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Carnival life is not just a job for Casey See. It's a lifestyle. The 34-year-old has lived out of trailers, bunkhouses and tents for most of his life, traveling between fairs and festivals that hired his family's company, Rainier Shows, to provide carnival games and rides.
Spokane-based Rainier shut down in the late 1990s after 50 years in the show business but See continues the family tradition this week as a manager for Davis Amusement Cascadia, which is providing a handful of carnival games for the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo in Kennewick.
Working outdoors and with festive customers is a perfect fit for See.
"There's so much freedom," he said, proudly overlooking the grassy aisle that separates the lemonade stand and five carnival games he oversees for Davis. Any carnival game booth -- from duck ponds to target shooting -- beats office cubicles in See's eyes.
There are two types of people in this world, he says: Show folk and regular folk.
"If I went and got a regular person and got one of them to work one of those (games booths) 15 hours a day, they'd complain, 'My feet hurt,' " he said. "Some people don't like traveling all the time. ... We gotta do it every day for seven months. Not everyone wants to do that that. They can't do that."
See loves the carnival life but also knows it's widely misunderstood. He can recite a long list of stereotypes the public often uses to label "carnival workers," which he prefers over the slang term "carnies."
"They're either dirty and alcoholics or drug users," he said. "The old one is missing teeth."
The polo shirt- and khaki-wearing See is conscientious of the public's perception. He encourages his eight employees to clean up before work and before venturing outside carnival grounds.
"We've got an image to uphold," he said seriously.
But some carnival jobs are just plain dirty. Operating rides means being splashed with mechanical grease and frying foods for customers means workers will get hot and sweaty.
Michael and Cathy Davis, co-owners of Davis Amusement Cascadia, believe the stereotypes come from carnivals past but don't match modern reality.
"Years ago, back in the '30s and '40s, the carnival was more ..."
"Nomadic," said Michael, finishing his wife's sentence. "It deserved the reputation it had back then, but it's changed now. It's a more regulated industry."
All of their employees must pass criminal background checks at the start of the season. Several cities also require additional checks when the carnival arrives, the Davises said. And the company holds regular safety seminars for employees.
But See acknowledged that a few workers don't always behave ideally.
"The reality is every show is going to have some problems," See said. "There's always someone who's gonna drink too much after work."
He emphasized the "after work" part. If any worker is thought to be under the influence at work, managers will order an on-the-spot urine test. Employees also are immediately fired for fighting, he said.
Syndee Alexander, 20, used to be weary of carnival workers at the Central Washington Fair in her native Yakima but then she started working the games for Davis this summer.
"I'd look at them and say, 'I don't want to play that game, look at the way they look,' " she said. "But after you get to know them ... they're actually some good people."
The carnival also has taught her to manage her finances. She thinks the experience and the money she's saving will help her move out of her family's home and out on her own.
See couldn't imagine any other life. Carnivals are in his blood.
His father, Stormy See, left home at 17 to sell novelties and souvenirs at East Coast carnivals. His mother, Sandy See, grew up on the road with Rainier Shows, her family's business. His father later made the trek West, meeting up with Rainier along the way.
The two met and became a couple, merging their show interests. His father had developed a games and novelty business, which became an arm of Rainier. And his mother's family continued to run the ride portion of Rainier.
See literally grew up barking at fairgoers to entice them into playing one of the numerous carnival games his family moved throughout the Northwest.
He was born in April, the beginning of the carnival season. Three days later, his mother was working inside a game booth with him in a stroller. His cute newborn face helped the family convince quite a few fairgoers to play their games, he said. He moved on to pick up ping-pong balls at a goldfish game around age 6 and was entrusted to handle money at 10.
"I grew up here," he said. "It's natural to me. ... If it was easy, everyone would do this."
