For a long time, Richard Tinsley always wanted to bring an amusement park to Montgomery County.

He did just that on Sept. 18, 2020, opening up Play Day Farm off I-70 in High Hill.

“The Play Day Farm was a big deal for him,” said Jerry Schwartz, who has been a chairman of the Jonesburg Homecoming for over 40 years. “He always wanted to do that. He actually told me that I’m just 20 years late getting it done. He enjoyed that Play Day Farm.”

Tinsley passed away on Oct. 25 at age 86. He started working in the carnival business in 1967 and provided carnivals for several county and state fairs throughout the Midwest.

“His history with the carnival goes way back,” Schwartz said. “I think he was bigger than a lot of people realized. He did a lot of state fairs that joined with other big organizations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. The carnival was in his world for years and years.”

Tinsley lived in Normandy, located outside St. Louis, for many years before moving to High Hill in 1968. He later found some open farmland there and started his carnival business, which is Tinsley’s Amusements, Inc. The business operates carnivals and fairs at six states across the country – Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Schwartz said he knew Tinsley for over 30 years. Tinsley provided his rides at the Jonesburg Homecoming.

“I started being chairman of the Homecoming in 1979.” Schwartz said. “I don’t know if it was that year, but shortly thereafter was when I got him to bring the rides to us. Then, he had to go away for a while. But I talked him into coming back.”

Schwartz said many people enjoyed going on Tinsley’s rides at the Jonesburg Homecoming.

“Everybody always bragged about the rides and wanted to know where they came from and how they did it,” Schwartz said. “It was mostly on Richard because he was very particular about all of his rides and how clean they were and how safe they were. We’re surely going to miss him.”