foot- high wheel which was first used in a festival in a Jacksonville park in 1990," Sullivan said. The original atm stands hi front of the Jacksonville factory. "Everybody thought Grandpa was crasy when he decided to build a wheel. Grandma's family urged her not to mor­ tgage her property to finance the idea, but, of course, she did Just that," Sullivan said. Grandpa and a handful of employees rented tools and time in a machine shop in Hie company also builds Big Eli ScramMsr, an octopus of a device which spins seats while the entire ride goea in circles. The current design was Lee Jr.'s first project after he joinedthe firm in 1990. The Little Scrambler, a model Sullivan hopes might be maitetod in a popular na­ tional Christmas catalog this year, adls for $31,125, the firm's lowest priced modeL The Kg Eli Scrambler, trailer-mounted and ready for use, is the most eipenslve at Wheel prices fall in between, from $42,000 to 992,000. "There should be some personal interest in the Little Scrambler, possibly for home Everybody thought Grandpa (Sullivan) was crazy when he decid­ ed to build a wheel. Grandma's family urged her not to mortgage her property to finance the idea, but, of course, she did just that --- Loo Sullivan Jacksonville to build the first Big Eli, mov­ ing later to their own factory. By 1919 the demand for railroad shipments of materials and a better way to •hip the finished product became so greet that the company moved from one-railroad line Roodhouse to three-line Jacksonville, Sullivan said. Today, 40 employees work in the modern shop which still has a rail spur, although it is seldom used. The Big Eli Wheels today are flipped by truck. "Our serial numbers are in the 1,200's now" and many are already mounted on their own trailers, "ready foe carnival use the minute they leave the building." Grandpa built a huge rectangular dome on the roof of the factory located on a quiet residsntial strest on the oorthwest side of town. That dome allows the employees to erect the biggest wheel - they come in three sizes, 42, 49 and 89 feet high -- for testing indoors. "We've refined and improved on the wheel over the years, hut the bask varia­ tions remain relatively simple, portable or permanent mount," Sullivan said. The firm is the nation's oldest mam pro­ ducer of carnival ride and the only one mak­ ing wheels. But Sullivan and his staff arent use," Sullivan said. "I mean, if they can sell his and her hot air balloons, why not this?" n* ride takes a 29-foot diameter space and has room for 24 people. It can be equip­ ped with an automatic start and stop con­ trol, so the owner can enjoy the fun too. The company recently developed its third ride, The Swing, used as a children's car­ nival attraction. Its tower price has helped attract new business in an otherwise tight economy, Sullivan said. The unit goes for about $90,000. The Swing was the brainchild of several employees who told Sullivan they had a new idea for a ride. "We wanted to get it built in time tor a trade show, so we built the first one before we drew the plans," Sullivan said. "We don't normally do things that way, but it has worked out welL" The company carries its own financing on the rides it sells, with funds usually dne in five large payments during the recognised carnival season, July to October, over a oeriod of years. "But It's the weather, not the economic climate, that has given us trouble this year," Sullivan said. "We've had carnival operators Ml us of being rained oat at tour of five days in a place. That continued on page 38 cMattngo <zRidyt ^oCf and Country CM 923-2332 9501 Harmony Hid Rd.