Rock Springs Park Hosts Seck Hawkins Picnic

As a male elementary teacher, I am often asked about how to get boys to read and write. While I’m still working that one out, I did discover that a chubby kid named Seckatary Hawkins knew how to do it for over twenty years starting back in 1920. Who’s Seck Hawkins you ask? Well he had a huge following, including girls, in his time. Author, Harper Lee, mentions two of his stories in her classic To Kill a Mockingbird, and ol’ Seck had thousands of fans, most notably child star Jackie Coogan and heartthrob William Holden.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Seck Hawkins can be found here: http://www.seckatary.com/.

Seckatary (Kid Spelling of “Secretary") Hawkins is the fictional lead character of a series of children's novels authored by Robert F. Schulkers. The eleven novels were first published between 1921 and 1932, although many appeared first in serialized form in The Cincinnati Enquirer and hundreds of other newspapers around the country. The series was further popularized through an NBC radio broadcast and an extensive number of Seckatary Hawkins clubs in larger metropolitan areas. The official club name was "The Fair and Square Club". The club slogan was "A quitter never wins and a winner never quits".

In October 1935, one club member wrote to Seck to thank him for a wonderful summer of club picnics and parties, including a fun-filled day at Rock Springs Park.

The Pittsburgh Press - October 6, 1935

Dear Seck - I am writing to thank you for the wonderful times I had during the summer. The first Seck Hawkins picnic I thought was very good. I enjoyed myself every minute. If not riding amusements, it was mushball games, races and your entertainment.

The swimming party at Avalon was my first time to ever go to that pool. It was very pretty, with all the trees around and swell slides, showers and the kiddies' pool.

At Rock Springs Park picnic I had a good time riding the Cyclone, Dragon Drag and boat riding. The Seck Hawkins second picnic also was very good. I liked best working on the committee. I thought it was very kind that the park manager let us ride all evening instead of just 8 o'clock. I think that is all for the time being.

-Mildred Seelhorst, 1512 Liverpool St.

The Fair and Square Club of Robert F. Schulkers began in 1920 and continues today. Based on the fictional riverbank boy's club, and dedicated to good clean fun, we promote a "can-do" spirit, harmonized with principles of God & family, friendship, fair-play, equality, and patriotism. You can join the Fair & Square Club too. Membership is free - for more info and to join the Seckatary Club just visit our website. http://www.seckatary.com/.

A Healing Miracle in Rock Springs Park

When you click on something you like on Facebook, sometimes that product appears on your profile information page. For instance, if you “like” a certain rock group’s page their band’s profile picture appears under “Arts and Entertainment: Music” category on your info page. Needless to say, I was quite impressed when I checked out a new friend’s page and discovered her two favorite books are Images of America: Rock Springs Park and The Bible. I got a kick out of that and thought nothing more about it until I read the following article about a healing miracle that occurred in the park in 1927. Now, I’m starting to wonder. Maybe, she’s on to something.

The Southern Missourian - Cape Girardeau Southeast Missouri - Thursday, April 11, 1935

HOW "FLYING ACT" IN CIRCUS COMING TO CAPE PERFORMED MIRACLE IS TOLD

When the Russel Bros. Circus comes to Cape Girardeau Monday with its array of feature acts, there will be one man, the owner of the famous sensational aerial company, Bob Fisher's Five Fearless Flyers, who will be glad to personally verify the statements of this story. Bob Fisher was unexpectedly the instrument of a miracle.

Back in 1927, the night of July 17, Bob Fisher and his company of aerialists were performing in Rock Springs Park, near Chester, W. Va. Mrs. Mary Lyons, who lived near there had been afflicted for several years with a vocal affliction, so she could not talk; could scarcely make an audible sound. She was speechless in spite of spending a small fortune to find relief. It was finally agreed by several doctors who had been called that about her only chance for relief was to suffer a shock or fright of some kind.

On the evening of the date mentioned, this young mother accompanied by her small child went to the park and found a seat near the lofty rigging of the Fisher act as she was determined to see it because of comments heard, but little did she suspect as she sat there that she was to depart a cured woman.

In the routine of aerial tricks by the Fishers, is one where Bob puts a sack over his head, and thus blindfolded, makes a flying leap to his partner on the opposite flying trapeze, turning a somersault as he goes. This night, after he had put the sack over his head and rubbed rosin over his hands to keep from slipping when he grabbed his partner's hands, he made the leap as usual when his partner called "go". He turned the somersault and the trick seemed sure to be completed, but fate decreed otherwise. Instead of being able to clasp solidly the hands of his partner, their finger tips barely touched and Bob fell some 40 feet to the net, turning several somersaults as he fell. As usual under such circumstances many people in the crowd were scared and among them Mrs. Mary Lyons. She gasped and gave a loud shriek and for the first time in 4 years was able to use her voice.

Youngstown Hoopies at Rock Springs

It may come as a surprise to some that the term “Hoopie” is a derogatory one thought to be an insult worse than "hillbilly" given to residents of West Virginia.

According to history, East Liverpool OH, across the river from WV, began as an important maker of pottery, so much so that it was often referred to as “Potters' Field”.

West Virginia residents looking for work in the area were thought to be only skilled enough to bang together the metal strips that would make the hoops needed for barrel construction.

One legend claims that when Hoopies first saw the HLC on the large smokestack of Homer Laughlin China in Newell, WV, they were scared, thinking it stood for “Hoopies Last Chance.”

But, a news story found in Youngstown’s Sunday Vindicator tells us that Ohio had a fair share of Hoopies residing within its own borders. And one wonders, if West Virginia was so bad, why did they praise their neighbor state and plan a relief outing to Rock Springs Park in 1902.

The Sunday Vindicator - Youngstown, Ohio - May 4, 1902

EXCURSION TO BE RUN BY RELIEF ASSOCIATIONS CONNECTED WITH YOUNGSTOWN WORKS

Steel Hoop People Go to Rock Springs

The Relief Association of the American Steel Hoop company decided last evening to hold its annual outing at Rock Springs Park, at Chester, W. Va., across the Ohio River from East Liverpool, on June 28. The fare for the round trip will be $1. Rock Springs Park is one of the most attractive and delightful resorts in the country, and affords every pleasure for the excursionist. The large pavilion is on high ground and overlooks the Ohio River, and the view is one of beauty. The woodland and hills about the park and the coaster and other attractions make it an ideal place to spend a day.

The pottery industry at East Liverpool will be a treat to the ironworkers.

Park Electric Line Part of 1906 Merger

One of the things I miss about home is hearing the sound of a train sending out its lonesome whistle cry along the Ohio River. As a boy, I could lie still, listen, and know the world had not stopped. The mighty Ohio River flowed beyond our community garden like blood in a giant vein. Across the river, trains moved back and forth like impulses through nerves. It must be the sensation one feels falling asleep on a boat or a train. I was not moving, but the world outside was.

Every so often I can hear a train whistle at night in my current hometown of Greensburg, PA, while it reminds me of home, it doesn’t have the same rolling echo I remember. The Ohio River Valley has a unique effect on sounds, creating a reverberation that plays with train horns, thunder, and fireworks, like no other.

It was interesting, then, to read the article below and discover that the first trains traveling up and down the Ohio would have been silent. They were noiseless electric railway cars powered by overhead lines running 66 miles between Beaver and Steubenville and included the branch line to Rock Springs Park.


The Daily Tribune - June 8, 1906

TRACTION COMPANIES WILL HAVE 66 MILES OF RIVER FRONT RAILWAY

The big traction merger which has recently been effected whereby Steubenville, O., will be one terminus and Beaver the other will afford excellent facilities for traction travel in this vicinity.

The companies which are interested in the deal control and will operate 66 miles of river front electric railway with easy curves and low grades, the maximum being not over 1 1/2 per cent[sic]. The lines will serve a population of about 225,000 people.

When completed $7,500,000 will have been invested in the property, and it will consist of a continuous, high-speed, double track electric railway between Steubenville and Beaver, with crushed limestone ballast, heavy ties and 85 pound rails in 60 foot lengths. Twenty-five large interurban cars will be used in the through service, in addition to the ones used on the lines for local traffic, within the limits of the different municipalities through which the lines run. The entire power problem has not been definitely settled for the extensions, but in the cities where the lines are at present in operation the direct current is in use.

The companies own their own coal mine on the Little Beaver creek, thus insuring fuel at minimum cost.

The capital interested has purchased the East Liverpool Traction & Light Company, owning the street railway lines in East Liverpool and Wellsville and Chester, with the bridge over the Ohio River and the summer resort of Rock Springs Park, the entire system being about 12 miles in length. Those lines will connect at the state lines of the Ohio River Passenger Railway, now being built, a distance of 11.17 miles passing through the new town site of Midland to Beaver, where connection will be made with the lines of the Beaver Valley Traction Company.

It is expected that all these connections and improvements will be completed by next year, when continuous trolley service will be inaugurated between Wheeling and Beaver.

Champion Fat Men Race

Though we may think we are politically correct today, the ongoing success of reality television reveals otherwise. Reality shows continue to exploit people’s differences in humiliating and sometimes painful to watch episodes. People seem to be judged mostly by their looks rather than their talents or character. Although, I’m not a big fan of these shows, I have to admit if I’m passing through the family room and hear a once-hopeful American Idol finalist in tears, I stop to see what will happen next.

In an interview in Entertainment Weekly, Larry Wilmore said of Reality TV, “It's like watching a car wreck.... You just can't take your eyes off of it. It's the drama of it...because there's so much cruelty and tearing people apart. I feel like I need to take a shower when I watch that.”

But don’t think this sort of entertainment is anything new. It is primitive and upsetting and fascinating and it’s been around since the first caveman hit his head on a stalactite and the rest of his fur-wearing clan cracked up and fell over backwards laughing around the campfire.

In 1908, Rock Springs Park advertised a unique sporting feature called “The Champion Fat Men Race”. Scheduled for a Knights Templar outing, of all things, this bizarre event from the dawn of the 20th Century could easily be a reality program today. Imagine “The World’s Biggest Loser” meets “The Great Race.”

Pittsburgh Press - August 28, 1908

Champion Fat Men Will Race for Trophies

Unique Feature Arranged for Sporting Program at Outing of Knights Templar

There is going to be plenty of sport at the annual outing of Pittsburg [sic] Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, which will be held on Saturday, September 5, at Rock Springs Park, and the feature of the program will be a 50-yard dash for fat men, which is expected to be participated in by the fastest "big" men in the country.

One of the entrants will be A.L. McKenzie, of 808 Farmers Bank building who is a member of Allegheny Lodge No. 223, F.&A.M. who is being backed by his friends to beat anything on legs weighing over 200 pounds. Mr. McKenzie weighs 260 pounds, and on Wednesday won the 50-yard dash at the Heptasophs' picnic at Rock Springs in the fast time of 8 1/4 seconds, winning a handsome bronze clock.

Mr. McKenzie was formerly a captain in the fire department at Cleveland, and participated in a number of fat men's races, never having been beaten. He was the winner of a race of this kind at the World's Fair in Chicago, winning the world's champion medal. He ran at that time in 10 1/4 seconds and weighed 225 pounds when he started. He was formerly a well-known all-around athlete, being particularly efficient in the shot-put.

Mr. McKenzie's friends are willing to back him to the limit, but there are others who declare that he has won enogh races and that he must be beaten. To this end they have secured a physical mountain of flesh to run against him. They are keeping this man's name a secret, but claim that he is the fastest in the world for his weight, and that he will make McKenzie bite the dust.

The Knights will have a fine prize for the winner of the fat men's race, and McKenzie is confident of cropping it. A man of his weight deserves a "heavy" trophy for such valiant effort.

There are some experts who dismiss the criticism of Reality TV as cruel or voyeuristic. To them, it is the competition that draws millions of viewers week after week. Upon rereading the article, I began to wonder if I had misjudged the Fat Men Race. It sounds as if these men are willing participants. Perhaps Steven Reiss of Psychologist Today was correct when he noted, “Reality TV allows Americans to fantasize about gaining status through automatic fame. Ordinary people can watch the shows, see people like themselves and imagine that they too could become celebrities too.”

Maybe it does not matter as much that the contestants often are shown in an unfavorable light; the fact that people are paying attention means that the contestants are important. Steven Reiss surmised, “The message of reality television is that ordinary people can become so important that millions will watch them. And the secret thrill of many of those viewers is the thought that perhaps next time; the new celebrities might be them.”

Okay, now I want to know who won the race. Don’t you? Tune in next time and I'll try and uncover the answer. Meantime, Check out Antique's Road Show's appraisal of a 1910 collection of Fat Men's Amusement Co. memorabilia, and guess what, professional appraiser Leila Dunbar can't help but make a couple of fat jokes in the process.

Antiques Roadshow Appraisal: 1910 Fat Men's Amusement Co. Memorabilia » Video » Iowa Public Television

Bumpers or Dodgems?

Dodgem Car Pavilion in Rock Springs Park in 1970 (Courtesy of Richard Bowker)

Several years after Rock Springs Park closed, Chester’s annual school picnic was held at the City Park. The football field became a midway of portable games, rides, and even a side show with two-headed creatures in big glass jars. Two events stand out from the summer of 1975 and Chester’s makeshift amusement park.

First, I discovered I have motion sickness after riding the Round Up and second, I remember a kid who was trying to drive his bumper car in a wide circle around the track as if he was training to be a future defensive driver. He was shouting at people to get out of the way and angered when someone intentionally bumped into him. This made him a prime target for the rest of us. Who gets on a bumper car and spends the whole time dodging and weaving to avoid getting bumped? I thought of this artful dodger when I learned that Bumper Cars were originally called Dodgem Cars. Maybe that kid had it right.

Still one of the most popular rides at amusement parks today, bumper cars date back to 1920. The first bumper car ride was invented by Max and Harold Stoehrer of Methuen, Massachusetts. Their invention was called the Dodgem. These rides allowed people to bump into each other and were so popular that others decided to get in on the action. Two cousins, Joseph and Robert Lusse of Philadelphia owned a machine shop that supplied roller coaster parts to Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC). In 1922 the Lusses filed their first patent for a bumper car. Over the years, they filed a total of nine patents for their “Lusse Skooters.”

The bumper cars in Rock Springs Park were made by Lusse Brothers in 1941.(Courtesy of Rich Brookes)

At the eleventh hour, I changed one photograph in my book from an image of my mother’s park bench to one of a restored Rock Springs Park 1941 Lusse Skooter. It had been restored by Weirton resident David Rhodes and appeared on Ebay in December 2009. Rhodes, who has been doing this type of restoration work since he was a kid, gave me permission to use his images and shared his experience working on the car and visiting Rock Springs Park.

(Courtesy of David Rhoades.)

"Joe, I don't remember riding the cars. I went to the park in the late 50s and early 60s. As for the car I have, I did the restoration all except the upholstery. I have done this type work since I was fifteen. I am sending you some pictures of my car, you can use them how you wish. I bought this car three years ago from Gary Wasmer who bought 12 of them from Earl Cuppy about fifteen years ago. I bought the last two Gary had left. I have been told Earl Cuppy bought a lot of the rides from the park not just the bumper cars. I went to the park when I was a kid and just wanted to have a piece of history."

(Courtesy of David Rhoades.)

For Geneva College Getting There Was Half the Fun

The flagship Cincinnati (shown above) along with sister ships, the Greater Pittsburgh and the Queen City, leading the way, made her "Dedication Cruise" from Pittsburgh on October 18, 1929. Less than a year later, the Greater Pittsburgh carried students and others on an excursion trip to Rock Springs Park.

On July 27, 1930, friends, faculty and alumni of Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA, took the first of many annual excursion trips from Rochester to Rock Springs Park. The Beaver Daily Times gave a wonderful account of the trip the next day which included the myriad sights, sounds, and colors of an eight-hour trip on the Ohio River.

The Daily Times - July 28, 1930

Eight Hundred Persons Take Boat Trip Down Ohio - Plan for Annual Event

The multi-colored lights of the giant steamer blinked around the bend where the grey Beaver meets the green Ohio, the massive stern wheel swish-swished to a stop at Rochester wharf, there was the dull thud of lowered gang planks and the first annual steamboat excursion of the students, alumni and friends of Geneva college came to an end shortly before 11 o'clock last night.

Nearly 800 of those who have received their education in the Beaver Valley's college, who are now attending the institution, or who are counted as close friends of this source of culture in this center of industry, were aboard the Steamer Greater Pittsburgh when it left the wharf at 2:30 o'clock yesterday and pointed its nose down the river for an eight-hour trip through the tree-green hills and the deeper green of the serene old Ohio river.

Throughout the afternoon and evening musical entertainment tickled the senses as the younger folks raced from deck to deck in search of new thrills and their elders sat in friendly groups forward on the four major decks, renewing acquaintanceships [sic] as they faced into the cooling upstream breeze or exposed themselves to the light of the brilliant sun. Members of the college musical organization presented a program afternoon and evening. The steamer band played stirring airs. There were games and contests. At dinner time picnic baskets appeared in many groups while (others) enjoyed a steamboat dinner on the lower deck. From 7 until 8 o'clock the boat was docked at Chester, W. Va., while passengers paid a visit to Rock Springs Park.

The success of the trip as indicated by the comments of those who enjoyed the day gave indication to college authorities that this excursion idea would become an annual feature of the social life of the college.