Historic Marker Negotiations Begin

Friday, September 8, 1978

On this date in Rock Springs Park history, Roy C. Cashdollar began a 3-year negotiation with West Virginia Congressman Robert Mollohan to have a historic marker forged to mark the site of the one-time Panhandle Playground. It has only one flaw. Do you know what it is? Find out at
http://rockspringspark.blogspot.com/2011/06/historical-marker-moved-three-times.html.

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.

The Beer Garden

Apparently, I am not alone in my frenzy to look up information in the 1940 U.S. Census. According to Google.com, the census was the most searched item when it was released on Monday, April 2, 2012 receiving some 22.5 million hits in three hours and crashing the system. Once it was back online, I looked up my family, as many others did, to see how much money they made and what they were doing when the nation was still trying to recover from the Great Depression. But I was also interested in finding out more about Rock Springs Park.

One new thing I learned involves the old park building pictured above.

The image is of The Arcade. It was taken along the midway in 1974, four years after the park closed, and sent to me by Dr. Mike West. Mike grew up on Louisiana Avenue in Chester, on a side street which ended at the Cyclone's chain lift hill. He fondly recalls playing the "5-cent pinball and baseball games" in The Arcade and listening to the screams of park patrons plunging down the first hill of the roller coaster.

Originally, The Arcade that Mike knew was built as a fun house during the C.C. Macdonald Years. It featured a giant two-story slide and a confusing hall of mirrors. There were actually two mirrors still outside the entrance in Mike's day (See below).

I have also seen a one of a kind 1920's photograph showing the facade of The Fun House completely covered with painted murals featuring bow-legged characters strolling about under the name “Honey Moon Trail” in all caps. The tower on the left in the photograph had a wide-eyed sun smiling down and the opposite tower a winking moon. Above the door was painted “Fun-Fun & More Fun.” Unfortunately by the time Mike took his photograph, the decorations were gone and the building was weather-beaten and bare.

According, to author and Chester historian, Roy C. Cashdollar, The Arcade or Fun House had a third use as well, which brings me back to my original purpose in writing this post. “Right across from the lunch stand was the horse race game, then the fun house, which in later years became a beer garden.” At the end of his description Roy added, “I purchased two chairs from the beer garden at the park auction and they are still being used – one as I write these notes.”

The Beer Garden Days of The Fun House and the park itself also get a mention in the 1940 Census. One listing shows 50-year old George Zagula as unmarried and living with his sister, Agnus Stabryla. Zagula was born in Poland and “ran the Beer Garden (Part of 39).” I am assuming “39” has something to do with Rock Springs Park as George’s brother, Jacob Zagula, age 53, married with nine children, was also identified on the Chester census with his job description being “labor - amusement park.”

So, Chester’s German Beer Garden was run by two Polish immigrant brothers. This seems to be fitting considering the strained relations of these two European countries throughout history.

A beer garden (a loan translation from the German "Biergarten") is most often an outdoor area in which beer, other drinks, and local food are served. Rock Springs Beer Garden was originally a Fun House walk through attraction. The painting is Im Biergarten or At the Beer Garden by Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel, 1883.

Where is it today? The Arcade along with most of the other buildings in Rock Springs Park were razed by 1975 when the land was sold to make way for a cloverleaf exchange to the new Chester Bridge.

C.A. Smith the Tri-State Area’s Howard Hughes

When the image above was posted on Facebook’s “You grew up in Chester or Lawrenceville if you remember...” page, I commented, “It's like the ‘Spruce Goose’ of cattle barns.” A neighbor of mine from Chester responded, “C.A. Smith - the Howard Hughes of the Tri-State Area!”

The "Spruce Goose" was Hughes's monumental failure, a heavy transport aircraft made almost entirely of birch rather than spruce as the name implies. Smith's cattle farm was anything but.

The image is from the collection of Sayre W. Graham, Sr. and was uploaded to FB by his son Sayre, Jr., who gave me permission to share it on my blog. I thought it a great way to remind readers of C.A. Smith’s second or perhaps third or fourth career after oil, rail, and Rock Springs Park, his beloved Hillcrest Farms and his prized bulls.

Like Howard Hughes of Texas, Smith did more in his lifetime to bring fame to our area than all the other developers combined. Smith’s Hillcrest Farms were known the world over and brought thousands of people to the area. He served as president of the Hereford Association of America.

The huge Cattle Barn was located along present day “Smith Road” near Route 8 in New Cumberland, WV. One Facebook contributor from Chester noted, “This was right above my house years ago. Only thing still standing is the silo. It was a beautiful place in its day. The State bought the property several years ago and it is now state game lands.”

Roy C. Cashdollar noted in his History of Chester:

Picturesque Hillcrest Farms, which was Smith's principal interest the last ten years of his life, took form in 1917. He went into the Hereford cattle business in 1918 and began producing the championship stock. The herd at one time numbered seven hundred head.

From Hillcrest came a grand champion bull of the Chicago International Livestock Exposition in 1947, 1949, and 1951 and the grand champion finale at Chicago in 1950 and 1951. Grand champions also paraded before judges at the Baltimore and Kansas City shows and others. Smith had the "best ten head" at Chicago in 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1951.

In 1950, Smith sold one of his prize bulls to Henry Sears of Chestertown, Maryland for $70,500, a record price at that time. In January of 1951, a world’s record was set when a half interest in his main breeding bull - HC Larry Domino 12th, was sold for $105,000, to E. C. McCormick, Jr. of Akron. Mr. Smith also had one thousand acres set aside for apple growing.

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.

Dancing in the Park

One of the comments I received after the first two of my book talks, was that older people who remember the park wished to see and hear more about dancing, especially with regards to the beautiful ballroom, "Virginia Gardens". Included in this blog post are some of the facts and images I plan to add to my next event in order to boost the conversation about dance platforms and halls enjoyed by park guests in the nearly 117 year history of the area known as Rock Springs.

This image from the very early years shows an outdoor covered dancing platform at the end of a tree-lined path used before any dance halls were constructed. According to Roy C. Cashdollar, the very first structure built on the site of Rock Springs Grove was “a sixteen foot square platform used for dancing.” (Courtesy of Richard L. Bowker)

The original dance hall in Rock Springs Park faced Carolina Avenue. Before the trolley loop lower entrance was added during C.A. Smith’s years, people would get off the street car and go right up the steps into the dance hall. (See Images of America: Rock Springs Park, p. 15) This side view of the original dance hall, constructed in 1897 by J.E. MacDonald was removed from the Images book in place of one from Doug Arner and Arner Funeral Chapel. Also a side view, Arner’s photograph (p. 16 top) shows pleasure-seekers filling the awning covered porch and walking the grounds. (Courtesy of Richard L. Bowker)

The second floor of the Casino Dance Hall (1906) had an 18,000 square foot hard white maple dance floor, which was larger than 4 high school-size basketball courts put together. Not only did people dance in the dance halls in the evening, but they also danced aboard steamships which carried them from Wheeling and Pittsburgh. (See a series of photographs of the Homer Smith in my book, pp. 56-57)

The Virginia Gardens Dance Hall (1927 – 1974) was used for proms and school dances, as well as, for skating. This article from Youngstown Vindicator – Jul 28, 1957, tells of the Golden Jubilee of Chester Celebration held in Virginia Gardens. (See p. 71 of my book for a photograph of the Jubilee Court)



In his History of Chester: The Gateway to the West (Part II), Roy C. Cashdollar notes some of the rules for couples dancing the tango in 1914: Do not, (1) wiggle shoulders, (2) shake hips, (3) twist the body, (4) hop, (5) flounce elbows, or (6) clasp your partner in a death grip.

(What? No "hopping?" Look out Easter Bunny!)

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.

Facebook Find: Interior Photo of Virginia Gardens

DeMar Miller Orchestra at the world famous Virginia Gardens in Rock Springs Park circa 1928. (Courtesy of Jerry Linger)

My original purpose for starting this blog was to share information about and attract fans of Rock Springs Park. It was my hope that visitors would read about the park and share their own memories. Unfortunately, only a handful of people seem to have found their way here. I have no regrets though, as one person left a very important message. Kassy Hand, grand-daughter of Rock Springs Park owners Bob and Virginia Hand, left the message "write that book" which subsequently led to the publication of Images of America: Rock Springs Park. Kassy now has a Rock Springs Park site of her own on Facebook. Her goal, according to the page description, is "for people to share their stories and pictures." It is clear that Facebook is the way to go for making contacts such as these, as her site currently has nearly 700 friends!

One of Kassy's RSP Facebook friends is one-time Chester resident, Jerry Linger. Jerry generously agreed to share his photograph (above) on Facebook and with this blog. A musician himself, Jerry, who now resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, explained how he came to be in possession of not only a rare vintage photograph, but also one of the antique band instruments shown in his picture. “I remember the last dance there - I helped my dad clean the place up for the final dance before they tore it down. It was raining and the roof was leaking - we were catching water in trash cans while sweeping up the place and taking down some of the plastic flowers in the walls. It was so sad - they kept paying the band extra to play longer until they were just too tired to continue. Eventually everyone had to leave and women cried.” Not only did Jerry go to the Last Dance, his aunt took care of muscian Bill Smith in later years. Smith, a saxophone player with Miller's orchestra (center), gave Jerry the same alto saxophone shown in the picture (left) along with the rare photograph, itself.

Jerry’s photgraph is unique in that there are very few images remaining which show interior views of buildings from Rock Springs Park. Not only does the viewer get to see what Virginia Gardens looked like on the inside, the photograph displays many wonderful details: including the striped suits and bow ties of the 6-piece orchestra, the latticework decorations, the keystones in the Art Deco band shell, and Jerry’s favorite the “ornate lamps.”

Aside from performing at Rock Springs Park, DeMar Miller and his orchestra had many musical programs in the second floor auditorium of Chester’s now defunct City Hall, where he “secured many of the radio stars from the Midnight Jamboree in Wheeling, including Big Slim and his horse, Little Sunflower, Shirley the Cowgirl, and others,” according to Roy C. Cashdollar’s History of Chester: Gateway to the West.