Good PR Could Help Revive Bushkill Park

Things did not look that rosy for Bushkill Park this Summer, when owners Sammy Baurkot and the Neal Fehnel had to put on hold their project of reviving the park because of lack of funds.

In 2004, when , Hurricane Ivan struck, the old amusement park in Forks Township was flooded. Its iconic Haunted Pretzel ride has been completely destroyed, and many of its other rides suffered irreparable damages. So the park closed, and ulterior attempts to reopen it were unsuccessful: poor management being one of the main reasons.

When Walt Reis and Frank Clever reopened the park in 2006, without its Haunted Pretzel, Bumper Cars and The Whip rides, the number of visitors during the season was way below expectations. Debt closed the park down completely, and vandalism destroyed its remaining attractions, including “Bar’l of Fun” one of America’s oldest fun-houses.

But things could take a better turn for Bushkill Park. The venue was recently visited by Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, the stars of American Pickers, a documentary reality television series on History Channel, that focuses more on antiques and collectibles. Wolfe and Fritz explore people’s homes, barns, sheds, and other outbuildings in search for other peoples’ “junk” – in many cases valuable collectibles. The two run a home-business, Antique Archaeology, in Le Claire, Iowa. The show on History Channel, which debuted January 18, 2010, has made a huge difference in their business, making Antique Archaeology an internationally recognized brand. Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz are also synonymous with their business. Their interest for any random venue in the world can instantly capture media and public attention. This is what happened yesterday, after the third season of American Pickers debuted with A Banner Pick, featuring the Bushkill Park in Easton, and some of its vintage sideshow banners.

Fritz and Wolfe paid $700 for these, a sweet bargain, if you consider their real value. The banners, made by the O. Henry Tent & Awning Co., were appraised at $5,000 to $6,000 each. The appraiser said that they were the work of sideshow sign artist Fred Johnson, and to Fritz and Wolfe’s delight, the signs sold for $10,000 at an online auction. The two pickers went back to Bushkill Park and gave Neal Fehnel $5000 from the win. You can only imagine the park owner’s joy – a hope for the park’s future:

Tom Felton, born 22 Sept 1987, is an English actor and musician who's best known for playing the role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series. The movie adaptations of the best selling Harry Potter fantasy novels by author J. K. Rowling, for which he auditioned at age 12. He started his career appearing in commercials when he was 8 years old and in films by the age of ten.

With filming for the Harry Potter over, has spoken out about the hopes and fears he now has for life since production is done.

Shooting for the 8th and final film wrapped up last Saturday, and Felton says he is not sure where his career will take him now. He feels that doing such films and scenes with actors like Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman and Jason Isaacs is much likened to experiencing ten years of lessons.

The future and the element of the unknown is both exciting and nerve-racking for Felton and he looks forward to equally exciting projects for him in the future. When asked whether he was looking forward to playing a good guy in the future he answered: “No. Well, I do not know. I look forward to playing a good guy or someone different anyway, someone not so spiteful.”