[rdw]

Bilbo's Bullsheet !

Do any of you know what that means, was, and/or where the name came from? If you do or think you do, give me your answer.

Here are a few more Carowinds trivia questions:
* What was the real name of the ride we called the "Ride of the Future" when the park opened in 1973? What section was it in? Who was the foreman?
* Who were Hosey. Moses, Ralph, and Richard?
* What happened the very first time the EPH made a complete circuit of the Park?

I look forward to catching up with some oldtimers if any are out there. RDW

[RollerBee]

I got no answers but I do one word!
HUH?

[Wormy]

OK, I have to know. What the @#$% is up with Bilbo's Bullsheet?

[rdw]

Ok! This goes back to the very first season, so that means I'm really old now, but still think fondly of my time at Carowinds.
" Bilbo's Bullsheet" was the unofficial weekly newsletter for the Operations department. It was named after Melvin Bilbo who came to Carowinds as the Ride Ops Manager from Astroworld in Houston. Melvin became Operations Manager by early summer and went on to manage many other theme parks. The Bullsheet was also an inside homage to Carowinds founder E. Pat Hall who was affectionately know as "Bull" to some of his original managers.

Hosey and Moses were assistants to Mr Hall and took great care of all of his VIP guests at the Lodge/Train Car and in the
VIP Room over the front gate. They were two of the greatest guys in the world and part of the special world of early Carowinds.

Ralph and Richard were the original owners of the land Carowinds was built on and became Carowinds employees after selling their land to Mr Hall.

"The Wave" later known as the "Surfer" was the ride of the future in the original Pirate Island section. It got the name because it opened without it's theme dressing which was to be a sinking ship in the middle of a giant wave. Instead, it was just a giant round platform, painted seafoam blue, that spun and ocillated. Roddy Hoover was the original foreman and I think he came up with the name.

Finally, the EPH was the restored locomotive engine of the original train "Melodia" that circled the park. On it's first trip out of the barn, it came around the last turn at the employee crossing and knocked down the Security Checkpoint shed that had been built too
close to the tracks.

Hope you enjoyed the trivia! I'll come back with more if anyone is interested. RDW

[Wormy]

Thanks, RDW for the interesting and incredibly rare trivia. It's been bugging me for weeks! I can go to bed now...

[DaveVan]

Well.....I knew Bilbo's......I hated the surfer.....located next to a fried fish stand.....have my own railroad stories that I may tell if it will not bore everyone....Pat was the only VIP I knew by sight....working on the RR he made it clear we better take care of it!

[Davidtmp]

Well.....I knew Bilbo's......I hated the surfer.....located next to a fried fish stand.....have my own railroad stories that I may tell if it will not bore everyone....Pat was the only VIP I knew by sight....working on the RR he made it clear we better take care of it!

Please do. It may bore some of the young newbies, but us older guys that like to hear about the history of Carowinds will appreciate it!!

[BoociferPatch]

Wow, very interesting stuff! Does not bore me at all, I would love to hear more about it.

[swampfox43]

I added a small article taken from a special Carowinds publication in 1973 which mentioned Melvin Bilbo. Not much, but if you want to see it, click on this link:
http://www.carowindsearlyyears.com/bilbo.jpg

[AINeuge]

Well.....I knew Bilbo's......I hated the surfer.....located next to a fried fish stand.....have my own railroad stories that I may tell if it will not bore everyone....Pat was the only VIP I knew by sight....working on the RR he made it clear we better take care of it!

Please do. It may bore some of the young newbies, but us older guys that like to hear about the history of Carowinds will appreciate it!!

I'd love to hear all about it!

[Correllbil]

RDW, you didn't mention the Event with the new Security Van and the train. Security had mostly the old jeeps that Pat Hall had pruchased. They got a nice new 1972 Dodge Super Van I think around January 15, 1973. During one of the many events at the Harmony Hall Theater, Jennings Haywood (Security boss) was inroute to the theater in the van. He managed to get together with the train in the same area where the guard shack was. The van was stuck on that very pointed Cow Catcher on the front of the train as was pushed down the tracks for quite a distance (Brakes weren't very good on the train at that time. The van was sent off for repairs and never really ran the same. I purchased the van from the park in 1976 and drove it for several years. Pat Hall mentioned that it was very strange that the train makes about 4 trips around the park each week and Mr. Haywood managed to try to cross the tracks at the exact time that the train was coming!

Billy Correll 1972-2005