Bartlesville Park Magician Entertaining Visitors For More Than 30 Years

By Rick Wells, The News On 6

BARTLESVILLE, OK -- Visitors to Bartlesville's Kiddie Park have been entertained by the park magician now for decades.

David Lea started at the park as a teenager operating rides and now, more than three decades later, he's got children and adults saying, "How'd he do that?"

"I started working here in 1976," Lea said. "Actually fell in love with the place, I'm still here."

David Lea operated a Skyrocket ride as a teenager back then, to earn money to buy magic tricks.

He made 75 cents an hour and says he entertained kids waiting in line with some simple tricks he knew.

"The first trick I bought was the magic silks," he said.

The trick involves two silk squares. The News On 6 made sure there was nothing up his sleeves.

"I'm gonna make a pocket in my fist just like that, then we'll take the red one and stick it in here like that," Lea said.

He finishes the trick by making the red scarf re-appear from out of the blue one. He told the News On 6 he thinks he paid $5 for the trick and it's worked just that way for more than 30 years. He went through several others he had in his magic suitcase, getting the same reaction he said was the same as the kids who watch his show.

"How'd he do that?"

His Wednesday evening magic shows at the Kiddie Park have become as much a fixture as the ride he used to operate or even the Little Dipper. He even has a brick in the plaza they call the walk of friends.

"To see a child smile and adults laugh, they just have a good time and I love it," Lea said. "That's what it's all about."

Lea puts on his magic show every Wednesday at 8 p.m.