Maryland | Moments

Carousel Animals Are Coming Around in Charles County

If Burkey Boggs has his way, the sounds of laughter from all who enjoy the simple pleasures of a carousel will not be a thing of the past in Charles County.

Boggs and about 25 members of the Southern Maryland Carousel Group, which he heads, are creating the 48 wooden animals that will inhabit the Old World-style carousel they are building.

They work in space that had been vacant in a small La Plata office building. The walls are covered with life-size sketches of whatever creature is the focus of their efforts. It might be a horse like the one on the Maryland state seal, or a tiger like the mascot for Waldorf's T.C. Martin Elementary School. Progress can be measured in the sawdust and shavings covering the plywood floor.

Established in 2004, the carousel group wants to generate interest in American folk art while preserving Southern Maryland history. Since February 2005, woodcarvers and artists have finished 21 animals. Working three days a week, members spend about a month and half on each.

The county's connection with carousels goes back at least to the days of the Marshall Hall Amusement Park on the shores of the Potomac River, where bejeweled horses moved to the sound of organ music. After operating since the 1890s, the park closed in 1981. Boggs, who is 70, said he and his wife often visited the park via a Wilson Line excursion boat when they were dating more than 50 years ago.

When it is finished, the carousel will be installed at Laurel Springs Park in La Plata, but the groundbreaking is a ways off. The site will include a museum and learning center about woodcarving and carousel art. The carousel will be the sixth one operating in Maryland.

In the meantime, Boggs keeps the volunteers moving. His familiar encouragement to those with the carving tools and sandpaper: "Take some wood off!"