Sioux City Journal from Sioux City, Iowa • 56

Sunday, May 14, 1989page 8 The Sioux City Journal Nostalgia reigns at renovated Okoboji park children's playland that is set in a TrOSWl Tennis camp By Anne Woolson Journal staff writer SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa A sense of nostalgia prevails once again as Arnolds Park Amusement Park, on West Lake Okoboji, prepares to reopen its gates after a year-and-a-half break. May 27, the park will reopen in a grand celebration that will include a parade and a visit from Gov. Terry Branstad. Even though the park is renovated and practically new, the nostalgia still remains. "The town (of Arnolds Park) was actually formed around the park," said Rick Serie, general manager of Arnolds Park an Iowa Classic, as the park is now called.

"W.A.A. Arnold came here right after the Civil War and saw the potential of the area. He started putting up hotels and the town actually grew around it." Arnolds Park's draw came from the vast amount of trees and the blue water of West Lake Okoboji. According to Serie, it was a cool place for people to come and have picnics. Around 1918, the amusement area began.

"From there everything just took off and it has been here ever since," Serie said. Ever since, that is, until 1987 when the Park was sold to Long Lines, Ltd. of Sergeant Bluff. Long Lines closed the park in the fall of that year, originally slating the area for some sort of resort complex or tourist attraction, according to Serie. Other reports said that Long Lines was contemplating renovation.

Serie says the decision to renovate the park came during the fall of 1988 when he was called by one of the park's investors to devise a plan to rebuild. Serie had had vast experience in amusement companies in the past, even owning and operating his own carnival. "I came up with a plan and they asked me to come work for them," Serie said, noting that he became the park's general manager in October 1988. Among the most significant decisions made after The Park, acquired the amusement area from Long Lines, was the one to renovate the Big Coaster. jungle theme, tnat inciuaes drawbridges and walkways that lead to a 45 foot slide, punching bags and other playthings for children.

"The Okoboji Limited will be run-ning. It is the 1937 National train that was here before and was completely rebuilt. It runs the perimeter of the Other rides include an octopus, tilt-a-wheel, scrambler, a 50-foot-high erris wheel and 10 more kiddie rides. There also will be entertainment three times a day performed by a group similar to similiar to Up With 1 People. Serie said he is also bringing back rock and polka dances.

"There will be something for everyone," he said. "We are stressing the family theme, it is a family park. Safety is number one with us, there is no doubt about that. And cleanliness is very important, too." The park will bring 105 jobs to the Okoboji area an added bonus of reopening. "Mainly though it is the nostalgia of the park," Serie said.

"I've talked to a lot of older people in the area. They've told me about how they met, their wives or sweethearts at the1' park years before. One man I talked to even helped build the original roller coaster back in '29. There is a lot of nostalgia involved." Over the next five years, the parfc! will continue to grow. According to -Serie, plans for an 100-unit hotel have 1 been scrapped, but other expansions, i such as a go-cart track and water park are still in the works.

1 Currently what used to be the park's roller skating rink is being used as a temporary roof garden, replacing the old Roof Garden which was demolished last summer. The temporary structure will host dances and picnics throughout the summer. Plans have not been finalized on whether the roller rink will ever v' reopen for skating or if a permanent 1 roof garden will be built. "Right now we are concentrating on the park itself," Serie said. "We have a five-year plan that (ensures) more things and bigger and better things." i Nothing does more for your tennis game than an intensive week of instruction and drills.

New England Tennis Holidays is offering five-day and weekend tennis camps at Dana Place Inn in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Sessions run June through September. The camp includes morning and afternoon clinics, video analysis, mini tournaments and tips on singles and doubles strategy, The cost ranges from $235 for weekend camps to $625 for a five-day camp. Prices include tennis instruction, all meals and lodging. (AA) FYI: Sew England Tennis Holidays, P.O.

Box 1648, North Conway, Ml 03860; (603)356-9696. Washington ways The state of Washington has a lot of events planned throughout the summer, many specially designed to celebrate the state's centennial. Look for the Wine Festival in Spokane on June 2. The Tri-Cities is hosting the 11th Annual Homes Gardens Tour on June 3. And visitors to Seattle can take in the Mainly Mozart Symphony on June 9.

Festivities in July include garden tours in Bellingham (July 9), an Apple Pie Jamboree in Pateros (July 14-16) and the International Old Time Fiddlers Contest in Newport (July 21-22). (AA) FYI: Washington Stae Department of Trade Economic Development, Tourism Development Division, 101 General Administration Building, AX-13, Olympia, WA. 98504-0613; (206)586-2088. Historical New York year, the owners of the area amusement park hope to recapture those past joys. Parades, the Roof Garden and the Fun House were all big parts of the summer fun at Arnolds Park.

This check the steel coasters." A total of 18 rides plus the Big Coaster, as it is known, will be ready to roll over the Memorial Day weekend. According to Serie, eight of the rides were purchased from him, five from different amusement parks around the country and the rest were renovated from the park's collection. "We have the Great Lakes Himalayas. It is one huge ride that I bought from a pier out in New Jersey. People sit in a car and are spun around back through a tunnel.

There are strobe lights and loud music and a bubble machine that blows bubbles in their faces. The ride takes you up and down dips and through the tunnel." Serie said there will also be new bumper cars and a jungle walk a Very little is different about the new coaster, except the time it takes to complete a single ride. "It is 62 feet 10 inches at its highest point, the same as the old one," Serie said. "It takes 42 seconds to ride it, which is about five seconds shorter than the old ride. We super-elevated the corners so the cars go through them faster." Serie said that rather than building a new steel coaster, the firm decided to invest in renovating the wooden one for safety and nostalgia reasons.

"Wooden coasters actually are safer than steel coasters. Wood gives and it flexes. On the steel coasters, the vibrations from the cars put hairline cracks in the steel. They have had some major problems with those and they have to continually It will begin rolling again for its 60th birthday. "This is a linear roller coaster that we are completely rebuilding," Serie said.

'It has a new track system that involves stacking lumber and nailing and gluing it all together. The old system was about half as strong as the new one is. "The coaster also has a new entrance and exit, new cars, power house, link-built chain and new braking system. We waterblasted the coaster to check for cracks, but the type of wood we are using is long leaf southern yellow pine No. 1.

That is the type of wood you can bury in the ground and will probably be good for another 60 years after this." The original coaster took two years and 125 men to build back in 1929. British Airways installs armrest VCRs Summer fun available in Puerto Rico Airlines are searching for ways to let the laptop computer crowd "do their spreadsheets, write their contracts and fax them." Visitors to New York should drop by the New York Historical Society exhibit "Revisiting the New York World's Fair of 1939." The fair's theme was "World of Tomorrow," and it included a presentation of how America might appear in 1960 and performances of Billy Rose's Aquacade. That exhibit runs through Aug. 20. Also at the New York Historical Society through July 30 is the Washington in New York" showing.

The exhibit commemorates the first president's years in New York, where he won and ran the country until the nation's capital was moved to Philadelphia in 1790. Items on display include a cot on which he reportedly slept, letters and a chair made from the timbers of Washington's New York residence, which was demolished in 1856. Admission to the New York Historical Society is $2 for adults, $1.50 for seniors over 65 and $1 for children under 12. The hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.(AA) FYI: Sew York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, Sew York, S.Y.

10024; (212) 873-3400. to the satellite phone," says Oldham, "and transmit data anywhere there are no geographical limits." Oldham claims the "second generation" of seatback video also is ready for testing. "This will have an interactive capability and allow you to, say, play a video game. Imagine trying to play Pong on a 4-inch screen," she says. The ultimate in in-flight entertainment, she contends, will come when passengers can receive their hometown local news, sports team, favorite shows, via satellite, and watch from their seats as conveniently as from their living room sofa.

"Actually, all of this is technically possible right this minute," maintains Oldham, "but it's not cost-effective for the airlines. You're talking a cost of $500,000 to $2 million to equip each airplane, and headset revenues won't cover that." To get a fix on how much passengers are willing to pay to be entertained at 39,000 feet, Oldham says carriers experimenting with different systems are charging anywhere from $4 to $12 per person or giving it free in first class and business class as a marketing Many airlines have been testing the waters with special programming. Pan Am has shown the day's news aloft since 1985, and American Air also beams news throughout its cabins. NBC, ABC and PBS produce special news programming for airlines. British Airways shows BBC news and news from Tokyo in Japanese on select flights.

Oldham says United's news reports on the '80 Olympic Games from Seoul were a "big hit" and revealed a huge appetite for up-to-the-minute programming among business travelers who either get their TV news at 6:30 a.m., when they're scrambling to catch the plane or at 11 p.m., when they're too bushed to absorb it. The newest in-flight entertainment trends: old sitcoms, useful information such as how to navigate around the airport where you'll soon be landing, some cartoons and, on Virgin Atlantic, the hip, lower-fare London-based upstart carrier music videos. Along with more televisionlike programming, you'll see more TV-like commercials. "There are commercials all over the place up there," confirms Oldham. "Most airlines contract with (entertainment suppliers) who give them sponsor-supported visual short subjects." Companies such as Sheraton Hotels and Federal Express simply buy commercial time to rifle in on a captive business traveler audience.

Oldham says so far only two airlines Swissair and Delta have refused to subject their passengers to ad pitches. Yet her World Airline Entertainment Association surveyed passengers and found that some 75 percent of the respondees "felt the amount of advertising shown was about right." Will the day come when direct-selling outfits such as life insurance companies, brokerage firms and car phone companies will beam their marketing pitches square at 200-500 prospects strapped in their seats? "We get contacted by them all the time," the candid Oldham replies. "And if they're willing to pay enough for our audiences, we'll listen." She says airlines have "no choice" but to "create an ambience where passengers feel comfortable and well taken care of," and someone has to pay for that pampering. Affordable and balmy, Puerto Rico is one of the Caribbean's favorite destinations. For a little culture, there is the Casals Festival, June 3-18, at the Performing Arts Center in San Juan.

Founded in 1957 by cele-, brated cellistconductor Pablo Casals, this year's festival will include performances by the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony of Washington and the Juilliard String Quartet. For a place to stay, check out the Hyatt Dorado Beach and Hyatt Regency Cerromar Beach resorts. Both offer savings of up to 55 percent, June through September. Among the packages being offered are a "Twogether" package at the Hotel Dorado Beach. The three-night plan includes golf, tennis, bicycling and one-day use of the exercise equipment in the hotel's Spa Caribe, The cost is $483 per person, double occupancy and savings of $100 off the high-season rate, At the Hyatt Regency Cerromar Beach, there is the "Spa Sampler," a three-night, $499 package.

Exercise classes, a complete fitness evaluation and a series of luxury spa treatments are included. (AA) FYI: Hyatt Dorado Beach, Dorado, Puerto Rico 00648; (809) 796-1600 Hyatt Regency Cerromat Beach, Dorado, Puerto Rico 00646; (809) 796-1010. By Chris Barnett Copley News Service MIAMI It sounds like pie in the sky, but British Airways has tested personal VCRs installed in armrests where passengers can watch 20 to 30 video channels as easily as listening to 10 stereo channels now. Japan Air Lines already has experimented with satellite telephones that let you call anybody anywhere in the world right from your seat. British Airways also is testing what is called Satfone that claims to relay messages from caller via Earth stations and space satellites.

Qantas and Northwest Airlines are now evaluating passenger reaction to test installations of "seatback video" developed by Airvision of Valencia, The 4-inch screen shows videotapes from six VCRs located in the cabin. Coming as soon as the political and jurisdictional hassles can be resolved: the air-to-ground global fax. What were deemed ideas straight our of "Star Wars" a year ago are either in the testing stage or visible on the horizon, says Judy Oldham, chairman of World Airline Entertainment Association. Most are aimed directly at the business traveler and are designed to either break up the boredom of flying or put the dead time to productive use, she says. To date, motion pictures have been the "mainstay" of in-flight entertainment, but technical triumphs are opening the cabin to brainstorms that would boggle Buck Rogers' mind.

Oldham businesspeople flyers who generally pay full fares and travel plenty will get showered with attention and ideas first. A former flight attendant who also is unit manager of in-flight entertainment for Pan Am, Oldham knows exactly what the business traveler faces a grind. High seas "He has three to four hours' worth of work in his briefcase, and by the time he gets through the airport, down the jetway and into his seat, he's exhausted, frustrated and at his wits end. Then someone offers him a drink, he accepts and then the motivation to do four hours' work disappears." To keep the "Type-A personalities" happy, airlines are searching for ways to let the laptop computer crowd "do their spreadsheets, write their contracts and fax or telecommunicate it," says Oldham. Pan Am's shuttle service along the East Coast is experimenting with fax transmissions from planes to U.S.

companies. "Wherever, you have a plane with a phone onboard, you can have a fax," she says. So far, air-to-ground telephones have been limited to calls within the United States. British Airways and JAL's tests involve satellites that give passengers telephonic access to the world. "Once that's perfected, you can hook up your fax or computer modem There are two ways to enjoy the New England coastline this summer.

Clipper Cruise Line is offering a series of seven-day Chesapeake Bay cruises between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore aboard the Yorktown Clipper. Ports of call include Yorktown, Norfolk, St. Michaels, Annapolis and St. Mary's City. Autumn departures are scheduled for Sept.

30, Oct. 7, 14 and 21. Even landlubbers can enjoy the 60th anniversary exhibit at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Conn. Festivities throughout the summer will kick off with a Lobster Festival May 27-29 and finish up with the International Whaleboat Races in September. (AA) FYI: Clipper Crusie Line, Windsor Building, 7711 Bonhomme St.

Louis, MO 63105-1965; (314) 727-2929. Mystic Seaport, 50 Greenmanville, Mystic, CT 06355-0990; (203) 572-0711. Southern Hills Mall, Sioux City, IA (712)274-1444 Toll Free Number (800) 383-1444 18 Plymouth S. S.W., Le Mars, IA (712) 546-7891 Sioux Center, IA Remsen, I A (712)722-1400 (712)786-2950 AltonOrange City, IA (712)756-8936 Looking for vacation ideas at bargain prices? Pioneer Travel "Your Travel Professionals" a miff 11 Allied Tour Travel can We have great savings on cruises, sports tours, honeymoon packages motorcoach tours. Cruise discounts to the Caribbean, Mexico New England Great savings on group rates on sports motorcoach tours Allied Tour and Travel 712255-0141 For your FREE vacation Idea booklet write: Allied Tour and Travel, 524 Chambers Sioux City, IA 51102 Yes, please send me FREE information about: Cruises Sport9 Tours Open 7 Days a Week Located in the Pioneer Mall at Sgt.

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10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun. 12-5 Call 943-2700 Division of Long Lines, Ltd. AIR FARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND AVAILABILITY Restrictions may apply Most require advance purchase SEATTLE from Sioux City 278 PHOENIX from Sioux City $258 HONOLULU from Sioux City HOUSTON from Sioux City $238 NEW YORK from Sioux City $258 ORLANDO from Sioux City $272 SAN DIEGO from Sioux City $278 EUGENE from Sioux City 278 PHILADELPHIA from Sioux City $228 DALLAS from Sioux City $218 HOURS: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sat.

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