Two industry icons going into NEAAPA Hall Of Fame
By News Release | February 5, 2020
NASHUA, N.H. — Industry icons James Patten III and the late Haig Gulezian will be inducted into the New England Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (NEAAPA) Hall of Fame on Tuesday, March 24.
The gala event will take place during NEAAPA’s 107th Anniversary Education Conference & Annual Meeting at the Radisson Nashua Hotel here.
Patten, a past secretary, vice president and president of NEAAPA, served as general manager at the former Shaheen’s Fun Park, also referred to as Fun-O-Rama, in Salisbury Beach, Mass., while Gulezian was known as an entrepreneur in the amusement industry and had other business ventures.
Worked For Father-In-Law
While attending Babson College in Massachusetts, James Patten III started working at the Salisbury Beach facility in 1965 for the late Roger J. Shaheen, owner of the amusement park. It was there he met and married Shaheen’s daughter, Jilda.
Following his college graduation in 1967, James was named general manager of the amusement park and was involved with the business until it closed in 1990. It was during his management stint that Shaheen’s facility evolved from a tiny business with one ride and a couple of food stands into a full-fledged beachfront park.
James also served on the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Board of Directors (1976-82) and chaired the organization’s safety committee. In addition, he was chairman of IAAPA’s ASTM International F-24 Committee on Amusement Ride and Devices from 1978-82. IAAPA honored James with its meritorious service award for all of his volunteer work during those years.
Associated With Other Properties
He built a national reputation throughout the industry and assisted with the construction of Whale’s Tales Waterpark in Lincoln, N.H., worked with Morey’s Piers, Wildwood, N.J., and the former Boblo Island Amusement Park, Ontario, Canada, prior to his retirement in 1990.
In 1970 he and the late Myron Klayman, who worked at the former Paragon Park, Hull., Mass., introduced the vendor showcase at NEAAPA’s annual gathering. Klayman, a past president of the organization (1976-77), was inducted into the NEAAPA Hall of Fame in 2016.
Now residing in Florida, Mr. and Mrs. Patten have three children, Janel, Jarrod and J.R., and three grandchildren.
Businessman
Haig Gulezian was the son of hard-working Armenian immigrants who set the example for him. He strived to own his own businesses since he was young, including making false teeth and then opening a potato chip company. He also owned numerous apartment buildings in Haverhill, Mass., according to family members
He entered the amusement industry by creating Haig’s Miniature Golf in Methuen, Mass. It was there, in the 1950s, he met the love of his life (Gladys) when a local church visited the attraction.
On Sundays he turned the business over to his brother so he could see Gladys at church and the couple eventually married.
Last Venture
In 1979 Haig put all he had accomplished on the line to purchase land in Nashua, N.H., and construct Fun World, an indoor entertainment complex with the latest video games such as Pacman and Asteroids.
Family members said it was his keen sense of anticipating evolving trends that allowed him to be successful in the growing video game market during that era. An annual buyer at the IAAPA Expo, he would purchase the latest state-of-the-art games for his business.
During one instance, he had to shut down a lane of Daniel Webster highway adjacent to Fun World, install a garage door, and then crane a full-sized Mazda Miata car frame video game into the building.
He made multiple expansions and changes at his business, including outdoor go-karts, indoor bumper cars, and even an indoor mini golf course.
Making a transition with more popular family attractions in the late 1990s, he replaced his lineup with an indoor roller coaster, Himalaya ride, and a two-story Venetian carousel imported from Italy.
The success of the new attractions was attributed to his son, David, who oversaw the construction.
Family members added that Haig had the grand vision, yet David was the brains in making Fun World a reality.
Haig Gulezian, who died in 2002, may best be remembered for successfully creating affordable year-round indoor fun for all ages, but he was also a caring family man. Supported in all of his endeavors by his wife, Gladys, the couple had five children.
Haig’s legacy continues today as Fun World is operated by his daughter, Sandra Gulezian-Manougian, and grandson, Peter Manougian.
