Greenville man reflects on life as a traveling carnival owner

Sam Johnston will tell you he never intended to get into the carnival business.

His father joined the industry in the mid-1940s after taking Johnston and his brother to a small amusement park in California. Seeing it as a profitable business, Sam Johnston Sr. decided to start a live pony ride and travel with larger carnivals.

He eventually purchased and built other rides to create a small carnival called Johnston’s Rides, later renamed Johnston’s Amusements. Johnston said he and his brother were cheap help for his father’s business. One of Johnston’s first jobs was operating a children’s car ride at the grand opening of a McDonald’s when he was 8 years old.

“I hated it,” Johnston said. “I’m sitting there having to pull this lever to get it to start and then pull this lever to stop. I didn’t want to do that — I was 8 years old!”

Johnston continued to assist his father’s carnival business as he grew up in California. He attended Sacramento State to study physical engineering before changing his major to business. After serving in the army during the Vietnam War, Johnston briefly worked for his father’s business before deciding to pursue a new career.

“I kind of became a second-generation carnival owner by a fluke,” Johnston said.

Johnston originally got a job selling Addressograph machines before working for a mobile car washing and waxing franchise. He ended up returning to the carnival business in 1971 after deciding to purchase a brand-new amusement ride called a Turbo with his father for $69,500. Johnston said the ride was worth more than his father’s entire business.

The Turbo was purchased to operate independently from Johnston’s Amusements, allowing larger carnivals to book it for fairs across the West Coast. Johnston and his wife, Gail, spent the next four years traveling with the Turbo to different fairs in Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and into Canada. Johnston said the experience allowed him to learn more about how good carnivals should operate.

Making his mark

Sam Johnston Sr. died in 1978 after suffering a stroke. After their father’s passing, Johnston and his brother ended up splitting Johnston’s Amusements, each taking a group of rides to create their own small carnivals.

Johnston took his carnival to smaller fairs, festivals and shopping centers on the West Coast. He traveled with his wife and two daughters to the different venues, living in a travel trailer. While growing his carnival business, Johnston also began to explore new business opportunities.

In 1984, Johnston purchased a children’s amusement park named Kiddie Land in Sacramento’s William Land Park. He ended up transforming the park into Funderland Amusement Park, which is still in operation today.

Over time, Johnston would operate two additional children’s amusement parks, Funderwoods in Lodi, California, and Pixieland in Concord, California. Johnston said the key to a successful amusement park is viewing every person walking into the park as though they are coming into your home.

“You have to invite them in and treat them as your guest,” Johnston said.

Johnston’s carnival business, Midway of Fun, continued to expand into a successful 40-ride carnival that operated at more than 65 fairs and festivals annually. Johnston said the business grew to a point where he was unable to control it, so he decided to split his company into two carnivals. He founded California Carnival Co. Inc. in 2001.

He sold Midway of Fun in 2003 and California Carnival Co. Inc. in 2006. Johnston would continue to run Funderland for 15 years after leaving the carnival business. He sold the amusement park in 2021, before leaving California. Johnston and his wife moved to the Upstate to be near their two daughters and eight grandchildren.

Memoir

Sam Johnston released a 404-page memoir, “Ride of a Lifetime: Growing a Family Legacy,” over the summer. The book depicts Johnston’s life in the traveling-carnival business from the 1940s through the early 2000s.

Leadership roles

Sam Johnston held several leadership roles outside of owning and operating successful traveling-carnival businesses and three amusement parks. He served as president of the Showfolks of America, the Showman’s League of America and the Outdoor Amusement Business Association.