Linda Lampkin knew her idea to buy the carousel that had been part of the Appleton City Fair for more than a decade was a winner.
Now, everybody in the state of Missouri knows.
Sara Schafer, the editor of “Rural Missouri,” called Linda last February to tell her that photographers were coming to Appleton City to take pictures of the carousel. That’s how Linda found out that the carousel had received the most votes in the magazine’s annual “Best of 2024” readers-choice contest for Kid-Friendly Attraction.
But she was sworn to secrecy until the awards were announced in the April issue.
The magazine, a state-wide publication of Missouri Rural Electric Cooperatives, hit mail boxes this week, but the April issue was posted online the week before last. Since then, Linda has been getting phone calls, texts and emails, she said, congratulating her on receiving first place, beating the St. Louis Zoo.
“I’d like to give credit to the area people who voted for the true rural attraction,” Linda said. “The residents of Appleton City and everyone in the small towns within a 25-mile radius who voted for the carousel can be proud they helped the attraction be a winner.”
People who spread the word to their friends about voting helped the carousel get the win, Linda said.
It was back in 2021, when Linda was trying to book the carnival that came to the city fair for the past 11 years, that she learned the carnival owner had died, and the rides were being dismantled and sold. So she drove to Anderson, Mo., where she bought the carousel from the Southern Fun Carnival.
Linda purchased a double lot on Appleton City’s main street and spent the next year getting the property cleared and the site prepared. She also designed an enclosed octagonal gazebo for the carousel, with seven garage doors on the sides that can be opened, and a big window in front. After overseeing its construction, the former owners delivered the carousel, sliding the center part into the gazebo with inches to spare.
The carousel didn’t come with a sound system, so Linda researched and found traditional carousel music and bought a sound system to play it on. She also climbed ladders to touch up the paint, and bought new light bulbs for the structure. Made by San Antonio Roller Works, the carousel runs on an electric motor and is a menagerie model, with eight horses plus a giraffe, elephant, zebra and other animals.
The April cover of “Rural Missouri” shows 3-year-old Gracelyn, the granddaughter of a former neighbor of Linda’s sister, on a carousel horse, the sides of the gazebo open to reveal the rock wall of the adjacent building. Riding the carousel is a tradition in Appleton City, where people photograph their children on the same horse every year.
A large photograph of the Appleton City Carousel also heads the “Best of 2024” article.
Linda was told by the magazine photographers that they were going to Butler next to take photographs at the Koehn Bakery, named best bakery, but she had to promise to keep that news under her hat as well until the official announcement.
Also placing in the contest was Frank’s Fish Shack. Angie Carey said she was thrilled that the fish shack came in second place in the state for best catfish, given that she and spouse Terry only opened it last March.
“If anyone would’ve told us a year ago that we’d be where we’re at today with this little ole ‘shack’ out in the middle of nowhere, we wouldn’t have believed it,” Angie wrote on the fish shack’s Facebook page, where she posts specials for the weekends.
The Fish Shack is actually a large stationary trailer, which the couple had custom-built on a mobile home base next to their house, west of Tightwad. For their second year of operation, the Careys are adding a pavilion for covered seating, have obtained a liquor license and booked bands for summer concerts. The fish shack, on Hwy. SE 7, is named for Terry’s father, who was a Truman Lake fisherman.
The Appleton City Carrousel is also in its first year of operation, having opened last spring on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Linda set it up as a non-profit, asking for a minimum of a dollar per rider to cover electricity costs. She operated the carousel on weekend nights through the summer through the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, and will do so again this summer.
In the three months it was open, she kept track of where the riders were from, coloring in locations on a map. The Appleton City Carousel drew riders from 12 states, Linda said, plus Spain and South Korea. It was also featured in the National Carousel Magazine.
In January, the A.C. Carousel received state-wide media attention for a display Linda created of vintage University of Missouri football programs, pennants and Tiger memorabilia in the gazebo windows in conjunction with MU’s appearance in the Cotton Bowl. Visible through the front window was the focal point of the display, a replica of MU mascot Truman the Tiger riding on a carousel horse.
Other local businesses that placed in the contest, based on popular vote: Pizza Glen in Clinton took second place in the pizza category, Atomic Hog BBQ second in the food truck category, and Osceola Cheese second for roadside attractions.
“Rural Missouri” magazine is mailed to customers of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, and has a circulation of half a million customers, the largest of any periodical in the state. Go to ruralmissouri.org to see the full article, which is accompanied by a map showing the locations of the first, second and editor’s choice winners.
Schafer said the Best of 2024 article and map will also be displayed in the Missouri Electric Cooperatives Building during the Missouri State Fair next August.
