Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Peck's Vacation Cottages – Then & Now

It may seem quaint now, but for decades many families happily spent part of their summer vacation on the shore of Lake Erie at one of the small cottage resorts that dot the roadside from Vermilion to Port Clinton. These vacationers probably looked forward to relaxing and enjoying the cooling breezes off the lake, just as much as families do now that are anticipating the fun of a trip to Walt Disney World.

It was a different time. Above is an undated vintage postcard of one of these small resorts – Peck's Vacation Cottages – that captures that feeling. The back of it reads, "A complete vacation center on the shores of Lake Erie. 30 modern 1 to 5 room cottages, Heated Swimming Pool, Restaurant, Basketball, Shuffleboard, Horseshoes, Badminton, Ping Pong, Children's Playground on 4 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. Located 5 miles west of Vermilion, Ohio on Routes 2 and U.S. 6.

(I first wrote about Peck's Cottages back here in a 4-part series.)

Here's my recent "Now" shot. Unfortunately, the pool is closed for the duration.

Today the former Peck's Vacation Cottages have been absorbed into Beulah Beach (which I also wrote about several times).

at

6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 26, 2024 at 9:02 AM

    Yesterday I was just telling someone how my best friend and I used to go there to use the pool and sunbathe back in the early 80s.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don HiltonJune 26, 2024 at 11:12 AM

    I grew up in a "tourist" area. Back then, thousands of cottages had different families in them each week and the economy boomed with all those fresh dollars arriving throughout the summer.

    Starting about 30 years ago, owners stopped renting their properties because it was "too much trouble." Now, the owner stays all summer, or shows up only on the weekends, and everyone wonders why all the touristy stuff has gone broke.

    "It's not the same as it used to be."

    Yeah. No foolin'.

    ReplyDelete
  3. BusterJune 26, 2024 at 11:46 AM

    This one isn't familiar to me, but I do remember visiting such places in the summer, ranging from Linwood Park to Conneaut Lake, to places way up north in Ontario. Today there is just the occasional jaunt to my sister-in-law's condo in Port Clinton.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don HiltonJune 26, 2024 at 12:17 PM

    Hey, Buster!

    Conneaut Lake... Now, there's a familiar one, right there.

    Did you used to go feed the fish at Pymatuning, too?

    ReplyDelete
  5. BusterJune 26, 2024 at 1:09 PM

    Don - Well, I've certainly been to Pymatuning, but don't remember feeding anything but myself. Conneaut Lake was a favorite of my grandparents. Otherwise, I mostly remember them taking me to horse races - Waterford Park in Chester, W.Va. was a favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 27, 2024 at 12:52 AM

    I remember Vians cottages in Sheffield lake. Used to have so much fun there.

    ReplyDelete