Published: 7 Mar 2024

From The Previous Chapter:

The man did qualify himself by saying that Billy was actually the only one of the boys old enough, who could actually do some of the work. He added that he and Jason would have to figure something out that the other boys could do and not break any State work rules.

The men finished their drinks, then Mr. Ken reminded them that he was going to be out at the park for eight o’clock, to start talking with the I&R companies and checking on what was left to be done for the Grand Re-Opening ceremonies.

Mr. Ken went down to the hotel lobby at 7:15 Monday morning to get something to eat off the breakfast buffet, before heading out to the amusement park. While he was eating, he was surprised by the seven boys coming down at 7:30 wanting to join him when he went out to the park.

“Boys … what brings you down here this early?” asked a smiling ‘dad’ Ken.

“Dad, we wanted to go out to the park with you, when you went out there,” offered Charles.

“Yea, dad, you said you were going out there for eight o’clock, and how would it look if we showed up at ten or eleven and then asked if we could help?” announced Robert.

“Oh, OK, if you’re going to go out there with me, then you’d better grab something off the buffet, so you don’t get hungry,” suggested ‘dad’ Ken.

The boys quickly grabbed something off the buffet, and the eight Covers loaded into the van, then headed out to the park. The boys wanting to join their ‘dad’ caused him to arrive thirty minutes later than he wanted to, but at least they were all there.

When Mr. Ken arrived, he found Jason and asked him what the boys could do to help. Jason asked him what their ages were. When the ops manager learned that Billy was sixteen and Robert was fifteen, he told the park’s owner that he could put the two of them to work with the other high school students, but not the others, due to insurance considerations.

Jason then told Mr. Ken that they were going to start working getting the merchandise stores ready, and that the other boys could help in there moving the things off the shelves, as they clean those, moving the clothes racks out of the way, as they clean the floors, and then they could put everything back where it was and then help restock.

Mr. Ken thought that was an easy enough job that the boys could help with, and not get hurt in doing so. So, the men went out to find the boys and Jason told Billy and Robert he’d put them both on the payroll, to the chagrin of the younger boys.

‘Dad’ Ken told them that their two older ‘brothers’ were old enough, and it was what it was. He then told the other boys that they would also help in the park, and that Mr. Jason has an important job for them to help with. Jason then radioed for the merchandise supervisor to come to the operations building.

In the meantime, Jason was going to have the two older Covers fill out a W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, but Mr. Ken then told Jason that it wouldn’t be necessary, as they are handsomely paid at home, then he laughed.

Billy and Robert turned and looked at their ‘dad’ with surprise. The two quickly talked and then they agreed that they and their ‘brothers’ were well taken care of at home, and if they were going to help around the park, they didn’t expect to be paid.

Just then the merchandise supervisor arrived. Jason greeted her, introduced her to Mr. Ken and then told her that she had seven new volunteers who could help her in cleaning and restocking her merchandise stores. The woman smiled, welcomed them and asked them to follow her.

After the boys departed the operations building, Mr. Ken asked Jason why all of the employees had parked on the same side of the parking lot.

Jason told the owner of the park that he had a parking lot paving company coming in that morning to brush clean the vacant side of the parking lot and then fill in the pot holes. The operations manager told Mr. Ken that the parking lot was in poor condition and he needed to do something about it before opening day.

Jason added that he put out a ‘Call for Bid’ to do what the winning company will do that week, which will also include putting down a layer of asphalt on the closest parking spaces and then they will stripe the parking spots to include the disabled parking places that were already identified, and then add a few more.

Mr. Ken asked Jason if it was in the budget. Jason told his boss that it was something that definitely needed to be done, and laughingly he said it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Then the ops manager smiled. Mr. Ken just smiled back knowing he gave the job of getting Edgewood cleaned up and operationally ready for their Grand Re-Opening to Jason, and he couldn’t argue with what his ops manager was doing.

Jason had essentially carte blanche to do whatever he needed to do to get it done and the people’s first impression is sometimes more important than what they see after they get into the park. Mr. Ken was happy the man wasn’t just focused on what was on the inside.

Mr. Ken looked at the time and told Jason he needed to use his office to call Ben. Jason walked the man over to his office and then left the man alone.

At the hotel, it was after nine o’clock when Collin and Ryan met Mr. Wayne, Mr. Dennis and Mr. Dan down in the lobby, and asked them where everyone else was. Mr. Wayne told them that Mr. Ken and the boys went out to the park earlier that morning to help do whatever they could.

Collin told the men that his ‘brothers’ were in his room talking about that last night, but he didn’t think they were serious about doing that. Collin then asked the men if they were going to go out there, too. The men said they were, but they wanted to get something to eat first. The five of them jumped into Collin’s limo and headed out for some breakfast.

Mr. Ken called Ben Walthers, his President of TFE, LLC., and told him how The Wooden Coaster had gotten the nickname of Patches, and then explained how that came about. The two discussed the name change for the park’s opening and having the Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters company, who was refurbishing the coaster trains, remake them with a Patches pattern, or theme, on them.

The two also discussed the upcoming Grand Re-Opening of Edgewood, and what they should do for it like having a band and balloons and speakers. Mr. Ken had also thought about having a ‘soft’ opening to give the ride operators a chance to practice running the rides, and the concession stand workers an opportunity to make and serve their foods.

Mr. Ken also discussed with Ben what admission price they should set, and having the Fast, Faster, Fastest Pass available for this year. The park’s owner then asked if they wanted to offer a Season Pass for the rest of the year, and at what price, and then he asked about next year’s Season Pass and at what cost.

Mr. Ken then mentioned to Ben the state of the Twister Coaster. He told Ben that with all of the welding and addition of new supports and bolts the metal structure looks atrocious. Mr. Ken recommended that they paint it before opening day, but what color, or colors, should they use.

Ben said if he remembered correctly, the area would look good with a dark blue and a light blue accent color, or maybe a dark green with yellow. He added that they’d have to paint the coaster cars then, too. Ken said the ride was now a dark red, so any color would be an enhancement. They decided on the dark blue/light blue combination and Ben would start calling painting contractors to see who was available to get the job done and within the next three weeks.

There were those and many more decisions to include the food menus that needed to be made before the Grand Re-Opening. But there was one big decision that had yet to be made.

The two finally got around to discussing if they should announce the new name of the park at the Grand Re-Opening, and the new rides they plan to install, later in the fall, or over the winter.

Ben was still of the opinion that they should announce the new name, when they open the park. But Mr. Ken felt they should keep that under their hat and make the announcement later in the year. The decision hadn’t been made by the end of their phone call, but they agreed to discuss it when Mr. Ken returned back to the office on Thursday.

Out in the merchandise stores, the supervisor had split the boys up, as she didn’t need all seven in one store, as she had a number of people already assigned to help in those places. So, the woman had Billy, Phillip and Mark go to one store, Robert and Eric to another, while Charles and Matthew went to another.

Billy, Phillip and Mark were cheerfully welcomed by the ladies to their shop. The lead, the person in charge, asked the boys to help them take everything off the top shelves and pass it down and then to use a damp cloth to wipe the dust and cobwebs off the wood before being handed the items to be put back.

Billy, being as tall as he was, took everything down and passed it to his ‘brothers’ who placed the items on another table. Then, once the shelves were devoid of merchandise, Billy moved the racks of shelves, so they could clean behind them first. After that was done, the three boys wiped everything down, including the sides. The lead supervisor liked that the boys did that without even being asked.

Charles and Matthew were first asked to collect all of the old candy and throw it away. The two boys couldn’t believe that they were going to discard all that candy, and they asked the woman why she was having them do that.

The lady told the two Covers that the candy had sat there since last September. She told the Covers that they couldn’t sell it, as it may have been sitting there since August, or even July, and it wouldn’t be right to offer for sale after such a long time.

Charles and Matthew found a large box and placed all of the chocolates and hard candies in it and set it aside. They figured they could take it back to their hotel room and share it with their ‘brothers’.

The boys were then asked to do the same thing their ‘brothers’ were doing, clearing off the shelves, wiping the dust and cobwebs off and then restocking them.

Robert and Eric first found themselves helping to rearrange the store they were sent to. But to do that they needed to take all the heavy merchandise off the top shelves before they could move anything. Of course, once they began moving things around there was loads of dust and dirt under and behind whatever they moved.

The women were happy the boys were there to help them with the heavy lifting, and they went right behind the boys and cleaned up all of the mess and then they wiped down the fixtures. After the floors were clean, the boys were asked to move the now cleaned display cases, shelving units and clothes racks into their new locations. Doing all that took them all morning.

The boys were now hungry as they didn’t have very much to eat for breakfast. They asked the ladies where they could get something to eat. The women directed them over to the cafeteria and told them that they only needed to pay for their drinks, as the park was serving all of the old foods to the employees for free, so as to not waste it.

Robert and Eric hurried over to the cafeteria hoping to catch up with their ‘brothers’, but they weren’t there, so they called them. They learned that their ‘brothers’ were over at the operations building talking to Collin and Ryan. The two Covers told their ‘brothers’ that the food at the cafeteria was free, except for the drinks, and that’s where they were and for them to come over.

Soon, the nine Covers were in line looking at the menu trying to decide what they wanted for lunch. There were personal pizzas, footlong hotdogs with chili or sauerkraut, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, onion rings, chicken nuggets, turkey legs, soft pretzels, churros, and much more.

Each Cover took their favorite, but when they got to the cashier, not all of them had the money to pay for their drink. Lucky for them that Collin had the money, and he paid for his ‘brothers’ drinks.

The Covers sat together and they talked about what they had to do. Collin and Ryan were surprised that their younger ‘brothers’ were working in the mercantile stores and getting them cleaned and ready for opening day.

Matthew told his ‘brothers’ that he and Charles had to throw out all of the candy that was in the store. He told them that there were full boxes of chocolate candy bars that hadn’t even been opened and small boxes of hard candies and that they put it all in a box. He added that they would share it with them later.

Robert asked Matthew if they told him why they had to do that. Charles answered for him and said that the candy had been there since last August, or maybe even July, and was old and the ladies said that they can’t sell it because it is so old. Robert said he didn’t want any. Eric agreed with his Best Friend.

Ryan asked them if they had opened any of the wrappers to see how any of the candy looked. Matthew said they didn’t have the time, and they didn’t want the lady to see what they were doing. The pre-teen’s ‘brothers’ all laughed.

As they sat and talked, ‘dad’ Ken came over to them.

“There’s my volunteers’. How’s your day going boys?” asked ‘dad’ Ken.

“Well, I’m not doing what I thought I’d get to. ‘dad’,” spoke up Matthew. “I thought I’d get to maybe paint, or wash down the rides. Something, you know, fun.”

The other boys agreed with their pre-teen ‘brother’.

“Boys … it’s because of your ages that the insurance and State regulations won’t let you do some of the things that you want to do. This is a business and Jason … well, he has to abide by the rules and regulations set down by the State, and you have to be at least fifteen to work,” ‘dad’ Ken tried to explain.

“But dad … Billy and I are old enough,” spoke up Robert.

“Yes, you two are, but … is it fair … that you’d get to do some stuff, and your brothers didn’t? So, it was I who made the decision that you two didn’t get to go out and get ‘dirty’. I didn’t want you guys to lord it over them. And what about your Best Friend, Eric? He won’t be fifteen for another week. I don’t think you’d want to do something without him, now, do you?

“Boys … please just help out where you are. The ladies have told me that you’ve made a very good impression with them, so you are obviously doing a great job helping them get those three merchandise stores ready for opening day,” finished ‘dad’ Ken. He then lightly clapped his hands to applaud his boys for making such a wonderful impact there.

After lunch, Collin and Ryan went with their ‘brothers’ to see what they were doing in the different stores they were working in. They first stopped where Charles and Matthew were working. They wanted to look at all that candy that was being thrown away. When they saw the huge box full of candy, they couldn’t believe that it would all be sent to the landfill.

Charles introduced his older ‘brothers’ to the lead lady and explained they couldn’t believe that all that candy would be thrown away. The lady told Collin she would be afraid to even give it to a charity organization of some sort in case there was something wrong with it.

Collin asked the woman if he could check some of it out to see if it had discolored. She told him he could. When he did, some of the chocolate he discovered was covered with unappealing powdery specks of white, or a light brown. The college junior did a quick search on his cell phone and learned that it happens if you store chocolate in a place that is too cold, or too warm.

Collin told the woman, and his ‘brothers’, that the so-called ‘fat bloom’ will materialize when fat particles in the chocolate separate due to being exposed to either cold, or hot temperatures, which probably happened since the candy sat all winter, with no heat, and now in the warmth of the spring and early summer. The lady thanked the young man and then went back to getting the store ready.

After Collin and Ryan walked over to see what Robert and Eric were working on, Charles and Matthew were asked to go into the storage room and to begin opening boxes to help stock the shelves. The two Covers began opening apparel boxes and then they hung the park’s shirts on hangers. Once they had as many as they could carry, they took them out to the hanging racks out in the store and hung them up there. The other people organized them according to size.

Robert and Eric were moving the last pieces of merchandise display fixtures into place when Collin and Ryan stopped by to see what they’d been working on.

“Now you stop by! You should have been here first, and then you could have helped us,” teased Robert.

The teenager then introduced his older ‘brothers’ to the lead supervisor at that store.

Eric then told Collin and Ryan that now with all the fixtures where they wanted them, they would begin loading the shelves, tables racks, dump bins, wire and clothes racks with everything they have in the storage room.

Robert told them that they could lend a hand. But Collin said they needed to head over and check on what Billy, Phillip and Mark were doing. The two-college aged men then headed out the door, waving as they did.

When Collin and Ryan entered the store that Billy, Phillip and Mark were working in they were surprised at what they saw. The store looked half-finished and they wondered why there was so much disparity between the way the stores were being reset for opening day.

Upon seeing Collin and Ryan enter the store, Billy took them over to introduce them to the store’s lead supervisor. He told her who they were and why they were there. The woman shamelessly told them there was still lots to do, so not to be strangers and to ‘lend a hand’.

With two more strong men in her store, the woman had them help Billy place the fixtures where she now wanted them. That made it so easy and fast that the rest of the store’s fixtures were ready for the merchandise in no time.

When they started pulling the merchandise out of storage, Collin asked the supervisor about the candy and what she had intended to do with last year’s leftovers. The woman said that the park’s intention was to discard it, as it was close to a year old and they weren’t sure if it was palatable.

Collin then told her what he found at the other store after the lady there let him open a few chocolate bars. He then told her about finding a powdery white or light brown specks on the chocolate bars. He explained in doing a web search that it said it occurred when the candy was exposed to either cold or hot temperatures, which causes it.

The lady thanked Collin for telling her that and then said that it was good that Jason had decided not to sell any of that old candy when they finally open in about three weeks., because the park sat empty since last September with no heat, so the candy was exposed to temperature extremes.

While the boys were working in the merchandise stores, Mr. Ken and Jason were out in the park looking over what else needed to be done before opening day. The park’s owner did stop and talk to the I&R companies, which were working on the rides. They assured him that they would be finished by the end of the week. Jason made a note of that and planned to invite the State Inspectors in next week to certify the rides as being ready for their opening day.

Mr. Ken was pleased with everything he’d seen so far. The rides that were still being worked on by the I&R companies would still need to be cleaned, polished and any paint touch-up done before the Grand Re-Opening, but there would be almost two weeks to get that done.

When they left from talking with the I&R companies, the two took a golf cart out the front gate to see what the paving company was doing. It was obvious to Mr. Ken that with all the black spots all over the one side of the parking lot indicting all the pot holes that had been filled that there indeed had been a problem out there and Jason’s call to have at least a portion of the parking lot repaired and ultimately paved was a good call.

“Jason, how much of the parking lot will they work on and when will they finish?” asked Mr. Ken.

“They will brush and fill the pot holes in the majority of the lot. But they will only put a top coat of asphalt on the front one-third of the parking lot. And that will take them all week. Then next week, the company will come back and line the parking spaces and identify the disabled parking spaces and essentially triple what are out there now.

“I expect that with us reopening we will ultimately get a large number of people coming to see what we’ve done. And once the word gets out … that we’ve had national inspection and repair companies come in and look over all of the rides, and do any needed repairs themselves, the riding public will have confidence that our rides are in exceptional repair,” offered the park’s operations manager.

“Jason … let me ask you … how is that word going to get out? You know … the one where the people learn that we brought in national I&R companies to inspect and do any repairs on our rides, as compared to our own maintenance personnel?” directly asked the park’s owner.

Jason smiled and offered, “Well, you will! There is a news conference set up for tomorrow. Didn’t I tell, you? I thought I sent you an email telling you I set that up. It’s so you can answer questions and to do a show and tell of what we’ve been doing ever since you bought the property.”

“Jason … I’ve been gone since the third of June, and have been going virtually non-stop ever since. My secretary knew to call me if there were any major problems, and she hasn’t called. But at the same time, I … well, I haven’t checked my email either.

“So, you want me to answer some news reporter’s questions, and show them around tomorrow. What time have you set this up for?” inquire Mr. Ken.

“I’m sorry if this is catching you off-guard, Mr. Ken. I … I thought you knew all about it. I can cancel it if you want me to? I have the conference set up for eleven,” offered Jason.

“No … let’s do this. The news media is probably biting at the bit, wanting to see what has been going on inside here. And, as you said, once the public knows that we hired national companies to inspect and do all the repairs to ensure the rides meet, or exceed, what the riding public expects of them, after so many years of neglect, this should work out for us in the long run,” reasoned Mr. Ken.

Mr. Ken then told Jason that he wanted to talk to the foreman working on The Wooden Coaster. But then he corrected himself and said, Patches. The two then laughed. Mr. Ken said he wanted to see if the man found out anything about the coaster train, before he left for the day. The two rode the golf cart over to ‘Patches’ and searched out the foreman.

When asked, the foreman told the owner of the park that the first coaster train was being readied for shipment and that adding the new signage would delay it at least a week. Mr. Ken told the man to have them do it and to get with Jason if they needed any ideas of what to do.

The foreman told Mr. Ken and Jason that if they do that, they’d only have one coaster train for the opening day, and for at least two to three weeks after that. Mr. Ken said that if they were renaming the coaster, they needed the train to signify that. The foreman said he’d call them in the morning.

Mr. Ken then asked the man to see if the company had a ‘loaner’ coaster train they could use until the second one was refurbished and back in the park. The foreman indicated that it would be costly to do that. But Mr. Ken told him that they would need the second train, especially over the 4^th of July Holiday, if the park garners a heavy guest load, and it would be written off as the price of doing business. The foreman said he’d ask the question and have them talk to Mr. Zimms if they had any questions.

The travelers left the amusement park about six o’clock that Monday evening. The plan was to stop along the way back to the hotel for a nice dinner, and then return to the hotel and relax. It was while they ate that the boys learned that they were not going home the next morning, but were staying for one more day.

Robert asked his dad if there was something other than working inside that they could help with. The teenager argued that they wanted to do something meaningful. His ‘brothers’ spoke up and agreed with him, saying sweeping, raking, painting, washing down the rides; anything other than stocking shelves.

“OK, OK, I hear you. I’ll see what I can do in the morning. And speaking of the morning, are you going to be down in the lobby when it is time to head out, or are you going to sleep in?” the man wanted to know of the boys.

Phillip was the first one to say he wanted to be down there in the morning when he went out to the park. The young Cover then looked over to Mr. Dennis and asked the man if he would make sure he was up in time, so he could go down and get something to eat before he went out to the park with his ‘dad’.

Mr. Dennis told the youngster that he would and that he would be right there with him. The man then asked Mark if he wanted to join them. Mark said he did. From then on, all the boys agreed to be up in time to eat a good breakfast and to head out to the park with their ‘dad’.

There was another question Mr. Ken asked everyone at the table to consider as they ate. He asked them if they should announce the renaming of the park when they have the Grand Re-Opening, or should they wait until later in the season? Or, should they announce it well before the Grand Re-Opening?

To start it off, Mr. Ken told them that he felt they should wait until later in the season and also announce the new rides at the same time. He added he wanted to let the people buy up the Edgewood merchandise as it would not be replaced once it is gone. He did indicate that there would be Reduction and On Sale signs indicating they were removing the product.

‘Dad’ Ken also added that Ben, his President of Three Finger Entertainment, felt that they should do it all when they reopen, or maybe even sooner.

It was a lively discussion during dinner. And every time one of the boys told him they wanted their ‘dad’ and Ben to announce the new name when they reopen, he had them give him their reasons.

Charles agreed with his dad. He said that if they tell them at the end of the season, then it will be something like getting a new car, when they come to the park next year.

Phillip asked if they’re going to change the name, when would it happen? He wanted to know if the name would change right away, or would they have to wait until next year? He reasoned that if they had to wait until next year, then they shouldn’t tell them until the end of the season.

Robert countered that argument by saying that if the people knew the park’s name was changing then they would want to buy up all of the remaining Edgewood memorabilia, as there wouldn’t be any more to be had. The teen said that if his dad waits until the end of the season some people might be mad that they didn’t know and get the chance to buy what they wanted, because they couldn’t get back there to buy it.

Billy said that he agreed with Robert. He said that if he knew this would be the last year for the t-shirts and other Edgewood merchandise, he would be searching for just the right piece to take home with him when he was there, because he might not be back.

Matthew and Mark really didn’t have much to say about the issue. But Eric spoke up and said he kind of agreed with what Phillip was saying. But then he added that if they were changing the name they should go ahead and change it effective the day they reopen Edgewood and get it over with. He then told Mr. Ken to sell off the Edgewood merchandise like having a Garage Sale, or maybe an Estate Sale.

Mr. Ken thanked the boys for giving him what he felt were their honest answers and feelings about the issue. He then told them that tomorrow, at about eleven, Jason had set up a news conference for him to answer the news media’s questions about Edgewood. He added that he was then to give them a walking tour of what they’ve been doing, ever since he bought the park.

Robert spoke up and told his dad that it would be a good time to tell everyone about the name change. Mr. Ken said he wasn’t so sure it was a good time, but that he’d call Ben first thing and ask him his take.

It was after 8:30 when the group returned to the hotel. The boys headed up to their rooms to talk some more, while the adults went to the lounge for a few adult drinks. Mr. Ken took that time to ask the men what they thought about the park’s name change, and when they should do it.

Mr. Dennis said he didn’t want to get in between what sounded like a disagreement between him and Ben. But when he said that when businesses buy out another business, people usually expect the old business to have a name change, he unknowingly made his feelings known.

Dan, Ken’s friend from the get go, said that he’d kind of figured that when the park was bought out, that there would be a name change. He mentioned that if he were someone who came here often, he’d want to know what it was and the sooner the better for him, so he could get used to it.

The lieutenant told Ken that he felt that Robert had the right idea of letting the people buy out the remaining Edgewood merchandise and that Eric’s suggestion for having a Garage or Estate Sale to sell off the remaining goods tickled him, because the sooner you get rid of it the sooner you open space for the new stock with the new name on it.

Wayne was the last one to offer his take on the name change conundrum. And he simply said that he’d announce the name change the day they hold the Grand Re-Opening and they should unveil the name then, too. But added that now that he has this news conference tomorrow, he has the chance to set that name change in motion, and maybe not tell them what the new name is, but hint at that there will be one announced at the Grand Re-Opening.

When Mr. Ken asked him about how did they get rid of all of the old Edgewood Merchandise, the Estate Master told him that they offer it at reduced prices and at the end they have that Garage Sale as Eric suggested. But Wayne said that once people know that what is left is all there is they will want to buy it up and as soon as possible,

They had a few adult drinks as they talked, and when they finished discussing Mr. Ken’s challenge, they had one more before heading up to bed.

That night, Ken Thomas had a lot to think about. He heard a lot of arguments for announcing the name change during the Grand Re-Opening and most of them made sense. He knew, though, that if they intend to do that, they would need to have the new name on at least a banner to unveil the day of the official Re-Opening.

He told himself that one wouldn’t be needed during the ‘soft’ opening he wants to have to give the ride operators and concession workers time to get back into a safe and guest focused routine so the people would feel that all their efforts were worth the time, money and effort.

With everything he’d been involved in that day and all the conversations and decisions he was involved in, when the park’s owner laid his head down on his pillow that night he fell right to sleep.

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhnd at Gmail dot Com

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