Youthful memories of Kiddie Towne

For many who spent weekends there, it's the source of fond memories. But for those who worked there, it's a reminder of some of the best days of their lives.

``It was the center of your life pretty much," said Charlene Dolan , a former employee at Kiddie Towne, an amusement park that sat on the site of the former Northshore Shopping Center (now known as the Northshore Mall) from 1958 to 1973.

Dolan and other former employees of Kiddie Towne will have a reunion Saturday in Peabody and celebrate the time they spent at the small but beloved amusement park.

``It's kind of like having a high school reunion after 40 years," said Dolan, 53, of Amesbury, who began tracking fellow former co-workers online a few years ago.

After phone calls and research , Dolan began to get people interested in the idea. Most of the people she found worked at Kiddie Towne in the late 1960s.

``We all have some things in common that no one else has," said Dolan, who went to Kiddie Towne as a child and began working there in 1969 at age 15, selling tickets and running the refreshment stand.

According to Dolan, Kiddie Towne was situated near where the Macy's now sits. At the time, she said, the Northshore Shopping Center was an open-air mall with a center court.

Doug Connell began working at the park in 1964 as a ride operator, and two years later, at age 18, became one of the general managers.

``It was a different lifestyle during the '60s, and an 18-year old could run a major operation," said Connell, who is traveling from Fort Myers, Fla., for the reunion.

The modest amusement park had about 10 rides, including a carousel, a large merry-go-round, a children's merry-go-round, a boat ride, a small Ferris wheel, an airplane ride, and a small roller coaster that had been at the former Kiddie Ranch in Saugus.

Another popular ride, according to Connell, was ``The Bullet," which resembled a hollowed-out medicine capsule.

``That thing would go at a top speed of 10 miles per hour, but when you were sitting in it, it felt like 100," recalled Connell.

The highlight of Kiddie Towne was the gigantic Ferris wheel, which overlooked the city and provided the best seat in the house for the shopping center's annual Fourth of July fireworks.

``For the young guys it was a babe magnet," said Connell, now 57. For the employees, he said, ``It was a status symbol. If you ran the Ferris wheel, you reached the pinnacle of your carny career."

The owner of Kiddie Towne was Israel Yodlin , fondly known as ``Izzy."

``He was very much a mentor, a father figure," said Dolan. ``He instilled a sense of responsibility in people."

The reason behind the park's closure in 1973 is still a question for some. Connell guessed that Yodlin ``lost his heart in the business" after Kiddie Towne's lease wasn't renewed in 1963 and the park was moved around the corner to make way for the expanding mall.

For employees, Kiddie Towne was as much a social outlet as it was a job.

``Most of us probably spent most of the money we made there, being there," said Dolan, who met her husband at Kiddie Towne, where he was also an employee. They've been married for almost 30 years. She said several employees would spend their wages eating hot dogs and playing the 25-cent pinball games.

``A lot of the teenage guys pumped quarters in all day long," added Connell. ``It was the video games of today."

Groups went through and fellow co-workers went off to college or the military, but still a sense of closeness drew co-workers together, and Connell said the crew was like ``one big family."

``I was there, whether I was working or not, I would be hanging out there," said Connell. ``A lot of guys did the same thing."

And some things haven't changed, Connell said, noting that his son is a general manager at a movie theater, like many of his son's friends. When they're not there working, he said, ``they're watching movies with friends."

Dolan is most looking forward to the reunion for ``just reconnecting and sharing memories with people. Those things become even more important as you get older," she said.

Connell is also eager to reminisce with old friends, some of whom are coming from as far as Alaska.

``My high school reunion is on the same day," said Connell on the Kiddie Towne reunion. ``I have no desire to go to that."

The Kiddie Towne reunion is just for former employees. It will be held Saturday , 6 p.m.-midnight at the Ancient Order of Hibernians , 58 Lowell St. Contact Ross Bulmer at 978-535-1145 for tickets, which are $20. Visit kiddietowne.org for more on how former employees remember Kiddie Towne.