For fifty years, literally thousands of children, have gone to Kiddieland at Applegate Park, making it a historic landmark in Merced.

Constructed in 1958 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Merced, three and sometimes four generations of local families have used it for weekend outings and have wonderful memories of riding the miniature train and other carnival rides.

Last month Kiddieland was shut down temporarily by state inspectors who stated the park did not meet state safety requirements. There was talk about having the park reopen in October.

“That will not be possible,” said Chuck Meyer, one of the charter members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Merced and past president of that organization.

Over $150,000 in repairs and renovations will have to be made to Kiddieland before it would pass the state inspection. All new tracks and the foundation of the rail system would have to be replaced, plus lessor repairs to the other rides..

Once the repairs are completed and approved by the state, two volunteers will have to be available on site for each ride and they would have to be willing to spend two hours prior to the opening of the park to inspect and document the condition of the equipment.

That could mean their would need to be 24 volunteers needed to operate the park at any given time.

These volunteers would also have to complete a one half hour CPR training course and a one half hour life saving course.

“Our problem is that we do not have that much money and with only 58 members in our club, we are not sure we can get that many volunteers to spend their weekends as well as other times at the park,” said Meyer.

The state will also charge the club $5,000 a year for the four inspections it will conduct each month. Two will be scheduled and two will be surprise visits to make sure the club is living up to its obligations.

Kiddieland is a totally non-profit operation and it is run on contributions and small prices received off the ticket sales.

It has suffered in recent years from vandalism and the community has been very supportive, however that support would be only a small portion needed to pay for the renovation and repairs in addition to the annual cost of the inspections.

A special meeting of the Club is going to be held to decide what the club’s options are. Local residents are being asked to talk to Kiwanis members and give their views as well as their support to the club and their 50 year old community service project.

Kiddieland is one of those things which has made Merced’s Applegate Park unique. It would be very unfortunate that the State of California in all its wisdom would put a halt to a project which has brought so much joy to children and parents alike.