Beaver Park Article – August 11, 1962

Here's an interesting article that ran in the Chronicle-Telegram on August 11, 1962. It's an interesting snapshot of what was going on along the lakefront from the western limits of Lorain out to Vermilion-on-the-Lake back in 1962. The focus of the article is the pollution problem, but it also provides a little historic background of Beaver Park as well as Hole-in-the-Wall beach. It also mentions some of the motels including the Vanishing Beach Motel.

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Beaver Park has managed to escape lake pollution

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one of a series dealing with pollution in Lake Erie and its effect on beach areas and communities.

By JIM TOEDTMAN

Billboards of two Lake Rd. motels near Lorain’s western city limits tell the story of struggling Lake Erie. The first advertises its location, “On the Lake,” and an added – and rather ironic – feature, “heated swimming pool.”

Nearby the Vanishing Beach Motel sports its colors.

Despite these telltale signs, swimming, boating and fishing enthusiasts are flocking to areas within the nine-mile stretch from western Lorain to Vermilion-on-the-Lake.

A growing resort area along Lake Erie is Beaver Park, just west of the intersection of Rts 611 and U.S. 6 and St. Rt. 2.

Behind the area’s development have been the efforts of Dr. W. G. Schaeffer, who purchased the plot of overgrown brush in 1922.

Boating Marina

Since then a boating marina which harbors more than 500 boats, a restaurant, houses and a motel have sprung up along the 1,000 foot sandy beach.

Swimming enthusiasts also have discovered the area. In addition to the beach, which is cleaned daily, a low bacteria count also attracts hopeful bathers.

“Bacteria count readings have showed no pollution,” Dr. Schaeffer said. This is probably due to the fact that the beach is more than four miles to the west of the Black River.

The only time we get any dirt in the area is when there is a prevailing north east wind, Schaeffer said.

Swimmers are guarded only on Sunday, when there are two guards.

Heading west, a collection of motor vehicles parked to the north of Lake Rd., announces the approach to well-known Hole-in-the-Wall beach. Swimmers of all types frolic in the unguarded water.

On a day when temperatures were in the low 80’s, more than 100 people gathered from 20 cars and a tractor-trailer truck.

Dr. Schaeffer, operator of the Beaver Park property, explained the history of the beach’s name. “There used to be a culvert right across from where the Ford Plant is today,” he said.

“To get to the swimming area we used to drive into this culvert,” he continued.

This hole in the wall was eliminated about 1924 or 1925 when Nickel Plate Railroad raised its tracks and the Hole-in-the-Wall beach was moved to the east a few miles.

Coliform bacteria readings have been taken by officials of the Lorain City Water Dept. Results of the readings indicate the waters have a count of 30.

Coliform counts

The water department also found Lakeview and Century Park has readings of 30. At the same beaches, the city health board found the coliform counts were 2,198 and 1,107. However these latter readings were taken in May.

That count is well below the safe-swimming limit established by federal officials. The limit is 1,000 coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters. Coliform bacteria are found in all industrial and animal waste.

Another beach apparently well below the 1,000 limit is the beach at Vermilion-on-the-Lake. Lot owners in the settlement have undertaken “Operation Rejuvenate” and are in the process of rehabilitating their beach.

Existing structures indicate that a series of piers and a long sidewalk once existed. According to Ken Bender, lifeguard at the beach, efforts are under way to reconstruct these forms.

Bulldozers have begun the project by moving all rocks off the sand. In addition the lot owners association have received railroad ties which will be used to help rebuild the central pier and for stairways down to the beach.

Youngsters are getting into the act as well. On a recent workday, a 10-year-old boy named Denny was seen throwing rocks into the frame in which the pier is being rebuilt.

Bender said yesterday that beginners' swimming lessons have been started. 13 children have enrolled in the classes and five sessions have been held already.

A Lorain school teacher, Bender distinguishes himself from other swimmers by wearing a black baseball cap, and guards everyday but Sunday from 12 to 6 pm.

An unusual plan for Sunday swimmers has been instituted at the beach. Swimmers only will be admitted if they are with their families.

"There are two motives behind this plan," Bender said. "First we want all swimmers to be watched, and second this will keep families closer together."

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I'm guessing that the unnamed motel referred to in the first paragraph of the article was probably Anchor Lodge, judging by the motel's phone book ad in 1963 (below).

Beaver Shore Motel

Courtesy Frank and Carolyn Sipkovsky

The lakefront Beaver Shore Motel was located just east of the sprawling Beaver Park Marina property. It first appeared in the Lorain Phone Book in the November 1960 edition.

Here is the first phone book ad for the motel (below).

That ad continued to appear in the phone book until the November 1968 edition, when it was replaced by a larger ad (below) with a photo of the building.

An article in the June 8, 1968 edition of the Chronicle-Telegram mentioned that the Beaver Park Company had bought the motel that year with the hopes of developing package deals for "transient yachtsmen who would like to stay for a few days." So perhaps the change in ownership resulted in an improved marketing effort for the motel. 

Here is the backside of the vintage card found at the top of this post.

As the advertising copy said, the motel was indeed "hidden from highway view." The motel office was visible from Route 6 and the motel was behind and below it.

Here’s a vintage postcard showing the motel office in its heyday.

And here's the motel office as seen in a Bing Maps aerial (below). It's the blue-grey building with the small covered bay with the wavy roof under which a person could apparently park and register. Frank Sipkovsky told me in an email that Walt Rothgery lived in the building during the time he ran the motel.

Here's another view from the opposite direction. You can see the road that led down to the motel. I don't know exactly where the motel was relative to the office. Does anybody know for sure?

The motel office was still visible from Route 6 during the past few years but has since been demolished. Here are a few photos from the Lorain County Auditors website (below).

The Beaver Shore Motel listing continued to appear in the Lorain Phone Book with the same phone number until it finally disappeared in the November 1989-90 edition.

Beaver Park Aerial View Then & Now

Here's a vintage postcard (courtesy of Dennis Lamont) that shows an aerial view of what is now known as Beaver Park North at Oak Point Road.

To make sure I identified the two beachfront buildings on the vintage postcard correctly, I showed this postcard (via email) to Frank and Carolyn Sipkovsky. Frank had worked at the Beaver House and knew Walt Rothgery, the man who ran it.

Frank and Carolyn confirmed that the building on the left is the Beaver House restaurant, and the one on the right is the Boat Club.

The current aerial view (below) provided by Bing Maps shows the massive changes that have taken place since the time of the postcard. The beach seems smaller. The picnic area, as well as many of the trees, are a casualty of a huge storage building. The Beaver House is also gone, apparently replaced by the other storage building.

Although it's not in either view, there used to be a motel on the property as well. I'll spotlight it on tomorrow's post.

Grand Opening of Driftwood Bar at Beaver House - June 15th & 16th 1957

Fifty eight years ago today, the Beaver House at Beaver Park in Lorain held a Grand Opening to show off the restaurant's new Driftwood Bar. The full-page ad making the announcement appeared in the Lorain Journal on June 15th, 1957.

According to the ad, the Driftwood Bar boasted a beautiful flame-upholstered rail, a drop fish net ceiling with starfish and coral, and a view of the lake from the dining room.

Here's a vintage postcard identified on the back as BEAVER PARK AND BEAVER HOUSE (below). I'm assuming that's the Beaver House on the far right.

The Beaver House first appeared in the Lorain phone book in the edition that was published in December 1950. It continued to appear in the directory until the 1977 edition, when the Beaver House listing was replaced by that of the catchier-sounding Surf Side 6.

1977 Lorain Phone Book listing

Surf Side 6 continued to appear in the book until the 1984 edition, when the listing disappeared. The business then reverted back to the Beaver House name.

It continued to be listed as the Beaver House until the 1990 book, when it finally disappeared for good.

Many of us aging Baby Boomers remember going to Surf Side 6 in the late 70s and early 80s. Its location on the beach gave it a unique personality and differentiated it from the other Lorain bars.

May 6, 1977 ad from Lorain Journal

Sept. 1977 ad from the Lorain Journal

The only negative was knowing that the "Killer Crossing" was there, waiting for you when you left the bar to go home.

Maui Sands Tiki God

Tiki mug from Lannie's
phone book ad

Tiki culture – the faux Polynesian-style theme that was popular with restaurants, supper clubs and bachelor pads in the 50s and 60s is the craze that never really went away entirely.

I mentioned the Tiki influence on my posts about the Kahiki Supper Club in Columbus and Lannie's in Lorain. Tikis also figured prominently on my post on the old Kon-Tiki Restaurant in Cleveland.

But all three of those places are long gone.

Well, there's at least one example of Tiki culture that's still around. A huge Tiki totem figure has been standing guard in front of the Maui Sands Resort & Indoor Waterpark on U.S. 250 for years.

While I was out that way on Sunday, I stopped and grabbed a few shots.

So why does he look so angry?

According to the We Be Tiki website, "Tikis are spiritual figures who use their big, scary mouths and menacing expressions to frighten away evil spirits."

Either that or he's mad about the exhaust fumes from the Cedar Point traffic clogging the highway in front of the resort.

I'd love to know where the resort got him from. There aren't a whole lot of places that manufacture these huge figures.

Oceanic Arts is one of the best known suppliers of tropical and Polynesian decor. The company has been doing it since 1956, and has carved Tikis as tall as 40 feet in height. Click here to visit their website.

Hey, all this Tiki talk has reminded me of something: I've got to resume my search for the Tradewinds Supper Club!

Cleveland Indians Hickory Grill Ad – 1958

Although it's the Cavs that are on everybody's minds today, here's an ad with a Cleveland Indians theme. It's for the long-gone Hickory Grill, which was located at 929 Chester Avenue in Cleveland. The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on July 3, 1958.

The ad's kind of interesting in that it includes several different renderings of the transitional Chief Wahoo, including one with a bizarre arm/wing.

A similar ad for the restaurant with a Cleveland Browns theme ran in the Mansfield News-Journal in October that same year.

Unfortunately, there's not much information to be found about the Hickory Grill. The online Encyclopedia of Cleveland History states that it was owned and operated (along with Kornman's Restaurant) by William Sydney Weinberger.

On the clevelandmemory.org website, it was included on a list of the oldest and best restaurants in Cleveland that were "bulldozed out of business."

I was hoping that the restaurant was still around, but perhaps with a different name. It looks like it must have been a great place.

The Bing Map below shows the approximate location of the Hickory Grill on Chester between E. 9th and E. 12th. I used to work just a few blocks away on E. 9th back in the mid-1980s, but I'm sure it was gone by then.

Brownhelm Township Quarry Article – June 1956

Here's an interesting article from the Lorain Journal of June 20, 1956 about a fascinating topic. It's about an old, abandoned quarry located off Claus Road in Brownhelm Township. The well-written article is by Ruby Totten.

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Deserted Quarry Lies Hidden Off Claus Road
By RUBY TOTTEN

OLD QUARRY – These youngsters gaze enthralled out over the deep

still pond that covers what was once the scene of a thriving sandstone

quarry off Cooper Foster Road in Brownhelm Township. The pond, fed

by springs, is 85 feet deep.

Thousands of persons have passed by the lonely but picturesque ruins just off Claus Road on Cooper Foster Park Road without realizing that here was once a hustling, bustling industry.

Four sandstone buildings are visible from the road, but only one is still intact and this one nestled into the hills in a picture-postcard setting gives little hint as to what it once was – a mule barn for thriving quarry workers.

THE QUARRY is back of the buildings, hidden by hills and trees. This now serene area once echoed to the sound of mule driven wagons creaking with the weight of their stone cargo, and the ring of sledge hammer against rock as sweating laborers pried the valuable element from Mother Nature's grasp.

Brownhelm Station, now a sleepy little hamlet, was then a lusty, flourishing community center. It not only boasted a depot but six or seven saloons which catered to the giant thirst of stalwart Irishmen and brawny Scots who worked and drank with equal gusto.

THESE WORKERS were imported to America for the specific purpose of working in the quarries. The owner made a trip to Scotland and Ireland, bringing back the burly lads who were to live and work here for the rest of their lives and leave their descendants thruout Northern Ohio.

They formed a settlement which later became known as "The Patch," a term affectionately used for predominantly Irish settlements.

The quarry land is now owned by James Daley whose grandfather worked in the quarries and who died because of it, contacting deadly silicosis from the deadly dust in the quarries. Daley's father leased one of the company homes across the road from the workings and Daley, his brothers and a sister grew up there.

Now Mr. and Mrs. Daley own a lovely rambling modern home on the north side of the road, a home they built themselves using the stone from the quarries. Their backyard is the wildly beautiful, deep valleyed and bluff-dotted quarry workings, now tranquil except for a bird's twittering or the plunk of a fish in the quarry pond. The pond is the reason for the silence in the quarry. When the workings got so deep natural springs took over and work was abandoned. This was estimated to have been around 1876.

IN THE LARGEST quarry, 85 feet deep, a fresh water pond about 100 feet across now stands. Lush green growth extends down to the waters edge and makes this appear almost a work of nature instead of man. Nearby is a smaller, narrow pond lapping at the base of a stone bluff rearing about 85 feet into the air showing the industriousness of those early stone masons.

A deep valley with giant trees, and great mounds of discarded stone now overgrown, combine with the quarries to make this a rare and enchanting spot.

ONCE A TRIM RESIDENCE – The owners of the old quarries had this
sandstone home built for him and his family just east of the quarry
workings. Its walls are 24 inches thick and oldtimers remember it as a
showcase of the area.

Unfortunately there have been some who haven't been so impressed by it. In the 14 years the Daley family has owned the property there have been incidents of such incredible vandalism that they have been forced to close the area to all but friends and acquaintances.

IN ONE INSTANCE, a partially finished cabin was smashed to bits, and the steel window frames bent double. In another case, a stone barbecue pit for picnickers was torn apart.

Now the Daley's are planning to sell plots of the property fronting Cooper Foster Road for residences. On one of these plots are the ruins of the home built for the quarry owner. There appears to be some controversy over whether this was John Worthington or James Nickles.

The Daleys believe it was the home of Nickles but some old timers believe it was built for Worthington. Both men owned it at one time succeeding an individual by the name of J. Dolton.

Nickles was the latest owner, eventually merging the workings with the Cleveland Stone Company. This later became the Cleveland Quarries from whom the Daley's bought the property.

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For more information about the Brownhelm quarry, here's the link to the Quarry Story page on the Amherst Historical Society website.