'It's All We Ever Knew:' Arnold Family Talks Joy, Challenges of Carnival Life

The “complaint department” at Arnold Amusements has seen it all, especially when it comes to kids who are just a hair too short for that big-time ride.

Sometimes kids are in high heels or booster shoes for that extra lift. Or they’ll wad up socks or paper towels and stuff them under their feet. Though most parents won’t fuss when kids are turned away (especially if they’re trying to game the system), some of the most passionate wind up at the on-site office trailer to plead their case.

“Some parents will argue with you until their death,” said Karen Arnold, who works in the office. “They’ll be upset and say, ‘He’s 42 inches at the doctor,’ and I’ll just say, ‘Well ma’am, he’s 38 inches right here.’”

Though it’s not without hard work and some headaches, the Arnold family could not be happier to run the midway (and various other food booths and attractions) at the National Cherry Festival and Northwest Michigan Fair each year.

Founded in 1980 by Traverse City natives Ivan and Agnes Arnold, the company has grown into a carnival powerhouse that brings its attractions to more than 50 events in Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida throughout the year. While this means the family is on the road almost all the time, there’s always something special about returning to where it all began.

“When you come up and over that hill and you see the big bay, you know you’re home,” says Tom Arnold, Ivan’s son. “The adrenaline gets going.”

A family business

Ivan grew up in the business, starting with various jobs at the fair at only nine years old. He bought several rides and worked for another carnival outfit for many years before launching his own company. Ivan and Agnes both died the past few years, remaining involved with the family business until the very end.

Tom and brother Jon, along with Jon’s wife Karen and son Alex, now form the core of company operations, though several others play important roles. “Honorary Arnold” Joey Even has also been with the company for three decades and has a heavy managerial load.

Tom and Jon’s sister Sandy married a worker from another carnival company and now works with him, just as Karen left her family’s carnival to join Arnold Amusements when she married Jon. Carnival people almost always marry other carnival people – it’s just the way it is.

“You can't very well go (up to someone) in the mall or bank and say ‘Hey, you wanna run away with the carnival and live happily ever after?” Even says. “You’ve got to be in this already.”

Everyone having come up in the industry means that this extended family has a special bond and a clear mission: Make the fun happen.

“We take pride in it. We all grew up in it, and it’s all we ever knew – it’s in our blood,” Tom says. “Sure, we have some days where we wonder what they heck we’re doing here (‘We have a lot of those,’ Jon interjects), but there’s really nothing better…We see the smiles on kids’ faces and know the joy we bring to families.”

While that joy was always something to take pride in, the importance of the Arnolds' work came into sharper focus a few years back.

“COVID was really an eye-opening experience for all of us. We couldn’t work for a whole year, and when we came back, everybody was just so appreciative,” Karen says. “They would make a point to come to the office and say ‘Thank you for coming – these families needed this.’”

Incidentally, COVID also helped the Arnold family realize they’re where they’re meant to be.

“We’d always see people at the beach or something when we were tearing down and moving, and you’d think ‘I wonder what it’s like to be normal people and do what they do,’” Karen says. “Well, after doing it for a year, it was like ‘Yeah, this isn’t for us.”

Not all fun and games

There are about a million moving parts (literally and figuratively) in this business. Being nimble and able to adapt is essential, as something is always going wrong.

“Every single day is a challenge. Something breaks and you have to reorganize the plan you had. Everything is constantly changing,” Alex says. "There’s a plan, but no plan.”

Like seemingly everything else in the modern world, things also aren’t as simple as they used to be.

“Years ago, the hardest part was putting the rides up. It was a lot of physical labor. Now, most of it is hydraulic and all comes on one trailer,” Joey says. “So now it’s the logistics. It’s pulling the permits or applying for the water meter. It’s the DOT or the highway taxes. It’s the payroll or all of the inspections – right down from the food inspections to when they inspect the games to make sure they’re legit.”

They’re also getting hit with high costs and wincing as they pass them on to the consumer, as they’re keenly aware that people will only spend so much on a carnival.

“The cost of everything is so much more. Parts have doubled, tripled. People don’t realize what we pay for tires. The price of tickets, the price of arm bands. You just go down the line,” Tom says. “Our insurance is through the roof.”

“Canvas (is crazy),” Alex adds. “Before COVID, I think it was like $3,600 for a merry-go-round top. Now I think they’re $12,000, and it takes 3 years to get one.”

Then there's the times you make the news for the wrong reasons, as was the case with the 2021 viral incident in which a ride appeared to be in danger of tipping over. Even attributed it to a technical issue with the ride.

"Unfortunately some incidents are not predictable," he says. "All safety guidelines were in place and our staff did exactly what they were trained to do. Most importantly, no one was hurt."

The family also has to manage a large stable of foreign visa workers (which they have to house, transport and more), something necessitated by a sharp decrease in domestic carnival workers in recent years.

“Nobody wants to do this job and stay away from your house and your family for 40 weeks out of the year,” Alex says.

But many of these visa workers, who return year after year, have become a different sort of family. Like most other employers that use the visa program, the Arnolds rave about how hard working and dependable these foreign workers are.

“I grew up with a lot of these guys,” Alex says. “Ricardo has been with us 24 years, and Luis is going to be 25 this year. I was about 10 when they first came.”

Photo inset: (L-R) Tom, Alex, Karen, Jon Arnold and Joey Even