Support
for the
1928 Spillman
Carousel

In 1982, support from these generous donors, through a campaign led by Peter Cook, allowed the Grand Rapids Public Museum to acquire and restore a 1928 Spillman Carousel. Restoration continued through the 1980s and opened to the public in 1994.

Major General Support

Mr. & Mrs. Peter C. Cook, Lead Donors 

James Balk II & Shirley Balk

Friends of the Grand Rapids Public Museum

Carousel Figures

Locating a Figure on the Carousel: Each Carousel figure is assigned a line number that indicates the row and a letter (A, B, or C) that indicates outer, middle, or inner position. The second number and letter combination identify the type of figure.

For example, if a horse is labeled Line 17-B; 27 J, that horse is on line 17 and in the middle position.  It is also 27 J for Jumper number 27. 

Here is a guide to those second letters:

J – Jumper, a horse that moves up and down on the Carousel
S – Standing, a  horse that stays stationary
De – Deer
Ti – Tiger
C – Chariot
Cm – Camel
Gi – Giraffe
Li – Lion
Go – Goat

With this information, a staff member can help you locate a specific figure when you visit. 

Carousel Horse, Dun with white snowcap

Amway Corporation
Line 17-B; 27 J

Carousel horse, Light Grey Fleabitten

James Balk II & Shirley Balk, Hansen-Balk Steel Treating
Line 2-B; 29 J

Carousel Horse, Red-brown Appaloosa

Katelynn Marie Bek
Line 17-C; 44 J

Carousel horse, Black Mustang

Bryan, Rachel, David, Brenton, Aaron, Joel & Emily Boersma & James Jasperse
Line 4-A; 15 S

Carousel horse, Black Appaloosa w/white Grulla pattern blanket

Mr. & Mrs. John Bouma
Line 14-B; 24 J

Carousel horse, Camarillo white

Lynne, Steve, & Shea Brown
Line 3-C; 48 J

Carousel horse, Sato dominant white over Palomino

Kristen Cook
Line 3-B; 30 J

Carousel horse, black Appaloosa with white Grulla pattern blanket

Laura Cook
Line 9-A; 2 J

carousel horse, Brown Appaloosa

Ryan Cook
Line 15-B; 25 J

Carousel horse, buckskin dapple

Daniel G. DeVos
Line 9-B; 20 J

Carousel horse, grey leopard Appaloosa

Douglas L. DeVos
Line 12-B; 22 J

Carousel horse, Light grey fleabitten

Richard M. DeVos, Jr.
Line 8-B; 19 J

Carousel horse, light grey dapple

Suzanne C. DeVos
Line 11-B; 21 J

Carousel horse, Palomino

Dexter Charitable Trust
Line 16-B; 26 J

Carousel deer, white-tailed

Mr. & Mrs. L.V. Eberhard
Line 2-A; 13 De

Carousel Tiger, Amur

Mr. & Mrs. L.V. Eberhard
Line 6-A; 17 Ti

Carousel horse, medium grey Mustang

Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Frey, Sr.
Line 14-A; 7 J

Carousel horse, medium grey Mustang

The Grand Rapids Foundation
Line 5-B; 32 J

Carousel horse, Bay

Grand Rapids Label Foundation
Line 7-C; 52 J

Carousel horse, Dark Blue Roan

Grand Rapids Public Museum Docentry League
Line 2-C; 47 J

Carousel chariot featuring nude fairy and child

In honor of this carousel’s original owners, The Frank Guinan Family
Line 1-A; 3 C

Carousel horse, brown

Grace & Ralph Hauenstein
Line 3-A; 14 J

Carousel horse, black Snowflake Apaloosa

Grace & Ralph Hauenstein
Line 12-C; 39 J

Carousel horse, Grey Leopard Appaloosa

Helmut & Ellen Hof
Line 16-C; 43 J

Carousel horse, dark bay

Charles & Janet Hook in memory of David C. Hook
Line 6-B; 33 J

Carousel horse, dark grey dapple

Robert L. & Judith S. Hooker
Line 18-A; 11 J

Carousel horse, palomino

Mrs. Frederick Hubbard in honor of Hugh & John EcElwee
Line 8-A; Lead Horse 1 S

Carousel camel, dromedary

John R. Hunting
Line 10-C; 37 Cm

Carousel horse, strawberry red

Helen & George A. Jackoboice
Line 4-C; 49 J

Carousel horse, Buckskin

The Keeler Foundation
Line 7-B; 34 J

Carousel horse, dark bay

The Keller Foundation
Line 7-A; 18 J

Carousel horse, camarillo white

Mazda Great Lakes Employees
Line 13-A; 6 S

Carousel giraffe, reticulated

Linda & David Mehney
Line 17-A; 10 Gi

Carousel horse, brown Appaloosa

The Frederik G. H. Meijer Family
Line 12-A; 5 J

Carousel horse, bay

Michigan National Bank
Line 13-B; 23 J

Carousel horse, light grey dapple

Stephen T. Noyes
Line 14-C; 41 J

Carousel horse, dark brown dapple

Old Kent Financial Corporation
Line 11-C; 38 J

Carousel horse, dun with white snowcap

Jim Ross in memory of Jenny & Mike
Line 15-C; 42 J

Carousel horse, brown and white

The Richard M. Ryan Family
Line 4-B; 31 J

Carousel horse, black mustang

Mr. & Mrs. David Samrick
Line 5-C; 50 J

Carousel horse, red/cream big spots

Mr. & Mrs. James R. Sebastian
Line 16-A; 9 J

Carousel horse, auburn and cream with big spots

Mr. & Mrs. John Shepard
Line 18-B; 28 J

Carousel horse, black brown and white

The Brent Slay Family
Line 13-C; 40 J

Carousel lion, African

Steelcase Foundation
Line 15-A; 8 Li

Carousel horse, strawberry fleabitten roan

Steele & Mary Taylor
Line 9-C; 36 J

Carousel chariot with a dancing nude fairy and a second almost nude human chasing after

Universal Forest Products
Line 10-A; 12 C

Carousel horse, buckskin

Warren & Joan Valleau
Line 6-C; 51 J

Carousel horse, blue roan

Mr. & Mrs. Jay Van Andel
Line 5-A; 16 J

Carousel horse, light grey dapple

Cal & Pat Verduin
Line 8-C, 35 J

Carousel horse, black and white with big spots

Al & Joan Wilson
Line 18-C; 45 J

Carousel horse, sorrel

Wolverine World Wide Foundation
Line 1-C, 46 S

Carousel goat, Dutch Landrace

Casey Wondergem
Line 11-A; 4 Go

Reserve Figures

Carousel whale, fin whale

Grace and Ralph Hauenstein

Carousel horse, buckskin dapple

Spartan Stores, Inc.

Upper Panels

Spillman engineering name panel

Mr. & Mrs. W. D. Frankforter

Panel, leopard by stream

Arden’s Photo Mart

Panel, fairy dancing in the grass

Elizabeth Louise Cook, Stephanie Anne Cook, Angela Kay Ferner-Cook

Panel, girl running on seashore

Dykema Gossett

Carousel, Sailboat on canal in front of castle

Dykema Gossett

Panel, female tennis player

In memory of R. Wayne Eberhard

Panel, lazy lion

In memory of Michael Paul Ferner

Panel, the cottage

Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Heindrichs

panel, flapper girl

The Miguel & Isabel Navarro Family

Panel, marshland

In memory of Charles W. Roelofs, M.D. 

Panel, man with guitar

Billy Zeoli 

Panel, Girl by the gristmill

Women’s City Club

Lower Panels

Panel, boy with his dog

Dykema Gosset

Panel, schooner

Dykema Gosset

Panel, girl by lily pond

Marion B. Foslund

Panel, roaring lion

Jeff & Sandra Kayes

Panel, maypole girls

The Miguel & Isabel Navarro Family

Tribal leader with dog

YMCA Indian Guides

Rounding Boards

Rounding board, the lighthouse

Dykema Gosset

Rounding board, fishing boy

Martin & Maria Pena & Family

Rounding board, tribal leader

Miguel Angel Navarro & Family

Rounding board, wishing well

Richardo & Linda Perez & Family

Rounding board, fairy in boat

Questors

Mirrored crest shield

Mirrored Crest Shields

Byron Center State Bank
Classic Chevrolet
John S. Douglas
Karen A. Douglas

Ticket Booth

Frank & Katherine Lileikis

Organ

Mr. & Mrs. Peter C. CookÂ