Carousels are whimsical contraptions. Whether located in an amusement park or on the corner of Roberts Avenue and Franklin Street during the New Holland Fair, a merry-go-round can light up the eyes of people of all ages and elicit squeals of delight from children.

Eileen Gregg, author of "Lancaster's Hidden Treasure: The Rocky Springs Dentzel Carousel," knows this well. As a guest of the New Holland Area Historical Society (NHAHS), Gregg will speak about the history of the Rocky Springs carousel, along with efforts to resurrect the merry-go-round in a Lancaster location, on Thursday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. in the chapel at Garden Spot Village, 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland. Rocky Springs Park was a fixture in Lancaster from 1899 to 1968.

NHAHS founder and board member Mitch Dissinger arranged for Gregg to visit the area and present a slideshow and lecture on the Lancaster icon. Gregg's book tells the story of one of this country's best-preserved antique carousels from the Golden Age of Carousel Carving, which began around 1880 and ended with the Great Depression. Gregg's book was published in 2021, and it is now in its third printing.

Gregg has said that she sees her book as a story that needed to be written while people who have memories of Rocky Springs Park are still living. According to Gregg, fewer than 150 of the 5,000 carousels that once existed in the U.S. remain. She noted that the Rocky Springs Carousel, which has been in storage in the Lancaster area for 22 years, is considered by authorities on carousels to be one of the finest.

Gregg's book includes more than 230 pages, 52 chapters, and 122 photos - 112 of them in color. The six sections of the book cover the history of the carousel, built by the Dentzel family and placed near the beach in Rocky Springs Park in 1899. The Dentzels had begun making carousels in Germany. The Rocky Springs Park closed in 1968 and reopened briefly in 1979. The carousel spent time at a park in Michigan, before being moved to Dolly Parton's Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. In 1999, volunteers returned the carousel to Lancaster. The nonprofit Rocky Springs Carousel Association seeks to save the merry-go-round, which Gregg called "a national treasure."

The program is open to the public. More information about NHAHS may be found at https://nhhistorical.com or by searching for "New Holland Area Historical Society" on Facebook.