State Fair 'Carnie"

You can't have a carnival or a state fair without them. Oh sure, the rides and games are important but you can't have any of it without the "carnies". The carnival workers operate the rides and

Thursday, October 4th 2007, 11:16 am

By: News On 6

You can't have a carnival or a state fair without them. Oh sure, the rides and games are important but you can't have any of it without the "carnies". The carnival workers operate the rides and games on the midway, nothing much happens without them. As News On 6 reporter Rick Wells reports, there is more to most â€œcarniesâ€ than meets the eye.

Itâ€™s early in the day and the midway at the Tulsa State Fair is not very busy. Tom Griffith showed me around his office. Tom Griffith is a â€œcarnie.â€ He started working carnivals and shows in the mid 1990â€™s and got hooked.

"I've been to Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and about every state in the United States," says Tom Griffith.

Griffith loves the travel and loves the rides. His favorite is the Cliffhanger. He loves to run it and loves to ride it.

"Makes you feel like you're flying around there, but that's it, you wanna get on there?" says Tom Griffith.

Griffith is 11 year Navy vet with an associate's degree in electronics. Griffith let me in on some of the lingo. Everything on the midway that is not a ride is a joint. Food booths are grab joints, there are balloon joints and tub joints and hoop joints.

Tom Griffith likes the rides better than the games. They are more fun.

Tom Griffith works for Murphy Brothers year round. This is the last show; he'll spend the winter doing maintenance, getting ready for the next season.

Watch the video: A Tour Of The Fair With A Carnie