As the years went by, news articles about the annual convention at Beulah Beach of the Christian and Missionary Alliance began to include little capsule histories of the property.
This clipping from the July 26, 1941 Sandusky Register notes, “A banner year in attendance is expected at the 55th annual missionary convention and Bible conference of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, central district, at Beulah Beach, midway between Huron and Vermilion, from Aug. 1 to 10, and where such conferences have been held for the past 20 years.
“For 35 years, they were held at old Beulah Park, east of Cleveland, but larger and more suitable quarters were needed.”
It is interesting that the article points out, “All sessions of the conference will be open to the public and no charge is made for admission to the grounds.”
On my original post about Beulah Beach that consisted mainly of vintage postcards, Harrison Baumbaugh left a very informative comment about the history of the property and how it became a conference center and retreat. He noted that his mother’s step-father, Gottfried Nolte, owned a farm consisting of 90 acres on both sides of Lake Road that he sold to the Christian Missionary Alliance in 1921. Well, here is the clipping about Mr. Nolte’s passing that appeared in the Sandusky Register on May 11, 1942.
These articles that appeared in two Dayton newspapers in August 1945 reveal major post-war expansion plans for Beulah Beach, including the erection of a new hotel, construction of a larger tabernacle as well as 500 cabins.
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| Dayton Herald, August 25, 1945 |
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| Dayton Daily News, August 25, 1945 |
This article from the Sandusky Register of August 29, 1951 concerns some very unchristian behavior at Beulah Beach.
Here’s a fascinating article from the April 23, 1958 Sandusky Register. It’s about small, rural post offices and includes a look at the one at Beulah Beach.
The article notes, “Mrs. Eleanor H. Smith, postmaster for the third-class office at Beulah Beach, has a room of her home partitioned off with an outside entrance. She has about 35 to 50 local box holders during the winter and from 75 to 200 at times during the summer.
“Mrs. Smith says her largest single “customer” is the Christian Missionary Alliance there, which sends tons of mail per year and sends a large volume of its material overseas. Overseas mail means more work for the postmaster because foreign regulations come into play on top of local regulations.
“The Beulah Beach office has five deliveries in and four out daily, all by truck routes from Elyria to Sandusky."
Newspaper publicity in the Sandusky Register for the summer convention in 1959 included a few photos, including one of the cabins.
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| Sandusky Register, July 24, 1959 |
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| Sandusky Register, August 8, 1959 |
The year 1962 was the Diamond Jubilee for the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
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| Sandusky Register, July 21, 1962 |
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| Sandusky Register, July 21, 1962 |
The Sandusky Register newspaper article of July 21, 1962 included a history of the organization’s conferences. It noted, “The first such conference was held in 1886 at Linwood Park, Vermilion.
“Property was later purchased just eight miles east of Cleveland’s public square, adjacent to Euclid Beach. The facilities, including a tabernacle that seated more than 2,500 persons, eventually proved inadequate.
“The present Beulah Beach property was purchased in 1921 and through the years has been developed as one of the best conference grounds in this part of the country.”
The year 1964 saw the usual newspaper mention of the annual summertime gathering in the Sandusky Register, as well as another interesting look at the Beulah Beach Post Office run by Postmistress Eleanor Smith – this time during the winter.
The year 1964 saw the usual newspaper mention of the annual summertime gathering in the Sandusky Register, as well as another interesting look at the Beulah Beach Post Office run by Postmistress Eleanor Smith – this time during the winter.
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| Sandusky Register, January 17, 1964 |
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| Sandusky Register, July 23, 1964 |
The final clipping is from the Sandusky Register of July 25, 1965.
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| Sandusky Register, July 24, 1965 |
The article notes, “A conference feature is to be a baptismal service in Lake Erie next Saturday.” (A Beulah Beach baptism in the lake was featured on a vintage postcard on my original post.)
“It is expected that the hotel, dormitory, and cabins, along with all the privately owned residences, will be filled to capacity. The attendance undoubtedly will exceed anything on record, numbering between four and five thousand people, the Rev. Mr. Clark stated. The public is invited at any time."
I grew up not far from Beulah Park in Cleveland. I had no idea that its history was connected to Beulah Beach.
ReplyDeleteDAN, Thanks for the great coverage of Beulah Beach.That is more info then Ive known about the place....Interesting about the Post office there....Give you five stars for the story....thanks for the obit for my grandfather much appreciated.Harrison
ReplyDeleteIn the mid 70's our family lived at 13 Michigan Avenue at Buelah Beach. We were told that the front room where my baby daughter slept was the post office. The house in the picture looks like the house, but it's hard to read the printing in the article.
ReplyDeleteDoes anywhere in the article say the address is 13 Michican Ave?
Love your history blog!!!
The articles unfortunately do not include the address. If you click on the image of the article and bring up the larger version, you can still zoom in a bit (on a Mac you use the + key).
ReplyDeleteI did find that the Robinson's 1964 Erie County, Ohio Rural Directory 1964 has this listing:
"BEULAH BEACH POST OFFICE postmistress Eleanor Smith 8S Michigan Ave (Beulah Beach) Verm twp Beulah Beach"
So it looks like the post office was on Michigan Avenue. Maybe the addresses were renumbered at some point.