Anyone who's been around Waukesha County long enough probably remembers the amusement park on Little Muskego Lake, long known as Muskego Beach from its 1861 resort beginnings but called DandiLion Park in its later years.

It was, by accounts I've read and heard, a dandy, with rides and refreshments and a dance hall that attracted crowds. A monstrous wooden roller coaster from the 1950s, which had replaced an earlier one, dominated the site. With competition from Great America in the late '70s and expansion hemmed in on 35 acres, the owner eventually converted the site to condominiums.

Earl Barwick of Muskego rode the coaster a couple of times, in the 1950s and the 1960s. He said it was, at the time, one of the fastest and steepest around.

"It was scary," he said. "Boy, it rattled and banged. It was a real roar. Not like these modern ones. It was a lot noisier."

Earl and Judy Barwick of Muskego now own the sign that once hung on the "Tail Spin" roller coaster at Muskego Beach, later called DandiLion Park.

Lifelong Muskego resident Wayne Peterson rode it as a boy, too, but just once.

"I was scared to death of the thing," he said. Not so scared, though, that he didn't want a piece of history when the roller coaster and other rides were being dismantled in 1983. "If I'd had a barn," he said, "it would have been dangerous," so plentiful were the pickin's.

Peterson said his uncle, well-known painting contractor Al Fried, had been the last one to paint the old roller coaster and its title sign - "Tail Spin" - in the 1960s. It was, according to old news clippings, hit twice by tornadoes or windstorms in the 1950s, which might have been a hint to rename it "Twister."

For $350, the "Tail Spin" sign was Peterson's.

"It's a lot smaller 30 feet up in the air," Peterson said. Workers showed up with the sign the only way they could deliver it - on a flatbed truck. The metal sign measures about 7 1/2 by 18 feet and 11 inches thick, room enough for the electrical connections that lighted the sign in neon and bulbs. "This thing was huge!" he said.

Fortunately, his wife, Joanne, was understanding. "Very," Wayne Peterson said. They put it about the only place it would fit, against the back wall of the garage, leaving barely enough room for his cars.

"And that's where it sat" for the past 21 years. He never knew quite what to do with it. At one point Peterson offered it to the local historical society for the price he paid for it, but apparently society members didn't know what they'd do with it, either.

Fellow Muskego resident Barwick stopped by a yard sale at Peterson's place last fall and spotted the sign in the back of the garage.

"The guy wanted a coupla thousand bucks for it," Barwick said. "I thought about it for a while." A good long while. "It was so neat I just had to buy the thing," he said. Barwick's wife, Judy, said, "He talked about it and kept talking about it." They went back this spring and negotiated a price of just under $1,000, not quite his $1,200 asking price, Peterson said.

"It brings back nice sweet memories," said Judy Barwick, who remembers the Muskego Beach days and dance hall concerts herself. Still, it took six movers and another flatbed truck to get it out of Peterson's garage.

The Barwicks are in the business of selling nostalgia. Judy Barwick likes to buy at estate sales and sells the stuff on eBay. The couple in recent years also started a collectibles resale shop, Blast from the Past, now at 4177 S. Howell Ave. in Milwaukee.

After four days on a 10-day eBay auction, Judy Barwick said, she hadn't yet seen a single bid on "Tail Spin." They're seeking a minimum of $1,995, but Earl Barwick said he thinks $3,000 to $4,000 is reasonable. It would take about $1,000 in restoration effort to get the lights working and the paint in shape, he figures.

If it doesn't sell this time on eBay, they may try again or advertise in an amusement magazine. Otherwise, it'll sit in their store and wait for the right buyer to come along.

"It takes a special person to want to have something like this," Earl Barwick said.

I have not been able to pinpoint the location of this cemetery. According to my research thus far, this is the Muskego Center Cemetery also known as Muskego Village Cemetery.

Muskego Center Cemetery was established circa 1881. The last burial was in 1920. Muskego Center borders the first burial site in Muskego, that of Amanda Parker.

BELITZ: Wilhelmina/___________ Frederick/b. 15 Sept 1826/d. 3 Feb 1896

BISHOFF: Christof age 82 yr Christina age 77 yr Ferdinand/1835-1907 Wilhelm 1838-1909

BOWERS: G.F./Co. G. 28th Wis Inf/Civil War Marker

CAESER: Herman/b. 15 Oct. 1853/d. July 1886 Christine/b. 16 Oct. 1822/d. 15 Sept 1890 August/b. 7 Mar 1820/22 Dec 1883

DICKMAN: Harry/son of Robert/d. 20 Feb 1889/18 yr

GROSS: Henry/b. 9 Feb 1807/d. 9 Feb. 1885/age 78 yr Elizabeth/wife of Henry/d. 8 Dec 1885/age 78yr 8mo 2da

LOHMAN: Fred/Co. H. 65th Wis Inf/Civil War Marker

LUCHT: Bertha (Belitz)/b. 2 Apr 1861/d. 17 July 1900

LUMPE: Anne E. b. 22 June 1835/d. 14 Mar 1899 Valentine/b. 7 Jan 1836/d. 6 Sept 1889

OCKLER: Tobias/b. 17 Jan 1811/d. 14 Feb 1893 Edmund/w/Tobias/b. 16 Mar 1809/d. 10 Oct. 1892 Marie/b. 26 April 1851/d. 10 Nov. 1907 Carl/b. 20 Jan. 1848/d. 27 July 1920

PRIEGE: Minnie/b. June 1867/d. 15 Apr 1885 Paul/b. 27 May 1871/d. Apr 1888

PRIESTER: Anna M./b. 1808/d. 11 May 1881

SCHUET: Albert/son of J.C. & Carrie/d. 3 Apr 1876 age 3 months Hattie L.M./daughter of J.C. & Carrie/d. 24 Aug 1873/4 months Christian/b. 21 Seot 1809/d. 10 Apr 188- Mary C./b. 15 Mar 1815/d. 26 Oct. 1888

SONDERMAN: Frederick/b. Aug 1824/d. Oct 1885 Helene/b. 19 Feb 1824/d. 3 Oct. 1896

WOLLMAN: Frankie C./b. 24 Mar 1875/d. 28 Dec 1882