This 'carny' sets tales a' wagon

Fair worker built cart, career, lifestyle with a gypsy theme

The gypsy wagon parked on the midway at the West Texas Fair & Rodeo is as colorful as the man selling wooden roses in front of it.

Johnny Mayne, 62, originally from Detroit, began traveling with the carnival circuit at age 22.

"Back then, being a 'carny' was a way of life," he said. "Nowadays, no one stays; no one has the same heart."

Mayne began working as the booth attendant for a shooting gallery, where, for a small amount of money, someone could try to win their sweetie a stuffed animal by showing off their shooting skills. Then he ran a duck pond for children, who would laugh with delight as they caught a floating duck. Later, Mayne ran rides.

"Back then, we had real prizes," he said. "For a buck, you had the chance to win items such as a toaster or clock radio -- not the plastic stuff they have now."

He now sells scented wooden roses for a dollar among the booths on the midway. He also has a wide selection of wind chimes hanging from the sides of his handcrafted (from the wheels up) gypsy wagon.

Mayne designed his wagon from the models of two different gypsy vehicles -- the broom wagon and the vardo wagon.

The vardo version has a challis-type frame. The broom has a house-like porch that people sat on as horses pulled the wagon.

Mayne put his porch on the back of his wagon.

Inside, he lives and sleeps. He created detailed woodwork and hand-painted craftsmanship that glows in the candlelight.

Tasseled curtains enhance a stained-glass window circled in wood, painted gold, above the bed. Lanterns hang on either side of the bed. Above is a banjo, which Mayne is learning to play.

He at one time used Clydesdale horses to pull his wagon in all the fair parades but has now retired the horses to his son's farm in Michigan.

Like a true gypsy, Mayne is well-traveled. He's been to every state except Maine. His favorite place?

"I haven't found it yet, but I've always had a fondness for Texas," he said.