The World’s Greatest Scenic Railway Debuts

Friday, May 24, 1907

The Rock Springs Park Scenic Railway opened on this date in the park's history. It was built at a cost of $35,000 according to Roy C. Cashdollar’s A History of Chester: The Gateway To The West. It was also reported that a section of the scenic railway was blown down shortly after its completion by a great wind storm and had to be rebuilt at a cost of $4000.Read more at http://rockspringspark.blogspot.com/2011/03/accidents-and-injuries-at-rock-springs.html.

Orchestra Leader Also Ran Radio Repair Shop in Chester

"Eddie" McGraw was a “swing band” orchestra leader who played throughout the Tri-State Region of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The advertisement (left) appeared in The Mansfield News-Journal, Mansfield, OH, on Monday, January 12, 1935.

I have seen articles and advertisements for Eddie McGraw’s Orchestra playing in Rock Springs Park and other venues, but did not realize, until recently rereading Roy C. Cashdollar’s History of Chester: The Gateway to the West, that Eddie lived and worked in Chester.

According to Cashdollar who was writing of a small building which sits across from the former City Hall on Carolina Avenue and Fourth Street, "(There were) two former occupants of the Jerry D'Angelo building. Max Beatty ran a small restaurant there for two years during the thirties and Eddie McGraw, who later became an orchestra leader quite popular in the tri-state area, ran a Radio Repair Shop for awhile before the building became a shoe repair shop."

I am old enough to remember the shoe repair shop of which Cashdollar wrote in 1976, and vaguely recall having a pair of shoes fixed at the shop as a small boy.

Cashdollar goes on to note two other facts about McGraw and the building which housed his repair shop, "Mr. McGraw played many times at Rock Springs Park, (and) an interesting note about the building is that the brick walls of it were constructed with paving bricks left over from the paving of Fifth Street by the E.A. Freshwater crew."
Advertisement (above) from The Livonia Gazette, Livonia, NY, Thursday, May 39, 1941, shows Eddie McGraw played New York and by this time lived in Cleveland, OH.

In the late thirties and early forties Eddie McGraw was known to play Long Point Park in New York State as a regular. An article from Livingston County Leader reported at this time, "Eddie McGraw will once again furnish his entertaining music for the opening of Long Point on May 28. This will mark his third season at the lake and there will be dancing every night after the opening." It goes on to explain that "Mr. McGraw is the husband of a Geneseo girl, the Former Peggy Mills." According to the article, prior to returning to his wife, who was spending several days with her parents, Dr. and Mrs. W.L. Mills back home in Geneseo, McGraw was broadcasting from WADC in Akron.

Geneseo, NY, is home to Long Point Park on the shores of Conesus Lake, one of the Finger Lakes.

I guess Eddie McGraw is no different than I and a lot of other Chester boys, who grew up in a small town that let us try anything and get away with nothing. I was interested in art and theater and Eddie was interested in his music. Our pursuits took us away from home and once out in the world we met new friends and colleagues, found girls, married, and settled near our wives' hometowns rather than our own.

Although I no longer live in Chester, researching and writing about the area and Rock Springs Park has brought me back and made me feel closer to my roots. Perhaps, playing music did the same for Eddie McGraw.

Accidents and Injuries at Rock Springs Park

A recent tornado which wreaked havoc in my present hometown of Greensburg, PA, and the subsequent news videos and images, left me in a somber mood and reminded me of some of the stories of accidents and fatal injuries I uncovered while researching the book.

The Rock Springs Park Scenic Railway opened May 24, 1907. It was built at a cost of $35,000 according to Roy C. Cashdollar’s A History of Chester: The Gateway To The West. It was also reported that a section of the scenic railway was blown down shortly after its completion by a great wind storm and had to be rebuilt at a cost of $4000. The toll for this accident only hurt C.A. Smith’ pocketbook, but other injuries and six deaths, including the tragic fire at the Old Mill, plagued his early years at Rock Springs Park.

Although he doesn’t give a full accounting, Roy C. Cashdollar stated that there was a record of six deaths during the existence of Rock Springs Park. “There were four in the old mill, one on the swings, and one on the Cyclone.” He also mentioned “two drownings and several near drownings in the park pool.”

Jun 19, 1913 – Fred Schoen, aged 20 years, was drowned while swimming in the pool at Rock Springs Park. Schoen ventured into the deep section of the pool and when last seen was sitting on the sidewalk. Apparently his body had been submerged at least 15 minutes before he was discovered missing.

The Hudson Independent of Hudson, Ohio, reported on July 2, 1914, that a girl accidentally dropped 15 feet through a hole in the Rock Springs Park baseball grandstand. “Hazel, five, daughter of Thomas Martin, suffered two broken ribs, face lacerations and probably internal injuries.”

June 5, 1915 – Four children die as the result of injuries sustained in Old Mill Fire: Albert Rayner, aged 12, of Chester died late Saturday night, as the result of burns, Eva Dales, aged 14, of Newell, died at 11:15 Sunday night, as the result of burns and shock, Miss Glenna Stout, aged 17, of Newell died early Sunday morning as the result of burns. Hyacinth Mackey, aged 16, of Newell, burned about the face, head and arms died two weeks later.

This news brief appeared in The Baltimore Sun, June 06, 1915. A full accounting of the Old Mill fire including the scene of the aftermath is available in Images of America: Rock Springs Park (see pp. 29-30).

In 1916, the second balcony of the bath house collapsed while spectators gathered at one corner to watch a drowning woman being rescued from the pool. Fire destroyed the bath house, ice house and Summer Theater in 1917 and two dance pavilions were destroyed by fire during the Smith Years. Today most amusement park accidents are required to be reported to regulatory authorities. They usually fall into one of the following categories:

*Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberate intent to break park rules.

*The result of a guest's known or unknown health issues.

*Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance.

*Act of God or a generic accident (eg slipping and falling), that is not a direct result of an action on anybody's part.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: There were more than 15,000 amusement ride-related injuries in 2005 in the U.S.