Leon Cassidy was here!
The man who invented the single-rail dark ride was here.
The man who forever changed the amusement park industry stood where I'm standing.
Leon Cassidy, the founder of the Pretzel Amusement Ride Company, was here, in 1931 ---
at Keansburg Amusement Park in Keansburg, New Jersey.
Leon installed the ride I'm about to see, Spook House;
possibly the world's oldest operating Pretzel installation.
The loading area, with four first generation Pretzel cars, is behind the garage door.

I can't wait for the ride superintendent to open it.

Photo courtesy of Ernie Demontreux Jr.

The cries of low-flying seagulls pierce the hot, humid air on this early August morning. It's 10:30 a.m., and several early arrivals are scurrying about the park. But I'm staying put, waiting for that garage door to open. And slowly it rises, its old hardware squealing in unison with the seagulls. With a clunk, it reaches the top, revealing the treasures it has concealed. I am awestruck.

Before me are Pretzel "Model A" cars queued up on the loading area. With the flashy detailing which includes flames and skulls, they look like entrants in a soap box derby race. But I know better. I know that they date back to 1928, and were among the first line of Pretzel cars to navigate the s-curves of the world's first dark rides. Anybody who thinks these cars look old and tacky, be damned. They are sacred relics.