Ball State University - Orient Yearbook (Muncie, IN)

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Pursuing a dream Cedar Point offers opportunities for students 10 cedar Point eby Diane Kennedys Amusement Park. To most people, those two words invoke images of spine-tingling thrill rides, marching bands, fireworks and cotton candy. To the seasonal employees of Cedar Point Amusement Park, many of whom are Ball State students, those words mean long hours of hard work at low pay but for the promise of life-- long memories and friendships. But to appreciate why these students do it, one has to understand the history of Cedar Point. Cedar Point began in 1870 as a sim- ple bath house on Lake Erie near San- dusky, Ohio. During the summer of 1870, the steamship “Young Reindeer” began offering passenger service from Sandusky to the the lake. Between 1870 and 1900, diving plat- forms, horizontal bars, a water trapeze and bicycle boats were added. Cedar Point's first roller coaster was built in 1894 and reached a max- imum speed of 10 m.p.h. Today Cedar Point includes a private beach, two restaurants, a cocktail lounge, beachside patio, ten- nis courts and gift shops. While things have changed, for the students who work there there is an enduring nostalgia about how some people started out. In the summer of 1913 Knute Rockne worked as a lifeguard on the Cedar Point Beach. There he and his roommate Charles Darios perfected the forward pass and they astounded the football world with it that fall in a game against Army. This summer several Ball State students were among those who pur- sued their dreams, whether it be from behind the counter at an ice cream stand, or up front on stage, the possibilities were endless. Unlike Rockne’s day, this new crop of student employees had already sur- vived the perusal of division super- visors and managers who had muddl- ed through 16,000 applications for the summer's 3,500 jobs. While some would make salt water taffy others would sing and dance in live enter- tainment shows. What's it like to work in one of America’s best theme parks? Well, ac- cording to those who work there it’s fun, exhausting, frustrating and rewar- ding. For some it is a chance to escape summer school. For others it’s a chance to perform in front of thousands. For almost all, the work is money, independence and friendships to last a lifetime. For Muncie native John Clark, a member of the park’s Hobo Band, it’s a confidence-builder and a career op- portunity. Clark said he was able to build his confidence by working among professionals. “You're around people that say ‘listen, that’s not right. Do it right.’ It’s not ‘well, that sounded pretty good and you'll get it next time.” There might not be a next time because your performance now affects whether or not you'll be rehired, he said. Clark, who has performed in over 600 shows said he had learned a lot from Cedar Point. “The good thing about Cedar Point is that you can make it your personal best. You can’t say ‘All right, this is a Geritol crowd.’ It’s eight o'clock on a Sunday night. The people just got rained on and they're saying ‘Enter- tain me.’ And you can’t go out there and say ‘I really don’t feel like doing this because I'd rather be home in bed or at Wendy’s salad bar or whatever.’ You have to think ‘Wow, | can do this for myself.” For Mischon Stigleman, another live show employee, Cedar Point was a dream come true. After a season as usher and two seasons in a bear costume as a member of the Berenstein Bear’s character crew, Stigleman auditioned again. The same week she competed in the Miss Ball State contest and won, Stigleman auditioned for a job in the cast of “America Sings” one of the top shows in the park. A few weeks later she got the call offering her a job. In just three weeks, two dreams had come true but they conflicted with each other. She would have to be at two places at the same time; perform- ing at Cedar Point and competing in the Miss Indiana pageant. A compromise could not be found. The result was that she was forced to give up her crown. “I cried and cried and cried that week,” she said. Fortunately, Stigleman knows she made the right decision. “Six times a day we come off that show to thunderous applause and it’s wonder- ful,” she said. Both Clark and Stigleman are salaried performers but the vast ma- jority of workers are paid on an hour- ly basis. One of these workers is Chris Gordon, a Connersville native, who works in food operations in the Los Gatos restaurant in Frontier Town. “Being a supervisor is a lot of responsibility. Everything comes back to you,” he said. “The irate customers are the ones who really tick me off. You can't fly off the handle with the customers. And they’re always right. No matter if they’re wrong, they're always right.” Despite the work, Cedar Point is home to its employees, offering dorm or apartment-style housing at a nominal charge with a balanced meal at a reasonable rate in the employee cafeteria. The Point is like a self- contained community, with its own rules and regulations, security system fire department, police, laundry and entertainment services. As Clark put it, “The point of it is, when it’s hot, it’s humid, it’s 110 degrees on the Midway and you don’t feel like a show, you see that kid with the cotton candy in his hand saying ‘Oh mommy, look at the silly guy in the hobo costume,’ and that makes it all worth it.” @

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Cedar Point's guests ride the ters of hun Canyon and ol off on a i t sum- mer’s day. T $3.5 million ride, new for 1986, issengers through white-water s and under three batt £ i permit red Anh 2r, which ce nile pene. Ee T fete ana. 378 se con ° Senior Gina wantz hams it up for an ter dience in the Red Saloon. Wantz and cast members of med their show more 400 times roughout the summer season. Diane Kennedy Cedar Pointe I l