When he was a boy, Johnson had been so poor that he could not
afford to ride a carousel. So, when he became wealthy, he donated
them to the county - with the standing rule that they would always be
free-of-charge.

I visited Binghamton NY a few years ago and rode one of those carousels.
There was a fee for the ride... but it was a token fee. Each person
got a ride in exchange for one piece of litter they found on the park
grounds. Nice idea.

Daniel B. Martin