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National Amusement Devices

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The National Amusement Devices(NAD) – Dayton, OH was originally founded as the Dayton Funhouse in the 1920's by Aurel "Dutch" Vaszin , supplier of various amusement rides and equipment. NAD built some really spectacular coasters, many designed by John Miller. Sadly most of these rides no longer exist.

NAD built a roller coaster in the country of Guatemala in the late 1940s or early 1950s. This was a ravine coaster and it has been said "workers had to dig 38 feet out of the side of a mountain to get the right grade." It was over a mile long and lasted only a few years as the new government used it for firewood. By 1959, NAD is said to have built more than 400 roller coasters.

Some of their famous: NAD build Big Dipper at Geauga Lake with the help of John Miller.

In 1964, Vaszin designed and developed the world’s largest roller coaster, called “Russian Mountain” for Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, Mexico

6/10/1968 - Maiden run of the Fairyland {Wildcat} coaster in Kansas City. Designer Aurel Vaszin of NAD was on-board.

. The business was sold in April, 1973, but Vaszin stayed on as a consultant until his death on May 15, 1979. He was survived by two sisters in Romania.

In the 1973, the company was purchased by Bill Roose, son of George Roose of Cedar Point fame.The name was changed at that time to International Amusement Devices Inc(IADI) – Sandusky, OH. From this point on they seem to have specialized in park design and the brokering of rides.Mr Eugene K. Feerer was a former president

Aurel “Dutch” Vaszin, (1928-1979)

Aurel Vaszin was born in Romania in April, 1885. When he came to the United States in 1904, he was a cabinet maker with a sixth grade education. He first came to Dayton, Ohio in 1913 as a craftsman employed by an amusement park development firm headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut.

After completing his assignment on the Lakeside Amusement Park, Lakeside Drive and Gettysburg Road, he planned to return to Dayton to establish his own business. As a result, he developed and opened the Forest Park Zoological Gardens on 43 acres located off of North Main Street. The Park was forced to close in 1935, a casualty of the Depression Era.