Close to Vintage, but not quite--Marineland and Game Farm, Niagara Falls, Canada 1983

These photos of part of the "Greatest Sea and Land Mammal Show on Earth, EVER" were just received, and I sure appreciate them. They are from 1983, the last summer the Hawthorn Corp. appeared at Marineland and Game Farm. One of the great success's of most Marineland/Sea World venues, in my opinion is contrary to the circus philosophy of tradition/staying the same, they change their show regularly with a new script or theme, much as Ringling Bros. did "back in the day" with a different, massive spec. 1983 was the year Marinelands new multi million dollar amusement park opened, as seen in the roller coaster picture above. It was so new, that it was still under construction as seen by the dump truck in the back ground. It was a private individual, John Holer who built this wonder in Canada, and not a large Sea World Corp. so it took a while to get the amusement park open with construction starting in about 1976. Also an indicator that the end was near for the land mammal segment of the show, are the "wings" on either side of the stage with Nootka, Pedro, and Sailor etc painted on them. As mentioned, each year the theme of the show changed, and the "wing's" which used to have tigers jumping through fire, and elephants dancing, rotated and changed the backdrop for each act. As you can see by the first picture of the tiger act, the "circus" themed backdrops had been eliminated.

As I have mentioned in the past, one of the most amazing things about the functioning of Marineland and Game Farm was that they had to manufacture and produce all the salt water required for the facility. They didn't have the luxury, like Marineland of Florida seen in the below threads, of being located a couple of hundred yards from the Gulf of Mexico, and some of the best "saltwater" in the world. Marineland and Game Farm now Marineland Canada is "landlocked" folks, and there isn't a pipeline long enough or available to bring, and recirculate fresh salt water. It has to be produced and manufactured. One of the greatest challenges for the show staff, both sea and land mammal personne,l was the saw dust/shavings needed to keep the floor dry for safety for the land mammal trainers, while not mucking up the filtration system need to keep the salt water safe. The "waterfalls" seen on the right, at the back of the Killer Whale holding pool, as well as on the left behind the dolphin holding pool, were a major concern. When it was windy a fine spray of water coated the stage, so shaving had to be put down. If the wind was strong enough, it blew the shavings into the water, where they were pulled into the filter, effectively blocking them from working at capacity. Also, as the dolphins and whales jumped, the water splashed on the stage and back washed the shavings into the performance pool. Additionally, when the sea lions and Pedro crawled(is that the correct term for what a pinniped does, Jim) on and off the stage they carried a certain amount of shaving on their stomachs/flippers back into their holding tank, where it also found it's way into the filtration system. In the third and fourth pictures you can see the stage hands have swept the sawdust as best they could to the back of the stage, out of splashed waters reach, only to put it back a half hour later, when the Killer Whales were finished, and the Tiger show started. If it was raining hard or blowing hard the sawdust had to be removed as best as possible, and put into canisters to keep it out of the water.

Marineland and Game Farm Trivia: Even with the hardships and difficulty's involved with a show of this magnitude the sea mammal and land mammal training staff worked things out, with respect and admiration for each individuals knowledge and skill in their prospective fields. Even though the land mammal trainers were outnumbered 3 to 1 by the sea mammal trainers, things were always worked out for the mutual benefit of the show, with anybody having to" throw their weight around".

But it wasn't always that way. Early on, in 1976 one of two of the greatest female bear trainers in history, Ursula Bottcher being one of them, established an "equality" that the rest of us out numbered land mammal trainers enjoyed until the end of the era. One day, 15 minutes before the start of the show, the above mentioned female bear trainer had to make an "emergency" trip to the can, the loo, the doniker, or if you prefer, the bidet. There were three facilities at Marineland, a public one in the Aquarium across the park, a public one under the grandstand, and a "single" at the guard house at the back gate. No way could you hope to use the public ones, without getting mobbed for autographs and question and answer time. The only option was the one in the guard house at the back gate, behind the show building. The catch was all of them, including the one in the guard house, required a dime for admittance. Not a American dime, but a Canadian dime, which was "waived" for show staff in an "emergency" and unlocked by the attending guard. In a mad rush to not be late for the show, said female bear trainer sprinted to the guard house in costume, short 10 cents, and demanded entrance into the "staff can." The "new, first day on the job, guard" naively said "it takes a dime." To which the said female bear trainer screamed, "do you know who I am, you son of a b*t*h!!!!!" Wanting to do a crackup job his first day, the young guard wasn't going to be fooled by some blond women in a red Russian Cossack costume with the gold knee boots, and black fur trim so he responded, "all I know is you don't have a dime, so you can't use the rest room." Hell broke loose that day, and the show was held up for 30 minute, until John Holer was located out in the construction zone and the young new guard was properly schooled on the subject of "do you know who I am!!!!!!!!"

For the remaining years of the "never again produced sea/land mammal show of a lifetime", until the end, in 1983 there was complete cooperation and assistance between sea and land mammal trainers due to the efforts of one of the greatest female bear trainers that has ever lived. We, the land mammal trainers did our best to keep sawdust out of the filtration system, and they, the sea mammal trainers kept a Canadian dime taped to the show schedule board in the staff room, for use by land mammal trainers in case of an emergency. LOL

Great times and memories that I am so lucky to have, that will be cherished forever.

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