We shall say hello to an old friend, Jackie Lacey, at the main entrance turnstile to the Swiss Family Treehouse in the mid-1980s. Jackie provided this autographed picture on a former cast member website and I'm reposting it here. I spent many shifts at the old Treehouse and it contained my favorite water feature in the Park: the stream running beneath the tree and through "volcanic rock" toward the old Jungle Cruise queue. The water was always peacefully moving in the background as the guests rolled through the turnstile and gazed up at the big water wheel, which, in turn, carried the water up to the top of the tree (and back down through a "bamboo" plumbing system).
Jackie Lacey worked in Adventure/Frontier Attractions and was dating (and later married) my old foreman on Main Street, Dave "Ranger Dave" Fraser. They are both great people and I understand they are still doing quite well. I expect that some of you folks from "Club 951" will remember Jackie from her days on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tiki Room, etc.
I love the photograph because it captures the location as I fondly recall it. It also shows Jackie is "taking the count," (see the clipboard), so she must have just rotated to the position and is making note of the turnstile count (shown on an old odometer-type meter on the turnstile). We would do this periodically through the day, keeping a log of the number of guests who toured the attraction. I suppose this is all done by computer nowadays.
Well, move along now and enjoy your trip through the old Treehouse!
