FARMINGTON -- Gary and Louise Bush have a special place in their hearts for Lagoon.

 

The couple were on their way to the Farmington amusement park for a live-band dance Aug. 26, 1956, when Louise finally answered the question Gary had asked a week earlier.

 

"We were on the way to Lagoon when I told my husband I would marry him," Louise said. "There are just some things you just don't forget."

 

The young couple were just two of many people who considered Lagoon to be a dating hot spot in the 1950s.

 

"Here we are 48 years later," said Gary, of Clinton, now a father of six.

 

Gary can easily recollect the August evening that included dancing to the "Montoona Clipper," a tune he personally requested Les Brown and His Band of Renown to play.

 

"I loved his music," Gary Bush said of what was then his favorite band.

 

"We danced that night," Louise said, "but only with each other."

 

Since then, the Bush family has returned to Lagoon numerous times.

 

"Over the years, we have had different experiences with Lagoon, because Lagoon keeps on evolving," Louise said.

 

But with the exception of the dance hall, now utilized as the park's game arcade, and the wooden roller coaster, the Bushes say much has changed at Lagoon as the whoosh of new rides has replaced the beat of the bands.

 

"There was none of this new-fangled stuff," Gary said.

 

The layout Lagoon had in 1955 was the beginning of the modern era for the amusement park, said Dick Andrew, Lagoon's vice president of marketing.

 

"Big-name musical entertainment was a part of what we did," Andrew said.

 

As a 16-year-old park employee in 1956, Andrew recalls Nat King Cole, the Dorsey Band and Duke Ellington performing at what was then known as Patio Gardens -- a 3,500-capacity dance hall.

 

"Every Friday and Saturday night of operation, the biggest names in musical entertainment were here at Lagoon," he said. "It was the place for dates."

 

In addition to concerts and dancing, Andrew said Lagoon featured a large outdoor swimming pool filled with water that was marketed "fit to drink." The pool has since been replaced by Lagoon-A-Beach.

 

"Back in those days, swimming pools were quite uncommon," Andrew said.

 

In the '50s, there were also fewer games, fewer food stands, fewer employees and about half as many rides at Lagoon.

 

The park now has 42 ride attractions, twice the number the park featured in 1955, Andrew said.

 

"They wouldn't have near the (passenger) capacity the rides have now," he said.

 

The park, which has grown from 40 acres to 150 acres over the years, has also increased its hours of operation.

 

"Labor Day was the last day of operation (in the 1950s)," Andrew said.

 

Lagoon's season has since been extended from 95 to 155 days of operation by opening on weekends in April and September and hosting Frightmares in October.

 

In addition to Frightmares and the water park, Lagoon has also added Pioneer Village and a campground.

 

With operation hours being extended and the park getting larger, Andrew said the number of employees has also dramatically increased, going from 300 employees in the '50s to 2,500 today.

 

"The size of the market in Utah has increased. It is certainly different than it was then," Andrew said of the park, which now attracts more than a million visitors each year.

 

And Lagoon isn't done growing.

 

"Is the park going to get bigger? Yes. Are we going to continue to put more rides in? Yes," Andrew said.

 

"(We're) considering a big spectacular ride a few years down the road -- different than anything we have right now."

 

But the growth of Lagoon, as in past years, will always reflect the size of the population base surrounding it, Andrew said.

 

"You're not going to have a park the same size that you would in a place with a year-round climate and massive market size, like those parks in California and Florida that can operate year-round," he said.

 

"This is a very nice place we live, but it is a four-season climate."

 

Andrew said the park tries to maintain some of its nostalgic elements and has done so with a number of rides, such as the wooden roller coaster, Flying Aces and the Tilt-O-Whirl, as well as Bulgy-the-Whale and the Little Boats in Kiddieland.

 

"All of these rides have been rebuilt, but have kept their general configuration," he said.

 

Another tradition Lagoon has kept is serving as host to company picnics and church outings.

 

"Those have been going on from the beginning," Andrew said. "That is a big part of our business and always has been.

 

"What makes Lagoon different is that we allow people to bring food into the park, and that is virtually unheard of in other (amusement) parks. The reason we do that is because it has been part of our tradition."

 

However, one tradition likely never to return -- regardless of how big Lagoon becomes -- is the park serving as a venue for big-name musical entertainment groups, Andrew said.

 

"One reason is I'm not sure the nature of that business is compatible with what Lagoon is trying to do," he said of the family-friendly atmosphere the park promotes. "There are other places in the valley to fill that need."