... continued from Part I...
We made our way down the hill we’d originally came up, past the playground and Gorilla House, heading towards the lake. The next building was an open-sided A-frame housing picnic tables. The guys said there was once more with attached structures housing a shooting range… and I forget what else, arcades maybe.
Andy suggested taking the path on this front side of the lake, but I wanted to go around the back. I figured better views for photos, and I wasn’t disappointed, but I couldn’t get good photos of the birds flying around.
We crossed the culvert dividing a moss-filled pond and the bigger lake, both sides giving me photo shots. A trail went off into the bushes for the more ardent walkers, but we stayed along the pond with Andy and Jim discussing what used to be there. There were once amusement rides, a train, little boats, kids’ helicopter, a Tilt-a Whirl, Ferris wheel, merry-go-round (don’t think they ever agreed where that was), and the roller coaster.
They found the old stone where the Ferris wheel once was,
but the biggest discussion was on the roller coaster. (Andy was the first one
to ever operate the roller coaster and Jim was the last one to ever ride it as
he was taking photos for the auction when the Benson’s closed. The roller
coaster was sold to Story Land.)
Jim took off up a grassy knoll and I gimped after him. I managed to photograph a rabbit. I wasn’t sure where we were going, being off a path. He was looking for signs of where the roller coaster was.
We meandered back onto a paved path and by this point, I had to sit down in the shade a bit. Andy wandered off intent on finding where he thought the roller coaster used to be while Jim regaled me with more stories (he’s been a lot of places whether just working or performing.)
Suddenly, he said, “I’ll be right back,” and he went off into a grassy area and behind some trees, I heard him mumbling. I got up. He was excited. He found the northeast corner rock of where the roller coaster was. He called to Andy who joined us, and they discussed which way the tracks went. (Again, I found this highly interesting.)
We moved on, up and around. There was a large, cone-shaped, nicely landscaped depression which Andy said was where the alligators used to be. What? It doesn’t look big enough. He said there was a 10-foot fence perimeter surrounding the little pond – alligators don’t spend all their time in water.
We crossed the bridge, went up some steep steps, and were back out on the main paved path. It was time to visit the Hudson 911 Memorial erected on Sept. 11, 2011. The memorial honors all the areas of that day. The perimeter is shaped like the Pentagon. The path to the monument follows the flight path of the plane, and along the path are granite markers with clock faces and text telling the events as they happened at that time.
I have to admit, I was taken by emotion, which I did not expect that. My eyes welled up. I had to go up to the rusted, tall girder (actual steel from World Trade Center Tower One, 23rd floor elevator shaft) and touch it. (From what I understand, the greenish girder beside it is just to show how the two towers were positioned.)
By this time, I was done in. I was shaky, my legs hurt, and I couldn’t believe when I looked at my watch and saw it was getting close to 2:30. I was ready to leave.
Then Jim said, “I haven’t shown you any magic yet!”
He had me sit on a shady bench in front of the memorial and began his schtick. I’ve never been big into magic, but I was soon amazed. How many times can you think, “How did he do that?” How did two balls get in my hand when I felt nothing move? He had my brain totally spinning with the coin tricks. I don’t even want to know how any of this works. I just let myself be thoroughly entertained and impressed.
Left, Jim and Andy.
Below, Jim and I.
Then it would slowly swerve back and over into the breakdown lane and the dirt. I kept expecting it to go flying off into bushes. Then back across our lane and over the yellow line again. I did not want to be witness to an accident and was glad when the vehicle finally turned into Hannaford’s. Phew! Andy bet the driver was on a cell phone.
We stopped at Applebees in Derry for late lunch, then got on the I-93 to go home, arriving about 5 p.m. Wow, what a long day for me but so exciting.
“Kitty, I’m home,” I called out when coming in the house and Pele came running. “Aw, Baby, I missed you, too,” I told her bending over to scratch her. I couldn’t wait to settle on the couch, and as soon as I did, she was up on the pillows I put on my lap.
A little Benson’s Park history: The 166-acre Benson Park was founded as Benson's Wild Animal Farm by John Benson in 1924 and opened to the public in 1926. Arthur Provencher purchased the place in 1979 and it closed in 1987 after being renamed New England Playworld in a failing effort to boost visitation.
The park was reopened years later for recreational use and is open daily to the public with seasonal closing times. It is maintained by the department of public works with help from a dedicated group of volunteers. There are still a few remaining structures from the old days and the old Elephant House has become the Friends of Benson Park Elephant Barn Gift Store and is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, noon-4 p.m., weather permitting.
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