MICHAEL JACKSON'S FERRIS WHEEL ON TOUR: Amusement company bought it during liquidation for its traveling carnival.

      Archway Amusements Corp got its hands on the wheel in a liquidation sale of Jackson's property.  "We ourselves really didn't advertise it," said Theresa Noerper, co-owner of the company. "When he died, it kind of blew up. There's no keeping secrets then."

       The ride offers no reference of Jackson to casual passers-by; a metal stamp shows it was made by the Eli Bridge Co. of Jacksonville, Ill. However, metal molding around the seats remains a very specific color, supposedly specified by Jackson when he ordered it from the manufacturer — pinot noir red.      

       Archway Amusements doesn't go out of its way to publicize the Ferris wheel's ties to Jackson; it leaves it up to local fair organizers to decide whether to make them known. But word of mouth has gotten to some hardcore Jackson fans.      

       Jackson reportedly purchased the Ferris wheel for $215,000 in 1990 and took the first ride on it when workers installed it at Neverland. It stayed there as Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at the ranch in 2003. He was acquitted two years later, but the scandal drove him from Neverland forever. Over the next four years, the property fell into disrepair, and at one point it was weeks from being sold at a public auction.      

       Noerper said Archway Amusements bought the 65-foot-tall Ferris wheel last year. The company repainted its supporting arms green and began taking it on the company's seasonal fair and carnival circuit. Then Jackson died June 25, raising concerns among local police that the ride might be mobbed by mourners. That didn't happen.      

       "They come to take pictures, a couple tears and everybody likes to ride it," Noerper said.      

       The Ferris wheel made an appearance last week at the annual Baxter County Fair in Arkansas. It will move on to the Northeast Arkansas District Fair in Jonesboro this week.