Ag Commish Andy Gipson issued the following statement.
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| First Clarion-Ledger Ad in 2004 |
Today, Miskelly Furniture in Pearl announced the donation of an antique carousel to the Mississippi
Agriculture and Forestry Museum as a new exhibit. Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson and Executive Director of the Mississippi
Agriculture and Forestry Museum Hayes Patrick joined Oscar Miskelly of Miskelly Furniture
at the Miskelly Furniture store in Pearl, Mississippi.
“We are very excited to accept this unique donation on behalf of the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum,” said Commissioner Gipson. “This attraction will make a great addition to the multiple exhibits we currently offer across the grounds of the Museum complex. I want to thank Oscar Miskelly and the entire Miskelly Furniture family for their generosity, and I look forward to seeing the joy their donation brings to all the families that visit the Museum.”
The
large, antique carousel has been owned by Miskelly Furniture since
2004, when it was purchased from
Felimana Luna Amusement Park in Argentina. For years, customers would
ride for a $1.00 donation at the furniture store in Pearl. All proceeds
were then donated to a different charity every year.
“We
chose organizations that were dedicated to helping the children of
Mississippi,” Miskelly said. “The
carousel has generated more than $200,000 in donations. Recipients
included The Little Lighthouse, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Big Brothers/Big
Sisters and Mississippi Children’s Home Services.”
Miskelly admitted the fixture of 16 years is hard to part with, but says the move ensures that more visitors
will enjoy the ride as the museum hosts thousands of children, much more than the retailer.
“We
want to see more Mississippi children have the opportunity to ride on a
real antique carousel,” said
Miskelly. “We know the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum will
care for it as we have, so it will circle around for many more years.”
The
carousel will be disassembled at the furniture store in Pearl and taken
in pieces to the Mississippi
Agriculture and Forestry Museum, where it will be reassembled on the
grounds near the Children’s Barnyard and Multipurpose Building.
“Over
the next couple of months, we will be building a new structure to house
the carousel and get it
ready for operation. The proximity to the barnyard, pavilions and
multipurpose building will create an exciting new dynamic for birthday
parties hosted at the Museum, as well as fun for our daily visitors. As a
result of the generosity of Mississippians just
like the Miskellys, the Ag Museum has excelled for four decades in
providing a memorable experience for its guests. I would like to thank
the Miskelly family for contributing to the joy and excitement our
visitors will experience for decades to come,” said
Patrick.
The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, a division of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, is located at 1150 Lakeland Drive in Jackson, and is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 601-432-4500 or 1-800- 844-8687, visit www.msagmuseum.org or visit the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum’s page on Facebook.
18 comments:
Well, that is interesting.
That carousel was a unique part of Miskelly's history.
( Yeah, annoying at times) . . . but still a part of Miskelly Furniture.
Oh well . . . they'll have new space for at least eight more $3000.00 King sized Sealy Posturepedic mattresses.
Not really worthy of a press release. What a doofus
Top notch for Chip and Oscar. They have done lots for the community and this is another good deed.
6:13 They have plenty of 25 dollar bedding sets at Goodwill. I guess you mad at the car dealers who have millions of dollars of inventory on their lots. Or them there liquor stores that have thousand dollar bottles of wine.
6:55 - why not? The Miskelly's have been good corporate citizens for years, and this carousel has been a noted fixture for many. And, it should be noted, the little money that it created was all donated to charity as well.
So, they decide to put it at a state facility for all the visitors there to enjoy and the state puts out a press release.
Granted, not many media outlets will make note of it, but a few will. And it won't stop any major news items from having their time - the latest homocide in Jackson, the boil water notice in Madison, etc - they will all get their fair time on the nightly news.
So, what's your bitch? Unless, of course, you are just one of the many JJ readers who feel they have to bitch about everything they read anywhere.
Thank you Miskelly! What a wonderful gift to the Ag museum. I am sure it will bring a lot of pleasure for many years to come.
Let the State of MS pay for the upkeep, we don't want it anymore.
Wonder what they valued their donation at?
Does the Ag Commissioner need to wear his cowboy hat to ride the carousel?
Bravo. The Miskelly’s are good people. We should celebrate them and this generous donation. They were taught good values by Howard, a WWII hero. We need more families like them
J.L. Jones and his little dog " Puggy Jay" never had a merry-go-round at their store over in Rankin County.
But they could sell Sealy Posturepedics at $100.00 over cost.
Barcaloungers too !
(Drive a little . . . save a lot).
This thing was at Miskelly for only 15 years so stop with the nonsense of it being either a Miskelly or Mississippi historical artifact. But, yes, it's a great donation and worthy of a press release.
Hope somebody will know how to work on it and keep it in operation for decades to come. Well, at least until the Cancel Culture folks figure out it was built in South America by ex-patriot slave owners who left the Confederacy after Abe's War.
As The World Turns.
For those wondering what the Carousel is valued at...The Carousel Miskelly donated was made by the FELIMANA LUNA PARK & is one of the top Carousel & ride manufacturers in the world. The Dentzel Carousel in Meridian's Highland Park is valued at over $1,000,000.00. Rides are only 50 cents, Tours 1.00
The Dentzel carousel was manufactured in 1896 by Gustav Dentzel of Philadelphia, PA, for the 1904 St. Louis Exposition & later sold to the City of Meridian. A cabinetmaker by trade, Dentzel was a young German immigrant to the United States. In 1860, he established the Dentzel Factory. His family had manufactured carousels in Germany a& offered great support to Gustav's American venture. The Dentzel Factory manufactured 2 or 3 carousels per year & supplied parks throughout the East & South. All of the animals were hand-carved out of poplar or basswood. The carousels often had original oil paintings as well. The Great Depression shuddered the factory in 1929. The Dentzel Carousel arrived in Meridian in 1909 & has occupied its same location in Highland Park ever since. Its house is the only remaining original carousel building built from a Dentzel blueprint.
Purchased in 1909 for a mere $2,000, today the carousel is valued at more than a million dollars. A 9 Year restoration of the carousel animals cost more than $112,000, while restoration of the Carousel House was nearly twice that amount during 1984-1995.
https://www.meridianms.org/city-departments/parks-and-recreation/dentzel-carousel/
Unfortunately, a trip to Highland park requires Bulletproof Vests & SWAT Equipment. Hopefully the city will sell it to a museum before it's burned down or shot to pieces.
The Denzel Carousel was managed by Kelvin McGruder, who served as the former director of Parks and Recreation.
Oct 3, 2016 — Police continue to investigate a shooting Friday night at Highland Park that hospitalized three people. ... arrival of gunshot victims, according to Sgt. Dareall Thompson of the Meridian Police Department.
https://www.meridianstar.com/news/local_news/injured-in-shooting-at-highland-park-in-meridian/article_1ce56003-258c-522a-b26e-7cde5ef79ee9.html
Meridian police now say two people were shot at Highland Park Sunday night.
Sergeant Dareall Thompson says a second shooting victim showed up at a Meridian hospital...
https://www.wtok.com/content/news/Police-say-a-second-person-was-shot-at-Highland-Park-Sunday-night-481302891.html
Former Sgt. Dareall D. Thompson is a previous officer of the year for MPD.
Sergeant Dareall D. Thompson, 41, is charged with two counts of theft & embezzlement, totaling over $14,000.00.
http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2020/04/meridian-cops-indicted.html
Kevin McGruder gave Councilman Lindemann, documents outlining his concerns with 2 city employees, Terrell "Twin" Thompson, a code enforcement officer & Stacey Thompson, a city equal opportunity officer & Terrell Thompson's wife.
McGruder accused the city of retaliating against him after reporting Terrell Thompson had violated city policies & used his city vehicle at his 2nd job as a security guard. Terrell Thompson, who was convicted of defrauding the city in his previous role as a police officer in 2013, is not permitted to possess a weapon because of his record. In the complaint, McGruder said he witnessed handcuffs, police scanners, surveillance equipment & a weapon in Thompson's vehicle, which violates his parole.
Dareadell (Terrell) THOMPSON a/k/a Terrell Thompson, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ms-court-of-appeals/1690555.html
Me thinks some of the comments above are correct. Felimana Luna Amusement started making Carousels & Rides for their own South American Theme Parks in the 60s. They branched out & because of labor & material costs, became one of the biggest manufacturers & exporters of Carousels. They make the largest in the world, a full size 3 story. In a traditional version, a Restuarant & Casino theme, complete with bar.
Felimana Luna just reopened their parks in South America & as there are several manufacturers of Carousels, & cost of dismantling & transporting...the used Carousel market is non existent, especially if it is going to be used in a commercial aspect because of liability.
It appears that Felimana Luna still makes a slightly updated version of the Miskelly Carousel...the Western Full.
http://felimana.com/en/our-products/show-carousel-western-theme/
Their Full line of Carousels...
http://felimana.com/en/carousels/
in a Post-Covid world, that thing is a huge liability. They made a good move.
that store had a basketball hoop, movie theater room, and a full snack bar-even the country store area. that was a furniture shopping experience.
all that stuff took retail space....nice of the family to donate it rather than just sell it off..
meridian should move the carousel downtown near the new arts museum..
Nice to read some good news for a change. The Miskelleys have made a lot of charitable contributions over the years including a lot of MSU I believe (don’t hate rebel fans - I am one). They’ve done a lot of good for MS.
Should have been gifted to the Children's Museum. Cowboy Hat will either destroy it or have it in mothballs within three years.
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