The Traveling Families of Carnival Town, USA

For most of us, the world of rickety roller coasters and unwinnable arcade games is a sunny summer distraction. For them, it’s a way of life.

Photos by Eric Kruszewski

Ever since the summer of 1947, the employees of Davis Amusement Company have carted their carnival wares up and down the west coast, bringing cotton candy and exhilaration to new communities. I recently spent three months traveling through Washington State and Oregon alongside this fourth-generation family-owned business, watching the employees work from Memorial Day to Labor Day. A transient group, many of these workers travel with their own entire families to work the carnival from town to town during the summer months.