Rock Springs Park Slide Show Book Talk

It’s official!

Event: Rock Springs Park Slide Show Book Talk

Where: West Virginia Archives and History, 1900 Kanawha Blvd., East, Charleston, West Virginia

When: Tuesday, July 2, 2013 at 6:00pm.

Description: A Slide show book talk on Rock Springs Park as part of the West Virginia State Archives & History Lecture Series. It will be held in the Culture Center at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.




“Daredevil” Holden Appeared at Rock Springs Park in 1910

“Free Acts” were often daily features at Rock Springs Park during the C.A. Smith Era of 1900-1925. Acrobats and daredevils like Arthur C. Holden performed high wire and high diving stunts to hundreds of gaping on-lookers. Holden appeared at Rock Springs Park on Labor Day 1910, but he was world renowned according to features in New York and New Jersey newspapers of the day.
The South Amboy Citizen of October 5, 1912, advertised Holden's appearance at the Trenton Fair, "Arthur C. Holden, well named "Daredevil" Holden, in a backward dive into a small tank. Words cannot describe it - it must be seen.

Regardless of the Citizen’s claim, The New York Tribune did describe Arthur C. Holden's high diving exploits in its February 28, 1909 edition. "The afternoon exhibition came about 5 o'clock, and, following the announcement, the crowd sought vantage points and waited while the daring youth was hoisted to the roof in a boatswain's chair. Then a hush settled over the big amphitheater, so that one might have heard a pin drop as Holden stood poised for a minute on his small platform. Then the crowd burst into a cheer as, turning somersaults, the diver struck the water with a splash and swam out to bow his thanks." Holden's daredevil act was seen in New York as part of a Sportsman's Show inside Madison Square Garden.

Get a feel for the thrill of the high dive from the platform looking down in this video of an arm-stand high dive in Belgium.

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).

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 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/.

Trolley Merger

The first electric trolleys used in the upper Ohio Valley were built in 1889. The power came directly from the East Liverpool Electric Light and Power Company owned by C.A. Smith. He also created a new streetcar company, the East Liverpool Electric Street Railway Company. One line ran from Wellsville to Liverpool and by 1897 a second branch, the East Liverpool and Rock Springs street railway, ran from East Liverpool to Chester, W. Va. At first, the park, the trolley, and the electric company were separate entities, but in 1905 they merged and became one, The East Liverpool Traction and Light Company.

The Richland Shield and Banner reported on September 7, 1905, “A merger of local street railway and electric lighting interests of this portion of the Ohio valley is in process of formation. The properties to be taken over are the East Liverpool railway, now operating in this city (Wellsville) and East Liverpool, and its two branches, the East Liverpool and Rock Springs street railway, running from East Liverpool to Chester, W. Va.; the electric lighting plants and power houses of the United Power company in East Liverpool and Chester and Rock Springs park, a large and valuable pleasure resort at Chester. Several million dollars are involved.”

Originally the trolley line to Rock Springs Park ended on Carolina Avenue in Chester at the spot where Route 30 and the Jennings Randolph Bridge cross today. Passengers would disembark and climb five flights of stairs to the Pavilion and Restaurant (as shown above). After the merger, this line was extended and a trolley loop and lower park main entrance where added.

Because there was a lot of competition, the trolley companies throughout the United States built amusement parks at the end of their lines to bring more business. For many area residents, the only way to get to the park was to use the company’s trolleys. A round-trip was 50 cents for adults and 35 cents for children, or less on certain “Bargain Days.”

During the warm weather months, many trolley companies operated open trolleys, which were very popular with the riding public. The open cars became known as "Breezers" to the people who rode them. They were open on all four sides, to provide a cooling breeze on a warm summer day. It was the trolley company’s way of providing "air conditioned" service.

A Sandwich, a Stein and a Stogy

This early postcard image of the famous spring in Rock Springs Park shows two young gentlemen raising a toast with their tin cups to the camera. It was originally submitted as an image for the book, but was rejected as not clear enough. (Courtesy of Richard L. Bowker)

Hey, this is my 100th Rock Springs Park blog post! Let’s celebrate at the park with a sandwich, a stein and a stogy (stogie?). Or, if you prefer, we can meet for an after-dinner snifter. Say, brandies and sodas, around seven?

In 1901, the Youngstown Vindicator and the East Liverpool Crisis planned a meeting over sandwiches, beers, and cigars at Rock Springs Park to resolve a long-standing feud between the rival newspapers and their respective cities that had been brewing for nearly four years.

It came to a head the previous summer when the Vindicator compared the population of East Liverpool to that of Youngstown’s police force.

Here is their brief public conversation:

Youngstown Vindicator - The police force of Youngstown is close to the size of the population of East Liverpool.

East Liverpool Daily Crisis - And Youngstown needs 'em all.

Youngstown Vindicator - That is unfortunately true. Living so near East Liverpool, it is necessary to be well policed to protect the people and property here from the E.L. savages and Boxers.

Wow, that is harsh! Wouldn’t you say?

Newspapers of this era, even papers in the same city like the Crisis and the Review in Liverpool, often attacked each other, as competition between the papers was bitter. They were vying for readership, advertising, and the latest and most modern equipment, but most often the fires of animosity were sparked by politics, with one paper strongly democratic and the other strongly republican. Not unlike the obviously conservative bent of Fox News as opposed to the liberal leanings of MSNBC, today.

Under its nameplate of The Crisis was the declaration "Democratic In All Things -- Neutral In Nothing." (Image from the East Liverpool Historical Society website)

Sometimes the fate of the paper hinged on a seedy scandal or sensational murder trial like that of Annie Van Fossan, 19, of Second Street, in East Liverpool who, according to the East Liverpool Historical Society's website, “was charged with first degree murder in the January 8, 1885, (poisoning) death of a 6-year-old girl in Seldom Seen, a neighborhood in the city's West End.” The murder trial prompted both the Crisis and the Review to switch from weeklies to dalies that year.

An account of the murder trial and East Liverpool newspaper histories can be found here.

By April 1904, the Crisis suspended operations and merged with the Review under the new name The News-Review & Crisis and within a month the paper's name changed to The Evening Review, today simply the East Liverpool Review.

Both The Review and The Youngstown Vindicator or “Vindy” are still in publication today.

On April 26, 1892, The Review was purchased by East Liverpool attorney, J. E. McDonald, who would go on to build the Chester Bridge, develop the town of Chester, then known as "The South Side", and create Rock Springs Park at the end of the new streetcar lines of rising entrepreneur C. A. Smith.

Here is a clipping taken from the Youngstown Vindicator from August 13, 1901. Although the Vindy appears to accept the Crisis manager's invitation of sandwiches, beer, and cigars at Rock Springs Park, it does not do so graciously. Note the final jab at the Crisis at the end suggesting the East Liverpool attendees would have a difficult time avoiding getting drunk in the morning before the Vindy folks arrived at the park to meet them.

THE CRISIS' BEGAN daily publication on March 28, 1887, two years after The Review, and cost a penny a copy.

A Few Additional Notes:

On his website Stogie’d, cigar aficionado, Bob Woods, under the title, “Battle Royale: Stogy vs. Stogie”, asks readers to vote on which spelling of the word is correct. This illustration shows the latest results (left).


Want to try a glass of brandy and soda. It’s easy. Just pour brandy into a Collins glass holding 2 or 3 ice cubes and top up with soda. That's all there is to it. Have a few and then break into the old pub tune “My Tarpaulin Jacket.”

A tall stalwart lancer lay dying,
And as on his deathbed he lay,
To his friends who around him were sighing,
These last dying words he did say:

Chorus: Wrap me up in my tarpaulin jacket
And say a poor buffer lies low;
And six stalwart lancers shall carry me
With steps solemn, mournful and slow.

Had I the wings of a little dove,
Far far away would I fly; I'd fly
Straight for the arms of my true love
And there I would lay me and die.
Then get you two little white tombstones
Put them one at my head and my toe, my toe,
And get you a penknife and scratch there:
"Here lies a poor buffer below."

And get you six brandies and sodas,
And set them all out in a row, a row,
And get you six jolly good fellows
To drink to this buffer below.

And then in the calm of the twilight
When the soft winds are whispering low, so low,
And the darkening shadows are falling,
Sometimes think of this buffer below.

A Road by Any Other Name

Improvements along Chester’s main street in the past several years have included brick-lined sidewalks and new lampposts sporting red and blue banners noting places of historical significance; including the old Chester High School, the World’s Largest Teapot, and my favorite – Rock Springs Park (pictured).

Growing up in Chester, West Virginia, I often incorrectly identified the main street through town as “Main Street.” Mostly this was because I lived on a dead end and many lost drivers would interrupt a street wiffle ball game or a game of catch to ask us for directions to the bridge. It was easier to refer to the main drag though town as “Main Street” rather than its given name “Carolina Avenue.”

There have been two Chester Bridges – the old one and the new one. The old one at First Street closed in 1969 and the new one opened in 1977. During the intervening years, drivers used Newell's toll bridge.

Carolina Avenue in Chester is clearly "Main Street" as it is the address for the post office, fire department, several banks, and most other businesses. You enter Chester at one end of Carolina Avenue and exit at the other. Plus, It’s the only street in town with traffic lights – four at present – two when I was a kid . Not to mention, geographically speaking, Carolina Avenue neatly divides Chester right down the middle with the mountains to the south and the Ohio River to the north. Historically speaking, it was the very first road in town.

Our family business, Herche's Pharmacy, was located on Carolina Avenue and Third Street in Chester.

The reason many vehicles stopped and asked for directions in my old neighborhood was because at one time Carolina and Virginia Avenues were along a trolley route that led from East Liverpool, Ohio, across the old Chester Bridge and on to Rock Springs Park. Approaches to bridges in those days were not sprawling clover leaf exchanges like today, but could be found anywhere; including at the end of a winding neighborhood street like ours or at an abrupt 90 degree turn like the one off Route 2 to enter the Newell Bridge. Before the interstates, drivers had to go through the small towns and in many instances the main drag was not a straight shot.

There was no gentle cloverleaf-style off-ramp at the northern portal of the Chester Bridge. Drivers were forced to make a sharp left into downtown East Liverpool.

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Juliet delivers the famous line, “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” meaning “What matters is what something is, not what it is called.” This is apropos when talking about Carolina Avenue in Chester. A quick Google Map search shows it to be Route 2 today. Before the new Chester Bridge (which by the way is actually called “The Jennings Randolph Bridge”) was built, the old trolley route through town was designated as part of the three mile section of the Lincoln Highway through West Virginia, making Carolina Avenue also the Lincoln, and then Route 30.

Call it "Route 2", "Route 30", "The Lincoln", or any other name you want, but Carolina Avenue in Chester is still Main Street to me. If you happen to be in town over the 4th of July, as I was last week, and see it festooned in red, white, and blue bunting and rows and rows of American flags, you just might call it "Main Street USA."

Although he did not stop and ask for directions, Jack Nicklaus got lost in my neighborhood looking for the old Chester Bridge in the early 80s. He was heading to Ohio with his father for a tournament, we learned on the evening news. We weren’t sure if it was Jack until he did a three-point turn at the end of our dead end street and we saw his vanity plate which read, “PGA.”

Stand in the Place Where You Live and Face North

I’ve always suffered from a strange case of dyslexia when it comes to cardinal directions. For example, I feel slightly panicked when I go through the toll booth entering the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I worry, Am I going east to Harrisburg or west to Pittsburgh? I never understood where this irrational fear came from until I began researching Rock Springs Park and my hometown of Chester, West Virginia. Everything about the area is confusing, as far as directions are concerned.

First off, the northern panhandle of West Virginia extends further north than most people realize. When I went to college at the University of Pittsburgh, I was teased for being from “Down there”, but the truth was, I was from “Up there”. You see, Chester actually lies northwest of Pittsburgh. The Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers meet at the confluence in Pittsburgh and become the Ohio, but the Ohio River, like the Nile in Egypt, actually flows north. George Washington got it right when he drew this map of the region in 1758. The Ohio flows north before turning west at the northern panhandle of West Virginia (then Virginia) and continues south to Cincinnati.

Chester, as I explain in the book, lies at the extreme northern limit of the panhandle. If you stand in Chester and face north, you face East Liverpool, Ohio. All the other towns of Ohio across the river from West Virginia, for the most part, lie to the west, but not Liverpool, and to a lesser degree, Wellsville. They both mark the northern turn of the river before it heads south. So, in this rare instance, Ohio is north and Pennsylvania is south and a little bit east of Chester - sort of.

Then there’s the neighborhood in Chester across from where Rock Springs Park used to be that is known as the Upper End. It’s “Upper” because it is upriver not because it is north as I used to think as a kid. North is up and south is down on the compass rose, right? No, not exactly.

About 75% of the final edits to the book involved correcting descriptions of the park as it related to cardinal directions:

People now enter Chester along Route 30 at the southern end of what used to be the crystal spring lake of Rock Springs Park.

The spring still flows out of a lone pipe that can be found east of the onramp to the Jennings Randolph Bridge to East Liverpool.

East Liverpool is north of Chester.

See what I mean? If it wasn’t for Google Maps I would still be editing. It should be easy, but it isn’t.It’s no wonder some people still don’t get that West Virginia is a state. They think it’s just the western half of Virginia. If those people go to Chester, I wish them all the luck in the world and hopefully some sort of GPS device, because in Chester east is north and up is east and west is south and the south is north.

Let's Ride the Cyclone

This is a virtual ride on Rock Springs Park’s Cyclone, which I created for ACE (American Coaster Enthusiasts) Western PA's Coasterbash 2010 using 62 photographs taken of/on the roller coaster over the course of its 43 year history. If you rode the Cyclone, or always wanted to, this virtual ride is my Easter gift to you. Happy Easter!

(Images courtesy of Richard Bowker , Rich Brookes and Tish Hand; "Free Ride" is a song written by Dan Hartman and performed by The Edgar Winter Group, 1973)

Mail Pouch Barns in Rock Springs Park?

Annually dozens of big name companies held picnics at Rock Springs Park. One such company, known more for their product than their name, The Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company, “opened the picnic season on July 13, 1927,” according to The Beaver Daily Times.

The company began when two brothers, Aaron and Samuel Bloch, entered the tobacco business as “stogie” manufacturers in Wheeling, West Virginia, fourteen years after the end of the Civil War. At that time, tobacco companies often used cigar wrapper clippings as a form of chewing tobacco. The Bloch Brothers took this one step further and conceived an idea that would revolutionize the chewing tobacco industry. Why not flavor these clippings and package them in paper bags?

Starting on a very small scale the brothers would flavor and package the new-type tobacco in paper bags that bore the names of the stores who sold direct to customers. Immediate success in this venture led Aaron and Samuel to market their own brand. Taking a mail pouch as their characteristic symbol, they made their first sale of West Virginia Mail Pouch on October 15, 1879.

The change to this new type of “scrap” chewing tobacco caught on in the Wheeling area immediately. The fame of West Virginia Mail Pouch began to spread to neighboring areas and the brothers began to advertise. Their biggest form of advertising was large painted signs on the sides of barns. These barns can be still be found in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and California. The barns, usually hand-painted in black or red with yellow or white capital lettering, read: "Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco Treat Yourself to the Best."

Initially, barn owners were paid between $1 and $2 a year for the advertisement, equivalent in 1913 dollars to about $20-$40 today. But more importantly, they received a much desired fresh coat of paint to preserve the integrity of the wood. Mail Pouch painted their message on one or two sides of the barn and painted the other sides of the barn any color the owner wished. Many of the barns were repainted every few years to maintain the sharp colors of the lettering. Some of the barns are now listed as National Historic Landmarks by the Secretary of the Interior.

Other groups to hold picnics at Rock Springs Park in the Summer of 1927 were The Tri-State American Legion, New Brighton Community, Duquesne Light and Power, Tri-State Oil Men, United Presbyterian Sunday Schools of Beaver Valley, Tri-State Odd Fellows, United Tri-State Colored picnic, Tri-State Moose Lodges, Burgettstown Chamber of Commerce, Crafton, PA Sunday Schools, Pennsylvania Railroad Employees, and many others. The Beaver Daily Times went on to state that “The present park owners have secured a lease for twenty-five years and have spent in new improvements and facilities approximately $200.000."

The East Liverpool Historical Society’s Website Shows Rock Springs Park in 1954

(from East Liverpool Historical Society Website, courtesy of Frank Dawson Collection)

The East Liverpool Historical Society’s website has some great photographs taken in Rock Springs Park in 1954, courtesy of the Frank Dawson collection. Check out the Jitterbug contest winners at Golden Star Dairy Picnic. They look like they walked off the set of Grease! See more at http://www.eastliverpoolhistoricalsociety.org/rospr54.htm.

You Can Go Home Again!

In his novel title, Thomas Wolfe suggests that You Can't Go Home Again, but I found just the opposite to be true yesterday when I returned to Oak Glen High School for a book signing and slide show talk on my favorite topic "Rock Springs Park." One of my major goals in writing the book has been to share the history of Chester and the park with area youth. Unfortunately, the talk was cut short by half an hour due to an impending snow storm, but I was able to present the entire history, leaving out only time for Q&A, and a ukulele song I had planned to perform.

The program was presented in the Little Theatre, a space which was once a second home to me, having performed in nearly every theatrical production from 1978 – 1982. No, I was not held back in my high school years, I actually began doing plays in eighth grade with Oliver! in 1978. The experience yesterday was extremely surreal as I haven’t been to my alma mater in over 28 years. The campus has changed quite a bit over the years, including several renovations which have connected all the Florida-style buildings with enclosed walkways and building additions. It took me a few minutes to get my bearings, but the theater space remained relatively unchanged, so I felt very comfortable there.

Although the question and answer period was eliminated at the end of the program, students who arrived early had many questions about Rock Springs Park; including its exact location and what happened to the Cyclone and Carousel rides after they were sold in 1974. I was delighted to tell them and explained that recent research may prove one of my book explanations to be not entirely correct. I recently discovered a second account telling who actually purchased the Cyclone and the reason for it. The explanation I gave in the book was one told to me by a long-time Chester resident. He had it partly correct. Bill Harper did purchase Virginia Gardens, but not the Cyclone. In my latest finding, a Youngstown newspaper dated July 1974, reported, ““William Johsnon of East Liverpool bought himself a one-mile-long roller coaster for the grand sum of $1.” It suggests that the wood from the Cyclone might still be around in a wooden structure built for an auto wrecking business in Calcutta, OH, run by Johnson and his father.

My next venture home will be to talk to the students at Allison Elementary in Chester. I can’t wait to show them images of their school as it looked in 1969 and 1970 with views from the Cyclone and one of the Ohio River and the school with the park in the background.

Godspell 1982

Rock Springs Park Book Sent for Second Printing

Two bits of good news this week. I was told by my publisher that Images of America: Rock Springs Park is being sent for reprinting and a typo in the first print run would now be corrected.

Arcadia prints 1,200 copies in the first print run of its Images of America books, hoping to sell them all in a calendar year. Rock Springs Park sold out in just three months and is going into a second printing. By “sold out,” I mean the company has no more books in stock, but books are still available in stores and online. It is also possible that books could be returned, if not sold. But still, I am very excited about this news. I knew there was a fan base for the park out there, I had no idea how many people would be interested in it. This news exceeds my wildest expectations.

If you read my article “Heartsick About a Typo,” then you will understand how happy I was to hear that the typo I discovered after the book came out, will now be corrected in the second printing. It was a small thing that was a big deal to me. I wonder if owning a first run edition, with the typo, will make it more valuable to collectors one day. I reread my author guidelines, about the proofreading process, and it recommended not making major changes to the text during the final proofread. That’s where I goofed up. I made a substantial amount of additions and last minute corrections and that is what led to the typo. I was heartsick when I saw it, but now I am relieved that it will be corrected.

Speaking of fans: Rock Springs’ Facebook page, started by Kassy Hand, is now approaching the 1,000 friends mark. Many visitors to and former employees of the park have left stories, comments, and pictures. You have to join Facebook to see it, but it is well worth it if you love the park. Check it out.

Whole Town Excursions to Rock Springs Park Continued into the 1930's.

MONACA ENJOYS HOLIDAY TODAY

From the Beaver Daily Times, Beaver, PA, July 7, 1930

Monaca is enjoying a holiday today. The occasion is the annual outing, under the auspices of the Monaca Board of Trade. A boat ride to Rock Springs Park on the Steamer Greater Pittsburgh and a picnic in the park at which an interesting program of sports will be presented and awards made, will be feature events of the outing.

Store and business houses in Monaca are closed and business is practically at a standstill in the South Side town. The outing being a community affair by invitation of the Monaca Board of Trade. Many people from all parts of the county joined the Monaca-ites at the Monaca wharf and joined in the outing.

The boat left the landing at the pump station about 11 o’clock. It was estimated there were between ten or twelve hundred people aboard, including men, women and children, all set for a jolly good time. The number at the park will also be greatly increased by the Beaver valley people who will motor to the resort or go by street car. The boat will leave the park on the return trip at 9 o’clock this evening.

Rock Springs Park is now on Wikipedia

Even before I had any thought of doing a picture-history book on Rock Springs Park, I would occasionally Google its name to see if there was any interesting news or pictures of the park on-line. It occurred to me a couple of years ago that Rock Springs should have a Wikipedia site, especially when I discovered that Chester, West Virginia had one. I thought about creating a page for the park and linking it to Chester’s, but I wasn’t sure how to do this and therefore never fully committed to the idea. I still enjoy Googling the park and discovered last month that someone had created a Wikipedia page. As I read through the article I began to realize that it was organized a lot like my book, even covering the same history I highlighted, with very few exceptions. Then I scrolled to the bottom and saw this.

I like being a referenced source. It somehow helps to further legitimize the work. So, thanks “Comic Book Runner.”

Sophie Tucker Avoids Puddles Makes Splash at Rock Springs Park

According to biographer Armond Fields in his book Sophie Tucker: first lady of show business (2003), singer Sophie Tucker appeared at Rock Springs Park in 1908. Variety reported that Tucker made quite an impression on the townspeople of Chester that summer. In her tour de force stage performance, Tucker crooned in blackface at the insistence of manager Phil Hathaway and others who claimed she was "too fat and ugly" to be accepted by an audience in any other context. Although, fans flocked to the park's Summer Theater to see her, it was an impromtu performance on the streets of Chester which led to a major controversy.

Sophie was spotted in town wearing a new “sheath dress” and happily demonstrated to an admiring crowd how easily she could step from the curb and avoid puddles while wearing it. When local law enforcement threatened to jail her for exposing not only her ankles but a flash of leg during the exhibition, she was briskly escorted to the local news agency by newsmen and interviewed about the event.

During the run of her show at Rock Springs, patrons called out to Tucker to wear the sheath dress on stage. She did her best to ignore the riotous behavior, as Hathaway had warned her prior to the performances to “Confine (her) actions to the scripted stage.”

Tucker, known as the "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas” for her bawdy song lyrics and style, continued to sing and perform in movies and television into the mid-1960’s. Perhaps her size, or more likely the volume at which she sang, led Paul McCartney to jokingly refer to her as the Beatles “favorite American group.” The remark, made while McCartney was introducing the Beatles version of the 'Till There Was You' (from 'The Music Man') in 1963, resulted in the belief that Tucker had covered the popular Broadway tune in her own career, which she had not.


SOPHIE TUCKER-1930
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Rock Springs Fills Lake to Provide New Picnic Area

On June 7, 1952, Billboard Magazine reported that Director Robert L. Hand chose to fill in a portion of the lake in Rock Springs Park. The swimming pool near the lake had been closed since WWII.

Chester, W. Va., May 31 – Filling of the lake in order to provide additional picnic space marked the pre-season activities at Rock Springs Park here, according to Manager R.L. Hand. The park began full-scale operation Monday (May 20) after being open for week-ends since May 4.
Two new rides also were added at the park. They are a Bisch-Rocco Kiddie Airplane and a B.A. Schiff Kiddie Boat Ride. Picnic bookings are up. Fireworks are scheduled for holidays.

(above image coutesy of Richard Bowker)

Safe Crackers Enjoy Picnic In Rock Springs Park

(left) Rock Springs Park Director Robert L. Hand in front of the office. (Courtesy of Tish Hand)

The following article about a robbery in Rock Springs Park appeared in The Pittsburgh Press on July 7, 1954:

Tired After Fourth of July Rush, Official Neglects to Bank Day's Take

The director of Rock Springs amusement park was so tired after the holiday rush that he went to bed instead of the bank.

While he was sleeping, safe crackers entered the park office and made off with $8000 in Fourth of July receipts.

Chester Police Chief Lloyd H. Lyons said the yeggs broke into the office sometime early yesterday.

They opened the old-fashioned, six-foot double-door safe by knocking off the combination and tapping a drift pin into the spindle.

“It was a professional job,” the chief said. Deputy Sheriff Bert Byers, of New Cumberland, said there are some suspects under surveillance.

The park office is near the dance hall and about two blocks from where Director Robert Hand resides.

Mr. Hand, who normally would have banked the money at the holidays end said about $1000 was in small bills.

Note: a "yegg" is a safe cracker or burglar