Volunteer Bay – Part 5

Plaque in the private lakefront park at Volunteer Bay

Volunteer Bay continued to be mentioned in the local newspaper in the 1950s and 60s, usually due to the annual Memorial Day ceremonies held there, honoring fallen comrades.

This article in the May 23, 1958 Sandusky Register notes that since the Spanish War Veteran Association was formed in the early 1920s, it had lost 54 members – of which 46 were either veterans or their family members.

This article from the May 29, 1959 Sandusky Register outlines Vermilion’s various Memorial Day activities, which included memorial services at Volunteer Bay.

A “50-star flag presentation” was part of the Memorial Day ceremony at Volunteer Bay as noted in this article from the May 18, 1961 Sandusky Register. The 50-star flag had only been adopted in July 1960.

When Volunteer Bay was first established in 1922, an eleven-room house on the property that had been part of the John M. Johnson farm was put to use as a clubhouse and hotel. Well, in 1965 a new memorial clubhouse was dedicated, as noted in this photo and accompanying caption that appeared in the September 23, 1965 Sandusky Register.

And here are a few recent photos of the clubhouse, taken in preparation for this post.

Although the Spanish-American War may not be as well known or understood as other conflicts, its Veterans deserve to be remembered – and they are not forgotten at Volunteer Bay.

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Back in 2019 (here), I wrote about a memorial tablet in Lorain’s Veteran Park honoring the USS Maine (the destruction of which led to our involvement in the Spanish-American War).