By JOE KERNAN

Yet another optimist has taken over operations at the Roger Williams Park Carousel and if the hard work and enthusiasm translates into a steady stream of support for the venture, it just might work for him.

"What I want the carousel to become is part of the community," said the new manager, Roy Beye, a retired postal worker from Jamestown. "I want it to be a place where a family can come and spend the day."

A carousel has been part of the landscape at Roger Williams Park since 1890s, when the famous Looff family of carousel-makers from Riverside Road Island installed the first merry-go-round at the park designed by Charles I.D. Looff.

Looff, one of the earliest and foremost carousel designers, built the Crescent Park Carousel in 1895. Looff's trademark was the overall richness of the carousel experience and the Crescent Park Carousel embodied that spirit. He featured plenty of decorative panels, beveled mirrors, faceted glass, electric lights, colored glass windows, and the indispensable "band organ" music.

The Looff carousel was a feature at Roger Williams Park until 1937, when a more modern merry-go-round replaced it, which was in turn replaced in 1987 with the current incarnation. To see an example of Looff's work, the Crescent Park Carousel in East Providence is the place to go. Nationally recognized as a masterpiece of wood sculpture, the Crescent carousel was rescued in the 1970s by a handful of East Providence residents and is open from Easter through Columbus Day on Saturdays and Sundays and additional days in the summer. It is worth the trip for anyone who is interested in the history and art of carousels in America.

Unfortunately, Beye has no idea what happened to the 1890s or 1937 versions of the carousel at Roger Williams Park.

"I really don't know," he said. "I guess the horses were sold off to individuals but I have no idea about the rest of it."

In fact, the carousel and the operation of it was once a private affair but the city's park department assumed ownership of the property and began leasing the operation as a concession.

Beye, who is from Maryland, moved up here with his wife in 1987 and worked in Newport for 16 years until he retired from the Post Office.

His wife, Nancy, runs the Jamestown Early Learning Center in Jamestown, where they live. Roy started working part time at the carousel and when the chance came up to take over the concession, he took it.

"You know, when I took over this operation, I said to myself, 'It can't be that tough,'" said Beye, who took over the carousel and its satellite features full time last year. "It is tough. I spend an awful lot of time here and I do a lot of the basic work myself."

When Beye says "basic," he means it. If you get to the carousel early enough in the morning you will find Beye cleaning out the toilets or sweeping or doing just about any other chore that comes up.

"When something has to be done here I do it myself," he said. "I've repaired the picnic tables, I've painted the building and when the bathrooms needed to be brightened up, I cleaned them up and I installed new sinks."

Doing the work himself is partly because it's cheaper that way, partly because he likes it and partly because he doesn't trust anyone else to do it.

"The carousel itself has to be greased three times a week and that's a major operation," said Beye. "There are 300 points that need to be greased and if someone is going to slip and fall through one of the panels on the carousel, I want it to be me, so I do it myself. I don't allow others to do it."

So far, it looks like Beye knows what he is doing. Just last week the carousel passed the obligatory state inspection process and the merry-go-round is ready to go round for at least one year more.

With the long-term prospects of the operation in mind, Beye has the carousel open all year round. The heated building that houses the merry-go-round allows for that, but the outside features, like the playground, café and pony rides, need the more temperate weather of spring, summer and fall to serve customers in comfort.

"I'm also looking for a train to provide rides around the area," he said. "But I am trying to let people know that the carousel itself is open year-round. It's open for parties and fundraisers or anything else people want to hold here. Senator Jack Reed and former Governor Bruce Sundlun have had parties here, and so have a lot of organizations and charities."

Beye said the around-the-calendar activities at the carousel could make the difference between making a go of the concession or having the carousel become nothing more that a fading memory to people who have enjoyed it in the past.

"That man over there," said Beye, pointing to an older man sitting on the bench, watching the horses and kids go around. "He has been coming here most of his life and he has a lot of information about the place. He's a very interesting person to talk to and this place means a lot to people like him."

Beye then pointed to a wall of the building and emphasized that carousels have been a part of America's recreational and cultural life for well over a century and the number of record albums he has mounted on the wall proves it: everything from rock 'n' roll to folk music and Broadway.

"Carousels have been part of our lives in a very important way," he said. "I want to make sure they remain important to people in the future."

As part of his vision of reintegrating the carousel into the lives of the present, Beye has had the carousel host a number of charity events throughout the year. There is an event scheduled for this weekend at the carousel to raise funds for programs for the homeless. "Fun for the Forgotten" will be held between 5 and 8 p.m. on Friday, April 13. It will feature balloon animals and a "moon bounce" for the kids and a bake sale and the tickets are only $5. It's the kind of event that convinces Beye that saving the carousel is worth the effort.

"You meet the nicest people at a carousel," he said.