Local News for Monday 7/05/04

Carousel takes shape

Preview stirs memories for many on holiday at Eldridge Park.

Sylvia is back home in Elmira.

REBECCA TOWNS/Star-Gazette Bobbie and Tony Molettiere of Souderton, Pa., with Sylvia, one of the original hand-carved Eldridge Park Carousel horses. The Molettieres sold the horse back to carousel organizers for a reduced price.

The hand-carved horse was one of almost two dozen horses on display Sunday during a sneak preview of the restored Eldridge Park Carousel, which is scheduled to be back in operation in 2006.

Sylvia's former owners, Tony and Bobbie Molettiere of Souderton, Pa., stopped in Elmira to visit the 1890 carousel horse they bought at auction years ago. Sylvia was prominently displayed Sunday as the only original Eldridge Park carousel horse.

The Molettieres joined hundreds of others Sunday on a windy Fourth of July at the Elmira park for music, games, fireworks and, of course, memories stirred by the return of the carousel horses.

The horses, along with lions, a bear and a greyhound, already have been assembled toward the goal of repopulating the carousel with 54 animals and two benches, said Dr. Robert Lyon, an Elmira dentist who is president of the Eldridge Park Carousel Preservation Society.

The carousel received a constant stream of visitors, each with their own set of memories.

"I wonder whatever happened to the dragon boat?" mused Cindy Hall of Elmira.

Lyon said the goal of the preservation society is to revitalize the park into a Victorian-themed outing center suitable for wedding receptions, corporate picnics and family get-togethers.

"I'm glad to see the carousel back," said Sherry Miller, 56, of Foster Avenue in Elmira, as she relaxed by the lakeside waiting for Sunday night's fireworks.

A palomino when it was sold, Sylvia already had been repainted white when Tony Molettiere acquired it for his North Penn Amusements business in Souderton.

Sylvia occupied a spot in the Molettiere living room for at least 10 years.

When the Molettieres were approached about selling the horse, they first were asked to look at the preservation society's Web page before naming a price, Lyon said.

The horse was appraised at $16,000, but the Molettieres donated $10,000 of the price to the preservation society when they recently sold it.

"We wanted to know where it was," Bobbie Molettiere said.

The Molettieres drove to Elmira for the first time to see the sneak preview and revisit Sylvia.

"I'm proud of this town," said Tony Molettiere, 66. "This is where she belongs."

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