SEASIDE -Larry Johanns welcomes a bumpy ride.

The owner of Interstate Amusement Co., at 110 Broadway in Seaside, has overseen the bumper cars since 1950. The facility also houses his Tilt-a-Whirl ride, Pronto Pup corn dog stand and Ten Tiny Tees miniature golf attractions.

Johanns, 82, got into the business in 1937, helping his father and uncles to operate a bumper car ride a few blocks to the east. His childhood abounded with the fast moving, electric-powered little cars with bumpers and restraints for safe but thrilling collisions.

With U.S. military service and degrees in electrical engineering and accounting under his belt, he returned to Seaside and partnered with a cousin to buy the bumper car business in 1950, and later became the sole owner. His father had moved the business to its present location, replacing a “dark ride” and fun house.

Johanns could have thrived in an accounting career, he said. “But after you work for a business like this, to sit behind a desk for eight hours is too much.”

The miniature golf course was added in 1962. “We designed it ourselves,” Johanns says. “We don’t ever have to put new grass down – just clean the carpet.”

With a sharp eyes beneath a crown of white hair, and a jovial demeanor that belies a series of health problems in recent year, Johanns also enjoys regular golf. He is a member of Astoria Golf and Country Club, where he plays three times a week and has twice won the super seniors division of the Oregon Coast Invitational.

The bumper car arena is not all fun and games. Johanns commends his employees and has tried to treat them well, he says.

They return his attentiveness by returning year after year – Julia Barnes has served as general manager 25 years, Steve Elgi has been ride manager 18 years, and Colleen Boyce has run the Pronto Pup for 12 years.

On a busy day in the summer, hundreds of people visit the amusement center, Johanns says. Rides cost only $1.50, but Johanns remembers when it was “two bits.”

Every summer, he used to bring bumper cars to the Oregon State Fair and the Western Washington State Fair, where they could serve as many as 9,200 people in one day. Since the early 1980s they have preferred to focus on Seaside.

He bought the 26 bumper cars in 1962, the last year they were fashioned of metal instead of today’s fiberglass and plastic models. Riders and fellow business owners encouraged him to maintain those cars rather than replace them, because the newer models do not run as fast or hold up as well, he says.

Still, repairs are needed now and then, and Johanns has relied upon the skill of the Sopko family in Seaside for welding and fashioning hard-to-find spare parts.

Consistency has enabled his business to weather the changing economy in Seaside and to provide what has become a nostalgic activity that helps to set the festive tone of the town for return visitors. The enjoyment extends to spectators as well as riders, he says.

“We’ve had people stand there hours at a time. They enjoy the expression on the kids faces, and the adults having fun, too.”

He has two grown daughters in Portland, Kristin Futter and Beverly Bachand, and is in the process of training a son-in-law about the business. Over the years, he has seen grandchildren return with their own families, and people in other cities who have recognized him as “the bumper car man” from enjoyable vacations in Seaside.

“There’s a certain satisfaction in helping people to have fun.”

– Brad Bolchunos