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The Central Canada Exhibition, one of the largest Canadian fairs for most of its existence, was the premier spot on the World of Mirth's route for 25 years; it was this fact that inadvertently pushed the midway operator to its end in 1963. The World of Mirth cherished its business with the Ottawa Exhibition, and, in turn, the exhibition cherished its business with the midway operator. In 1961, CCEA General Manager Jack Clarke said, "This has been the greatest midway ever presented to Ottawa." The World of Mirth was with the exhibition until 1963, when, under immense media and political pressure, the CCEA cancelled their contract. This spiralled the company into ruin; 1963 ended up being the year it rolled out of the midway business for good. |
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 The World of Mirth called itself "The Largest Midway on Earth," and it was, in fact, on the top of the carnival world from the mid-30s to the mid-50s, as the largest carnival operator in the eastern United States. The principle owners of the World of Mirth, Max Linderman and Frank Bergen, purchased Bernardi Greater Shows in 1930 from the Bernardi family and changed its name to the World of Mirth in 1933. They had a stable north-eastern route through the United States and Canada for most of the years of the show. From 1930 to 1963, it usually travelled from Virginia, up the eastern seaboard to New York state and Canada, and then continued back down the coast to Georgia.  The World of Mirth first started serving the Ottawa fair in 1933 with a product that much impressed Ottawa. The Ottawa Citizen raved about the World of Mirth and its rides and attractions. As Bob Goldsack explains in his book, World of Mirth Shows . . . A Rememberance: "The Citizen, one of the three daily newspapers in the city at that time, was very complimentary in evaluating the many shows, singling out Pallenberg's Bears as the best, and said that the rides gave plenty of action for the money." In 1934, World of Mirth proved itself to be the best midway that the CCEA had hired yet; it broke all previous records for midway sales. The 1940 exhibition, like many other Canadian fairs, was cancelled because of the war; their American counterparts, however, were not. Goldsack says that the U.S. Government proclaimed that they were "essential to the morale of the people on the homefront." The World of Mirth served Ottawa again in 1941. Due to popular demand, the exhibition was held under canvas tents at Lansdowne Park, despite the continuing war. The resurgence of the fair was a huge success; midway sales alone increased 35%, though this was due mostly to the increase of ride prices: a children's ride skyrocketed from 5 cents to 10 cents per ride. The grasp the World of Mirth had on the CCE loosened in 1942, when the exhibition decided to try a different midway company, Conklin Shows of Canada. As fate would have it, the fair was again cancelled that year. The troops at the Army Basic Training Centre that took over the grounds during the war would have lost a month's worth of training had the exhibition been held, and the Canadian government decided that this was too much time to spare. The post-war CCE did not start up again until 1947. In the hope of winning their prized exhibition back, the World of Mirth made promises of price cuts in the rides and of new, exciting shows. They succeeded, and the long-awaited return of the Ottawa fair did prove to be quite a success. Goldsack says the four-year lapse of the fair "produced crowds hungry for entertainment, as a phenomenal $150,000 gross was registered for the six-day run. Rides and shows ran constantly, while old-timers admitted they had never seen anything like the people lined up eight-deep, waiting to play the games. Concessions were running out of stock and had to be constantly replenished, and another Girl Revue, Star Dust, was added for the date." In 1957, the midway company had to alter its travelling plans, when the CCEA moved Ex dates back a week in order to cash in on that year's good harvest and to coincide with the government pay-day. The midway company had to cancel one fair and hastily book another in its place, but it was worth it to stay on the roster of their beloved Ottawa fair. Re-scheduling the fair turned out to be a great idea, as attendance went up 25% that year. Two years later, the World of Mirth once again smashed Ottawa's midway records, making 1959 the highest grossing year for the midway and the exhibition.  The great midway operator sickened in the late 1950s. While having contracts with 14 fairs in 1954, the number trickled down to only eight in 1963, including the Central Canada Exhibition. Two mishaps at the Ottawa fair, in 1962 and 1963, resulted in the CCEA cancelling the midway operator's contract. In 1962, a 10-year-old girl died after falling 10 feet off of the Meteor ride. Her four-year-old brother had fallen off of the ride first, and she had gone after him to try to save him. He suffered minor injuries, while she was sent to the hospital in critical condition. Goldsack outlines a disturbing change in the media coverage of the Ex that year. It began with favourable perspectives on the exhibition, printing a feature on the lives of carnies (people who worked the rides) before the opening of the fair. The day after the fatal accident, the Citizen's coverage went sour. They printed editorials saying that the fair was boring and news stories citing inside scoops illustrating how the Ex ripped off fair-goers. In 1963, another midway ride went awry. A car from the Kilimanjaro Ride suddenly drove off its track and crashed into the ride's control booth, injuring nine people. Media again turned highly critical and referred back to the accident the year before. In October of that year, the Central Canada Exhibition Association cancelled their contract with the World of Mirth. The cancellation was a disastrous blow to the already failing midway company. "During the last few years," Goldsack explains, "the carnival had been on a rocky road with fair bookings, losing some contracts of long-standing but always being able to bounce back by signing other annuals. Ottawa, however, was the premier spot on the route. It motivated the annual tour and produced really big money. In attendance alone, the Canadian spot was three times larger than any other fair where the show exhibited. The loss of the Ottawa date with its potential income and prestige made the once mighty midway an instant 'has-been'." In 1963, the World of Mirth folded, and, in the fall of 1964, its merchandise was auctioned off. The CCEA then decided to give Amusements of America a try, and they provided entertainment at the exhibition for the next 32 years. |
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