New roller coaster, babies at Silverwood

Brian Baustert, maintenance manager for Silverwood Theme Park, recently returned from Chicago, where he was supervising the disassembly and shipping of the new and as of yet unnamed roller coaster. That, in and of itself, isn’t really news. The news is that he didn’t return alone. By his side when he returned to Bayview last weekend, was his wife, Jessica, and 1-month-old Silverwood trainee, Allison.

Jessica was at her parent’s home in Oklahoma awaiting the birth of their first child. Brian was in Chicago. Needless to say, when Jessica went into labor, he headed for Oklahoma.

Well, the roller coaster is on its way and construction is about to begin at Silverwood. The only holdup seems to be Mother Nature and about 3 feet of snow in the way. While all other Silverwood job applicants will have to wait awhile for orientation, baby Allison doesn’t have to wait. She is getting the red carpet treatment by one and all at the park.

But Jessica isn’t the only new mom at Silverwood.

Grounds manager Katrina Pertle, wife of rides manager Derek Pertle, are the proud parents of a new baby, too.

Also at Silverwood,a new sewer system, with its own treatment facility. The park, which had operated with septic systems for its 20 years of existence, is just growing too big for the old system. Silverwood management, aware of the need for a permanent solution, opted to fix the problem before reopening the park this spring.

Anyone who hasn’t been to Silverwood in the last two years is in for a number of surprises, including the near-doubling of the Water Park and the new, huge roller coaster. Move over Six Flags, there’s a new, classier Silverwood Theme Park biting at your heels. When, a few years ago, park owner Gary Norton was heard to say that “After the train, it just kind of got away from me,” little did anyone know just how far it was to “get away” from him.

Spring will be here soon

Winter is begrudgingly giving way to early spring conditions in Bayview, while as previously mentioned, Athol and Silverwood are still locked in winter.

Just the few hundred feet difference in elevation made a world of difference in snowpack. But, Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner. With the rapid seasonal changes in this area, the sun will finally come out to warm us again.