More people have been given the COVID-19 vaccination in Pittsburg County — but the numbers still have a way to go to reach the national goal of having 70% of
Updated Feb. 22
For nearly a year, the lights stayed off, the Ferris wheel sat still, and a warehouse of wonders waited to delight and terrify guests in Riverview.
The International Independent Showmenâs Museum closed, like the traveling shows it celebrates, because of the pandemic.
But it exists because a few people spent years, raised millions and refused to let the fascinations of the carnival fade away. Ivan Arnold was one of them â a carnival lifer. (Not a carney. âWe in the business do not like to be called carneys,â said friend Jim Elliott. âCarnival people is fine.â)
Mr. Arnold discovered his people when he was 8 years old, after a carnival set up in a field behind his house in Traverse City, Mich. He started working for the HappyLand Show, first as a stake boy, helping earn money for his family, which struggled after his fatherâs death. He peeled onions. He worked the games. And he started traveling.