J&S Carousel takes final St. Augustine spin

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Sunday, Sept. 15 was the last day to ride J&S Carousel at Davenport Park. The iconic St. Augustine attraction had been located at the park since 1994 entertaining children of all ages with brightly painted horses and traditional carousel music. For just $1, parents and grandparents could relive a childhood memory and share an American tradition with younger generations.

Owner Jim Soules passed away suddenly Sept. 6, and the family notified the City of St. Augustine that it was Soules’ wish to have the carousel returned to Port Charlotte, Florida where he had been a deputy sheriff and K9 trainer before retiring. Soules was passionate about sharing the merry-go-round he inherited after his brother’s death.

The line to take a last ride was long and consistent all day Sunday. Soules’ sister, Kathleen Nasrey, traveled from Royal Oak, Michigan to support the family and see the carousel operate in St. Augustine.

“I’m so thrilled at the lines of people,” Nasrey said. “My brother would be ecstatic.”

Soules’ wife Peggy and son Tony Pabon rode the carousel Sunday evening.

“We rode what was supposed to be the last ride about 9:40,” Nasrey said. “Peggy rang the bell and everyone cheered when it ended. The line formed again and Peggy said, ‘Let them ride.’”

Monday morning, family members and a crew of workers were on site to dismantle the ride, load it into trucks and take it back to Port Charlotte according to Soules’ wishes. One of the workers was carefully removing bulbs from the upper perimeter. When asked if he was counting them, he said, “I don’t need to count. There are 800 bulbs. I’ve put them in and taken them out many times.”

The worker was Soules’ son, Tony Pabon, who ran the carousel for about a year after leaving the military. Pabon was impressed with St. Augustine’s outpouring of affection for the ride and the long lines that formed after the announcement the carousel would close.

“He ran it to honor the memory of his brother,” Pabon said. “If Jim was here, he wouldn’t have believed it.”

The plan is to store the carousel and perform a complete restoration.

“Jim restored cars, so he just did it,” Pabon said. “He painted all the horses.”

As the inner workings of the dismantled ride was attached to the trailer hitch Monday, Soules’ sister reflected on the day before when the community came out to ride one last time.

“We appreciate the outpouring from St. Augustine. People had a favorite horse and named it,” she said through tears. “I think (the last ride) was good for Peggy… very peaceful. She saw that they loved it.”