Leaving Your Mark

All of us, if given the opportunity, would like some version of immortality. Some people have many children, write books, create works of art, or pursue any number of other activities meant to leave behind a legacy that creates some sort of meaning in our lives.

This tree (left), photographed in Rock Springs Park in the late 1800s, is covered with carved initials of visitors past.(Courtesy of Richard Bowker)

Over the centuries, some folks were content with carving their names on cave walls, rocks, and trees. Marks like these were evident in Rock Springs Park before it became an amusement park and during its heyday. It was only when the park was completely erased in 1974 that these initials, names, and pictoglyphs were lost forever. Fortunately, one man saw their importance and recorded them for posterity.

Park photographer, Clarence O. Durbin, understood that Rock Springs Park was not "immortal". He either knew or sensed that the park was in its final years and began making a photographic record in 1968. His images include panoramic views taken from across the Ohio River, detailed images of rides and buildings, candid and posed pictures of workers and patrons, and colorful close-ups of what drew people to the ancient spring grove in the first place, its natural beauty.


George Gardner left his mark (Above) on a lichen-covered rock near the spring on July 14, 1878. (See Images of America: Rock Springs Park p. 99 for more details.)
By the way, I am not recommending that anyone carve his or her name on a public park tree or rock face today. In fact in most places it is a Class 2 Misdemeanor punishable by a hefty fine. Instead check out “Treemail”. It’s an app that lets you “carve” custom messages on a virtual tree and then send them to people via email, Twitter or Facebook.

"The Sweetheart Tree" performed by Natalie Wood.

Chester or East Liverpool?

Look through enough early postcards pictures of Rock Springs Park and you will begin to notice that while most credit the location of the park to Chester, WV, a few identify it as being in East Liverpool, OH.
Some have suggested that the mix up might be the fault of the printer, since many early postcards were produced in Germany.
It is also possible that since Chester was not incorporated until 1907 and was known simply as “The South Side” of East Liverpool for many years, its official address might have been Liverpool.

However, the confusion with Rock Springs’ location is most likely due to the first two owners' connections to the trolley, bridge, and electric company which were all located in East Liverpool.

This postcard accurately describes the location of the park as being in "Chester, W.Va. near East Liverpool, Ohio".The 1905-1906 Julius Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide wisely chose to identify the park as belonging to both shores of the Ohio River and to both states. Rock Springs Park gets credit in the guide under Ohio and West Virginia.


Nonetheless, people throughout the Tri-State Region of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia lay claim to the park and consider it their own, which is fitting as Rock Springs Park belongs to all - those who knew her and to those who know of her!

The Louisiana Kings

In July of 1936, the largest swing band in the United States, the Louisiana Kings, played a one-night performance at Rock Springs Park. The band was made up of Louisiana University students who worked for one dollar an hour. It was originally started by Huey P. Long for his political campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1931. Following his election, the band sought Long’s sponsorship for a New York tour in 1935, but were denied. I'm sure that did not sit well with bandleader, Manley Culpepper, but then again, Long had a history of creating a number of enemies in his political and professional dealings. In fact, Long was eventually assassinated on September 8, 1935. The Louisiana Kings found other backers and began their cross country tour at New York’s Manhattan Beach club in 1936. By the time they came to Rock Springs, later that same year, they were touted as the largest dance orchestra of all time, having grown from an eight piece to a thirty piece band.

Huey P. Long (left) and LSU President James Monroe Smith 1935.

The Beaver County Daily Times - July 8, 1936

One of the greatest dance orchestras of all times, the Louisiana Kings are scheduled for a one night appearance at Rock Springs Park, Chester, W.Va. this Thursday July 9th. This orchestra is composed of 30 members and is one of the largest dance bands to ever tour the United States. The Louisiana Kings were financially backed by the famous Huey P. Long, late United States Senator from Louisiana, who used the orchestra in his political campaigns, and is the official musical unit of the Louisiana State University.

Manley Culpepper, the leader of the orchestra is credited with having one of the most dynamic personalities in the world of modern music. It was Culpepper, who organized the orchestra five years ago at the Louisiana University, and saw it grow from an eight piece unit to one of the largest dance orchestras ever organized in the history of the nation. New York newspaper critics who heard the orchestra during their recent engagement at the exclusive Manhattan Beach ranked the 30 men from Louisiana in the same class with Paul Whiteman, Fred Waring and Horace Heidt.

This is the first cross country tour the Louisiana Kings have ever made, and during the latter part of August they will make a Warner Brothers musical talking picture. The Louisiana Kings are also scheduled for a return appearance at Manhattan Beach. This is the same New York spot where Paul Whiteman played all last summer.


At a time when Democrats and Republicans are so ideologically split on cutting support programs vs. increasing revenue to pay off the national debt, it is not difficult to see on which side Huey P. Long would have fallen. In this video clip, Long speaks passionately about his "Share Our Wealth" program, which proposed new wealth redistribution measures. Note: The video incorrectly identifies Long's plan as "Share the Wealth" and the date is incorrect as it would have been after his death on Sept 10, 1935.

The Lake: Before and After

According to Billboard, June 7, 1952, manager Robert L. Hand ordered a full-scale operation to fill in the lake at Rock Springs Park “in order to provide additional picnic space.” The work was done prior to the 1952 summer season.

So, just how significantly was the lake drained? See for yourself in these before and after photographs. Notice the group of trees from Bower Island still clustered in the open field in the late 60s.


Rock Springs Park Lake circa 1927 (Courtesy of Richard L. Bowker).

Rock Springs Park Lake 1968 (Courtesy of Rich Brookes).

Bubbles and Pop

I’ve heard of the story behind how Lawrence Welk came to use bubbles in his act because it happened in Pittsburgh, but I didn’t realize other big band leaders chose unique ways to start their shows. While Welk used bubbles and the pop of a champagne cork, a contemporary named Shep Field’s used bubbles of a different sort.

The term "Champagne Music" was derived from an engagement at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, when a dancer referred to Welk's sound as "light and bubbly as champagne." The hotel also lays claim to the original "bubble machine," a prop left over from a 1920s movie premiere. (Above Authentic Lawrence Welk bubble machine, early Altman model)

One night Shep Fields and his wife stopped for a soda during a one-night gig in Rockford, Illinois. While sipping, Fields' wife happened to blow into her straw. Fields heard that sound and knew it would make a great trademark to open his broadcasts.

Shep Fields' "Rippling Rhythm" is described as a "unique blend of styles and instruments, brought together to create an off-center sound that was immediately appealing and extremely danceable." You can click on the video below to have a listen. To me it sounds like the soundtrack to The Little Rascals or any number of early cartoons features from the 30s. In fact, Field’s does a great version of Disney’s “Whistle While You Work” with the original lyrics before changes were made for the 1937 movie Snow White.


Shep Fields did not play at Rock Springs Park, as far as I know, but Lee Barrett played in the Virginia Gardens Ballroom on Sunday, August 7, 1937. His band the “Rippling Rhythm Orchestra” is described as playing a “"Shep Fields' style" of dance rhythm, according to The Beaver County Daily Times. You might say Barrett's was an early Shep Fields cover band.

Beaver, PA - August 6, 1937

BARRETT BAND WILL RETURN TO CHESTER

Lee Barrett and his Rippling Rhythm orchestra will play a return engagement in the ballroom at Rock Springs Park on Sunday night. This orchestra plays a "Shep Fields' style" of dance rhythm. Featured with the orchestra are Ray Williams and Charlie Como, cousin of the famous Perry Como. The management states Lee Barrett's band is regarded as the most popular band to appear in the park ballroom this season.

The Missing Thumbs

Perhaps a few of my loyal readers, and you know who you are, may have noticed that it is July 23rd and this is my 23rd blog post for the month. After 17 posts in June, I wondered if I could beat that number by blogging once a day in July and achieve a 31 for 31 count.

Of course, I didn’t want to blog simply for the sake of meeting my goal. I wanted to be sure the posts were varied in topic and still interesting to fans of our beloved Rock Springs Park. A new friend, Jeff Schneidmiller, has made my job a little easier. Recently Jeff has uploaded Rock Springs Park images to Facebook and shared information and questions about the park and his family’s rich connection to it. In fact, Jeff’s questions have led to discovering a few new mysteries about the park that together, he and I have been able to solve (See blog posts “The Mystery of the Red Sticks” and “Three Bears Born at Rock Springs Park”). If only Jeff’s name was Frank, we could be Frank and Joe of The Hardy Boys novels.

Jeff posed another interesting question about the park yesterday which, I think, we have answered. This one involves Jeff’s grandmother, who visited the park in the 50s and 60s. Jeff wrote, “My mother found some photos in her mother’s stuff of Rock Springs Park. She has a photo of Tom Thumb who was at the park when my grandmother was there. I will put the photo on (Facebook) when she gives it to me.”

Readers of the Guinness Book of World Records, may be familiar with General Tom Thumb “The World’s Smallest Man” who achieved great fame under P.T. Barnum. Unfortunately, P.T.’s famous Tom died in 1883. Unless, Jeff’s grandmother had a photograph of a mummified Thumb or a frozen one, which I would not put past Barnum to pull off, this General could not be our small man.

General Tom Thumb “Charles Sherwood Stratton” died suddenly of a stroke. He was 45 years old, 3 ft 4 in tall and weighed 32 71 lb. Over 10,000 people attended the funeral. P.T. Barnum purchased a life-sized statue of Tom Thumb and placed it as a grave stone at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Together, Jeff and I determined that there must have been another Tom Thumb who entertained folks in the 50s and 60s. Jeff reasoned, “I was looking up Tom Thumb and he died in the 1800s. It had to be a person that used the name Tom Thumb. I was thinking that the park might have just brought people in for showing off.”

A quick search found that there was a steam locomotive called "Tom Thumb" and a racehorse by that name during the period we were looking for but no person named Tom Thumb. Then I saw a newspaper blurb about studio wrestlers which read, “The matmen will range from the 97-pound Tom Thumb to the 600 pound Haystacks.” From my limited days as a studio wrestler viewer, meaning I had a friend whose dad watched it, I knew “Haystacks” was Haystacks Calhoun. I didn’t, however, remember a Tom Thumb, so I dug a little deeper and discovered the advertisement below from The Washington Reporter-Observer dated Monday, August 10, 1959, touting the appearance of Major Tom Thumb “The Hercules of the Midget Wrestlers.”


I won’t know for sure if Major Tom Thumb is our man until I see Jeff’s photograph, but I have a feeling he is, as the Washington Reporter-Observer is from Washington, PA, near Rock Springs. Our Mr. Thumb was definitely in the area during the time in question. I won’t say case closed, like the Hardy Boys, but simply will end with: "Tune in next time for the latest Rock Springs Park Mystery and find out if Jeff and Joe will finally solve, 'The Case of the Missing Thumbs”!

Rock Springs Park During WWII

Pictured (Left) is R.Z. Macdonald and his nephew, Richard K. Hand. (Courtesy of Tish Hand.)

Rock Springs Park was closed for three years during World War II. Owner Bob Hand was drafted and served several months in the U.S. Army until it was discovered that he was too old for the draft. (See Images of America: Rock Springs Park, pp. 72-73)

A reunion note found in The Washington Observer-Reporter, Washington, PA, on August 3, 1942 gives further insight into how the war affected the park.

The 15th annual reunion of the Croft clan, which was scheduled to be held on Sunday, August 9, has been postponed for the year due to the government's call to conserve rubber and gas.

All members learning of this are asked to notify other members. The reunion was to have been held at Rock Springs Park, Chester, W. Va.

The article tells us that Rock Springs was still operating by the end of the summer 1942, but illustrates that rationing and the lack of needed supplies for operating the park would soon take their toll.

According to Billboard magazine, January 12, 1946, a news brief under the headline, “While Strolling Through the Park,” in the “Parks-Resorts-Pools” section (p57), explained that Bob had just been released from the army, and planned to reopen the park for the first time since the start of WWII. At the time the article was written, the park was already operating Virginia Gardens as a skating rink.

By July 13th of that same year, the park was open daily, excluding Mondays. 30,000 customers visited Rock Springs on July 4, 1946 even though only four rides were in operation: the Cyclone, Aerial Planes, Merry-Go-Round and Octopus. Other attractions that summer were the Penny Arcade, bingo, lead gallery, Funhouse, boating, and dancing with Eddie McGraw’s band.

The concrete swimming pool was not in operation and unfortunately would never re-open due to the shortage of supplies needed for repairs after the war.