History: Kiddieland Amusement Park

Kiddieland Amusement Park

by Keith Howard Kalamazoo Public Library

If you grew up near Kalamazoo during the 1950s or 1960s you might recall a small amusement park “kitty corner” from Milham Park. It wasn’t much… a half-dozen rides and a refreshment stand or two… but Kiddieland Park kept youngsters entertained for more than two decades. The Kiddieland story begins in 1946, when Leo O. Dundon closed his mobile home park at the southwest corner of Kilgore Road and Lovers Lane and fi led articles of incorporation with his son Carl for the Milham Park Amusement Company. The two then opened the Milham Park Midway, a small amusement park with a refreshment stand and a miniature two-coach narrow-gauge steam train. The model steam engine, which ran on a 1,000-foot circular track, was built by a railroad mechanic in Wichita, Kansas. The Dundons purchased it in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and spent the better part of a year refurbishing it. Their enterprise soon became a popular, albeit noisy, attraction. The Milham Park Midway remained open through 1949, although not without its share of problems. Members of the Portage city commission were irked by its use of the “Milham Park” name. Milham Park users objected to the “excessively” noisy train whistle, the “nuisance” barker with his loud PA system, and the park’s impending hazards. A 1948 train “derailment” sent several riders to the hospital. During the years that followed, the intersection of Kilgore Road and Lovers Lane

became quite the happening place. Milham Park had become a favorite picnic spot and enjoyed liberal patronage. Cool Farm Dairy moved its operation to the southwest corner in 1950, and established an immensely popular ice cream shop and dairy bar. Their chocolate milk and homemade red raspberry and vanilla ice cream were local favorites. In May 1950, Blanch Hoyt and Harry Taylor announced the grand opening of a new enterprise next door south of the dairy that emphasized “safe, clean fun for kids.” Unlike the former Milham Park Midway, Kiddieland Park he featured rides and amusements specifi cally designed for very young children. The old fashioned noisy steam locomotive had been replaced by a sleek (and perhaps safer) miniature diesel streamliner style train, along with a merry-go-round, a boat ride, a “rocket” ride, a fi re engine, and others, all geared toward children under eight years of age. Kiddieland soon became a major attraction. Rides were just a dime. A hot dog and root beer from Rosemary Carpenter and Jean Kilgore’s C&K Root Beer stand at the park would set you back 20¢. Frosty mugs of root beer were 5¢ and 10¢, and their Beef Bar-B-Q Brunch was just 45¢. A miniature golf course was added and the live pony rides became a popular feature. Kiddieland Park operated largely unchanged under various owners through the 1971 season. Cool Farm Dairy closed its doors there in 1979. In 1982, the Portage city council approved a tax break for Trestlewood Associates, which set the stage for the development of the Trestlewood offi ce complex that now occupies the space where Kiddieland Park once stood.

From its grand opening in May 1950, through its fi nal days in September 1971, Kiddieland Park kept families happily entertained. Indeed, a peck of popcorn, an ice cream cone, a mug of root beer, and a ride on the miniature “choo choo” were the stuff that dreams were made of.

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