A tribute to
Granville D. Trimper
1929 - 2008
On October 27, 2008, Granville Trimper departed from our lives, leaving a pit in our stomachs and making us yearn for a dose of his nostalgic amusement park which will undoubtedly go down in history as being one of the country’s finest.
Granville was a lifetime resident of Ocean City and began working in the town at the age of 10. His first significant job in the amusement business was operating a small ferris wheel at his family park, the same ferris wheel that stands today which is now operated by his grandchildren. After busy summers of assuming sole responsibility of his ferris wheel, which he purchased and was thus the youngest owner/operator of an amusement ride in the United States, he would assist with disassembling the other rides in the park and prepare to go on the road to carnivals throughout the Eastern Shore and Mid-Atlantic region. Many believe that Granville's greatest accomplishment was the construction of the Haunted House in 1964, a project in which he contracted Bill Tracy from Outdoor Dimensional Displays to build. From there, Granville’s involvement in the park became more substantial until he and his wife, Joanne, took over in 1980 after the retirement of Daniel Trimper III.
During his tenure as president of Trimper’s Rides and Amusements, he grew the park from a small indoor/outdoor operation to the massive, full-grown park it is today. In addition, he served on the City Council of Ocean City for 18 years, spent four years as Worcester County commissioner, served as interim mayor in 1985, and was a past president of the Ocean City Lions Club, an organization that he belonged to for 58 years. He also served as past president of the Ocean City Hotel Motel Restaurant Association, president of the Ocean City Museum Society, and past president of the Downtown Association and the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce. To top it off, he was honored in 2000 as Ocean City’s Citizen of the Year.
Granville Trimper’s unending commitment to providing amusement entertainment and a safe, family environment for generations of Marylanders as well as his commitment to the town of Ocean City has made him a historic icon, not only in the town he loved and served, but in the entire amusement industry.
Thanks for everything, Mr. Trimper. Your memories and accomplishments will live on in our hearts forever.
Go back to Trimper's Haunted House Online
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