Aurel Vaszin
Aurel “Dutch” Vaszin (1885–1979) was a carpenter, engineer and roller coaster designer, best known for heading the National Amusement Device company and designing some of the largest roller coasters of his day. Life and work Vaszin was born in Romania in April, 1885, and came to the United States in 1904. At that time, he was trained as a cabinet maker, with a sixth grade education. In 1913 he took a job as a craftsman at an amusement park headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut. He worked on assignments for the Lakeside Amusement Park in Dayton, Ohio, after which he planned to open his own business in Dayton. Between 1919 and 1920, he opened the Dayton Fun House, an amusement park in Dayton. This was later renamed to National Amusement Devices, and produced trains and other supplies for over 400 amusement parks around the country. He also developed and opened the Forest Park Zoological Gardens on 43 acres of land located off of North Main Street in Dayton; but this was forced to close in 1935 during the Great Depression. National Amusement Devices As the Dayton Fun House grew in popularity, it began producing miniature trains and other gear for other