Man on a mission to save Merry-Go-Round for Bloomfield

Like many other families in the Bloomfield area, Brian Pearson says he played on this little Merry-Go-Round as a child and a generation later, his son took a ride. Isaac Lee Pearson is pictured above on the coin-operated Merry-Go-Round that Pearson is trying to save. The Merry-Go-Round was located at the entrance to Bloomfield's IGA grocery store. (Courtesy of Brian Pearson)

For more than one generation of children in the Bloomfield area, a quick trip to the store meant the chance to climb aboard a horse and take a ride on the Merry-Go-Round at the entrance to Bloomfield's IGA grocery.

Now, with the recent closure of the store, the Merry-Go-Round is on the auction block and could be sold to a collector who would pick it up and haul it out of town.

But one man has started a campaign to save the Merry-Go-Round and he's asking for the community's help to keep it in Bloomfield.

Brian Pearson has lived all of his 40 years in Bloomfield and now lives on the same property where he grew up. He remembers riding the Merry-Go-Round as a child.

"I played on it, and my son played on it, and I am thinking, 'Why can't we keep this in Bloomfield?'" said Pearson.

The Merry-Go-Round, boasting three small horses, has been a fixture and a part of the memories of growing up in Bloomfield for many years -- Pearson says it has to be pushing 40 years old, maybe older.

It's coin-operated, taking small children for a few spins for just a quarter or two.

The Merry-Go-Round is a nostalgic part of the memories of so many people in Bloomfield that Pearson thinks it's only right that it should stay in town, be preserved and located in a public place. He suggests the library as one possibility.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have time on his side. The Merry-Go-Round is listed on an online auction site, along with a lot of other miscellaneous equipment from the store, and, as of early Tuesday, the auction ends in just two days. As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, it had received bids and was up to $375. How high it might go is anybody's guess.

When Pearson was alerted to the auction, he started a "GoFundMe" account to solicit donations to the cause. He set the account's goal at $1,000.

Pearson says he intends to place a bid and hopes he, with the help of people contributing to the GoFundMe account, can win the Merry-Go-Round.

If he is successful, he has a plan. The Merry-Go-Round would be for the community. He says his first goal will be to find a storage place, hopefully in the town garage. Then he intends to address the Bloomfield Town Council to enlist their help and suggestions about where to place the Merry-Go-Round.

"The library would be a good place, it needs to be somewhere safe," said Pearson.

If any contributions are received above what is needed to acquire the Merry-Go-Round, Pearson says the extra donations would go to the Fill-the-Pool organization to help save Bloomfield's swimming pool.

To pledge a contribution to the GoFundMe account "Save Bloomfield's Merry-Go-Round," visit http://www.gofundme.com/vbml5s online.

Pearson says he would welcome help from anyone in the community who would like to make a donation or has an idea about saving this piece of Bloomfield history.

Pearson can be reached by phone at 812-384-4738 after 3:15 p.m., or contacted on Facebook at www.facebook.com/brianpearson74 or on Twitter at BrianPearson93.