When a roll of tickets arrived at the Fenton History Center as part of a donation, the hunt was on to find out what the ride had been at Celoron Park. The ride for which the tickets were made was called the Razzle Dazzle. All that was on the ticket was “Razzle Dazzle, Celoron on Chautauqua Lake, Good for one ride, 5 cents.” The back of the ticket had an elaborate design with a large 5 in the middle.

“Celoron Park on Chautauqua Lake,” the recent book by Tom Goodwill, did not have a mention of this ride. Turning to the newspapers online, an advertisement for Celoron Park in 1907 did include the Razzle Dazzle. It was billed as something new. The other name for it was the Ocean Wave and it was located near the miniature railroad. The ride was 5 cents and dips were free. Eventually, an article in June 1907 about Celoron Park opening was found and in that article a description of the new ride was offered. “The new amusement device called the Razzle Dazzle, or Ocean Wave, is installed and doing business in the park. It consists of a circular platform on which the patrons seat themselves. The machine is then set in motion by attendants who cause the platform to dip as it revolves, giving the riders an ocean wave effect.”

It was in 1904 that the Loop the Loop ride was established at Celoron Park. This was a roller-coaster type ride where the car full of passengers actually became upside down as the car sped around the vertical circle of track. This ride was announced in the newspaper in 1904 along with other “stupendous novelties” such as Oriental Gondolas, the Ocean Wave and House of Mirth. After only a few weeks the Loop the Loop ride malfunctioned and one young lady was killed and a second was severely injured when the car failed to continue around the circle and they fell out of the upside down car. This stopped the ride and little else that happened in the park was reported. Whether the Ocean Wave that was listed as a new amusement in the park for that season actually was there is not known. Nor is it known if the Ocean Wave in 1904 was the same ride that was there in 1907 as the Razzle Dazzle.

An interesting find in searching the newspapers of that time was an ad in the Aug. 19, 1905, issue of The New York Clipper, a paper that includes many ads for various amusement parks and classified ads for equipment and rides. In that paper was the following ad: “Fine 30 feet diameter Ocean Wave Razzle Dazzle Swing.; seats 81 people; five cents a ride; all complete, nearly new. Will clear cost in one week at fairs, resort, or set on a city or town lot and run evenings, Sacrifice account of other business. Price, $275. $175 cash on shipment, balance $25 monthly. First one gets this bonanza. W.I. Cook, Celoron, N.Y.” So the question is “Was this the same ride advertised as being at Celoron Park in 1904? Who was W. I. Cook? And did this same ride return to Celoron Park in 1907 and only for that year?

We now know more about the Razzle Dazzle. We have the description of it but we still have questions about its life at Celoron. The tickets are probably from 1907 when it was advertised during the season but they could also be from 1904 if indeed the ride was functioning at Celoron that year.