THE BALLOON MAN

‘The fair is just in my blood’
Carnival is a family affair

 

JOE TAMBORELLO / THE JOURNAL-STANDARD
Chuck and Lynn Waterman stand in the middle of the midway at the Stephenson County Fair on Thursday. Waterman’s company is Calkins Midway, which provides the rides and amusements at the local fair in Freeport.
By Jane Lethlean,The Journal-Standard
from:  journalstandard.com
Posted Jul 12, 2012
Freeport, Ill. —
As a young boy growing up, life was not easy for Chuck Waterman, who eventually was taken in by his aunt and uncle in Wisconsin, who introduced the young boy to the sights and sounds of a county fair. Waterman said he was a troubled youth at the time.
 His uncle told him he had to do two things — go to church and go to school. Waterman did both, and while he was cleaning up his act, he fell in love with the family business — Calkins Midway from Oshkosh, Wis.
 Now some 40 odd years later, Waterman and his wife Lynn spend their life on the road, going from festival to fair for eight months out of the year. Waterman said he never tires of the fair life. It is the faces of the children squealing on his rides that puts a smile on his face.
 Calkins Midway is the company that is providing the rides and amusements at this year’s Stephenson County Fair. Waterman is the owner and operator of the company. At this fair, he has 25 rides and many games and food stands.
 Much of his day during the fair is spent traveling by golf cart to make sure things are going smoothly for the rides. He has 60 employees that travel with him for each fair, many having been with him more than 10 years. He said the life is hard, but together they are all a family.
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