~ OV Tour MAIL ~
Richard J. Moylan Jr. wrote:

As I look back on youth, one memory seems to surface more than anything else: the sounds of Ocean View! To a child, Ocean View had magical sounds, carnival-like sounds that came from all points. The sounds the park generated aroused the imagination. Most were muffled or canceled each other --but when the wind was right you could hear distinctive sounds, like the roller coaster -- the most noticeable sound in Ocean View. Every morning started with the sound of the coaster as they sent it around it's track for a number of test runs. The test runs sounded different than when carrying passengers -- not accompanied by frantic screams.

As the park opened and crowds were admitted, screams would start with every coaster run. It would climb to it's highest peak, clanking and clinking. As soon as it reached the top, the clacking would be replaced with screams to wake the dead. Like clockwork, every time the coaster would run, the screams would bellow.

There were other sounds, voices over intercoms trying to separate people from their money, a man guessing someone's weight, the shrieks and growls of wild and exotic animals on display in the Petting Zoo. The park even had an authentic Indian village with drums and chants.

In the background, the constant pops from the shooting gallery could be heard along with the whistle and engine groan from the one-third scale locomotive. As night fell over Ocean View, the sounds from the park seemed to become more intense than sounds generated from the area's busy workday. The screams seemed louder, the individual squeaks of certain rides could be picked out.

Every Saturday night, the park would have fireworks. Around ten-o'clock the sky over the amusement park would explode with bright flashes, explosions of color and loud booms! The fireworks were the highlight of living in Ocean View. When they were over, Ocean View would take on an unsettling calmness, a quiet that was hard to comprehend after so many noises that Ocean View Park offered. Even though Ocean View would grow quiet at night, all one had to do was wait until sunrise, for the wonderful and enjoyable sounds of Ocean View to signal the start of a new day.

Here's a birthday party on D View, in the sixties. Back l/r: Cathy, Richard Sr. & Louise Moylan. Center: Mitchell Hill sticking his tongue out, me (Richard Jr), Matthew Hill, Tony T, John Edward Parker, & a mystery kid. Front: Tim Moylan, one of the Hall twins (Tommy or Bobby) and their sister Julie Hall.

Mouseover thumbnails of the party and below - click to enlarge --all, especially the "Down at Ocean View" song!