Beloved Bill Lynch carnival lives on at reunions like these

Come one, come all to the Bill Lynch Shows at the Halifax Forum. For decades, summers in Atlantic Canada were punctuated by the arrival of the Bill Lynch Shows. Family-friendly fairs complete with rides, games, and even some gambling. But today... Dozens of former employees are still trying to keep the magic alive. We were all family. He's nice hair. Everybody, like, you know, like it was some, we all came together, every one of us. The carnival workers gathered for a reunion at Exhibition Park in Windsor, Nova Scotia, remembering the days when hundreds would descend upon these grounds for a day at the carnival. Most here never met Bill Lynch himself. The son of a lighthouse keeper from McNab's Island and the man who brought the fair to life in the 1920s. But Fred Hebb worked his first shift in the 1950s and still remembers the man behind it all. Bill Lynch was probably the best man I've ever toured in my life and that includes in my years of service in the Air Force. For Heb, this reunion is about catching up with those he worked with in the past, and meeting others who understand the carny lifestyle. Spend some time with carnival folks and you'll quickly notice that nicknames are used almost as often as real names. There's Flipper, Jimmy Hot Dog, Shaker, and Queen of the Midway, Christine Verge, who, in keeping with her title, declined an interview. Then there's Soggy, aka Clarence Reed, who took over the business after Lynch's death and carried it on until the 90s. After Soggy died, the carnival changed hands a few times, but most of the rides and games have since been sold off. Deborah Kelly says carnivals these days are not what they used to be. Like the midway opens late in the day, closes early at night. We open 12 noon every day, close 12 at night or later. Rain or shine, we were open. 12 o'clock midnight when the Midway closed, us crew here, some really good times after 12 at night. There's talk of this year's reunion being the last, but that's been said before. At least for now, the former employees of the Bill Lynch shows are committed to keeping a century's worth of memories alive. Ben Dornan, CBC News, Windsor.