FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. – (Sept. 4, 2015) – The oldest attraction at the Minnesota State Fair is owned and operated by the Keenan family. “My grandfather built the ride, they opened in 1915. He hired a company out of Philadelphia called the Philadelphia Toboggan Company to help him design it and create the ride. At the time they had old mills similar to this one in Louisiana, Oklahoma City, in Kansas, in Iowa, and Minnesota and they would travel throughout the country all summer long from state fair to state fair. This is the last one that remained intact,” said Joe Keenan.
The first Minnesota State Fair was held in 1859, then in 1885 after years of moving around the fair settled into its current location. It wasn’t long after that in 1915 that the Ye Old Mill opened as a tunnel of love style attraction. This year the Mill, is celebrating 100 years and Joe and his family are relishing every moment. “The 100th anniversary is really kind of remarkable. We’re very fortunate to have something in our family that we get to share with our community of Minnesota and be part of the fabric of the community and really what has been fun for us this year is to have everyone stop for a moment and share their story and share their memory. I spoke with a girl the other day who is not from Minnesota and didn’t live here but heard about this and came because she knew her grandparents went on it in the 40s and she wanted to do something her grandparents had done and made a special trip just to come to the fair. So all of these wonderful stories is what make it fun for us,” said Kennan.
It takes a lot of work to keep an 100-year-old attraction up and running. Especially when the original motor, built in 1912, is still powering the ride all these years later. “It’s a lot of work. All the boats are the original design and they last six to eight years and they are all hand made so we’re constantly doing one to two boats every summer. It’s the original electric motor from 1912 that needs to be overhauled and refurbished, most of the original mechanics, a lot of work that goes into it. Then a fresh coat of paint on everything, it takes a good bit of time,” said Keenan.
One of the best things about the Ye Old Mill is that it is truly something that everyone can enjoy. “This attraction is for everybody. We had a couple the other day that were in their eighties and they had their first date here 50 years ago, 60 years ago, so they come and reminisce. It’s family with little kids and it’s four minutes for the parents to get the kids quiet and out of the fair and they get four minutes to relax and it’s teenagers that come in and still like to have their smooches and their make out and their quiet time and get away from everybody else so it fits everybody,” said Kennan.
The Ye Old Mill is also the backdrop for some special moments each year at the fair. “Three or four engagements every year, we have a wedding this year. Being the tunnel of love that’s always fun. We get couples every year that stop at the fair between the wedding and the reception and the limo drops them off at the corner and they run in on their white dress, jump in the ride and get back in with the wedding party and that’s really fun,” said Keenan. So why has the Ye Old Mill survived all these years? According to Joe the answer is really quite simple. “Quite honestly because it’s the same as it was 100 years ago and their is that bit of nostalgia. You know this ever changing, high tech faced paced world this is what it is and that kind of nostalgia and that kind of look to the past and that idea that it really hasn’t changed and I think that’s what attracts people to it,” said Keenan.
