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CARNIVALS
APPLETON, Wis. - For the first time in 56 years of existence, Tip Top Shows of Waupaca, Wis., heads into the season without the services of office manager Ed Larkee.
One of several brothers who started the carnival with their father, Marvin Larkee, Ed Larkee died last September at the age of 77 following complications from heart surgery (AB, Oct. 8, 2001).
"Nothing will change too much," said David Larkee, son of Chuck Larkee, both in attendance at the Wisconsin Assn. of Fairs convention. "We may shift some personnel around. We'll have two units and still have enough family members to keep everything the way it was" prior to Ed's death.
"We are all going to dearly miss Uncle Ed. He was a strong believer that the show must go on. The greatest way to respect his wishes is to keep this thing going."
Playing fairs and festivals throughout the summer in Wisconsin, Tip Top plans to consolidate routing in 2002 prior to embarking south to play the Four States Fair, Texarkana, Ark., and other southern dates.
"We had trucks passing each other in crossing from one part of the state to the other. We have eliminated that process, moved some rides around and moved units around to different fairs," Larkee said.
Summarizing last season, "We held our own at most fairs. A few were down in grosses and a few were up. The route after 9/11 was definitely off. We played Texarkana after the terrorist attacks and it was affected," he said.
"That community raised $80,000 for the...