MOUNT VERNON — Carnival workers, or carnies, have the reputation of being hard-living, rough-talking, sometimes unsavory but hard-working, nomads. They travel with and set up, run and tear down those rides fairgoers love to be spun, looped and whirled on at the county fair.
It seems as if the rough lifestyle has been tamed, at least among the crew of 25 men who travel with and work the rides for Jim Otterbacher Shows that will be at the Knox County Fair.
Otterbacher introduced a young man as an example of the caliber of workers he employs to handle the rides at the fair. Ken Davis, a 36-year-old native of Sidney, has a solid background of hard work in a variety of construction jobs. He was offered a job just this spring after he helped dismantle Otterbacher rides at a small show in Sidney.
Davis graduated from Sidney High School where he was an all-sports athlete, then went to Hocking College and studied business administrating for a year and a half. But the workplace called and he left college.
After one night of helping the crew pack up in Sidney, Davis was hooked and took the job. Now only four months into the season he is hooked on the carnival work and life. Reflecting a bit about when he was a youngster going to the fair, he said, “Carnies today are not like they were when I was a kid.”
In the same vein he said Otterbacher’s ride business is far better than other shows. Otterbacher takes care of his carnival workers, Davis adds. He pays them well and provides trailers with sleeping quarters. They do buy their own food. “He takes real good care of us,” is his praise for Otterbacher.
Davis runs the biggest, most expensive ride in the show. Called “The Extreme,” it whirls and spins riders with up to two and a half Gs. Made in England, there are only two in the United States and this one set Otterbacher back $850,000. Setting up, operating, lubricating and dismantling the rides is the responsibility of each operator.
Davis emphasizes that Otterbacher keeps his rides in top condition and one of the crew is a mechanic who handles repairs. And the crew spends a lot of time just washing everything, not just the rides but the trucks used to transport the show.
Longtime Knox County Fair Board member LeRoy Byall said Otterbacher has had the contract for rides at the fair for 20 years. And one of the reasons he is awarded the contract is his excellent operation.