Talking to your grandparents

I have fond memories of visiting Cedar Point back in the early seventies with my Grandparents, Gradma loved the upside down house. Grandpa could not get enough of Shoot-the-Rapids and the wildcat.

------------------
Dave

Magnum Force-" I cant eat on an empty stomach!" Chirs -"what did you say"
MF-I cant eat on an empty stom... Oh, Ride I mean Ride"

My grandparents, great uncles, and my great aunt all grew up in Pennsylvania. They told me about kennywood when they were kids/teens. they said that the park has grown (they go back once every so often just for a walk in the park )but still has the same old feel

------------------
" why can't we tear down the walls, and show the scars we're covering" ~Scott Stapp~

my parents talk VERY fondly of Riverview and the Bobs and the Flying Turns and all the other insane coasters there.

i think they miss it very much, and their efforts to find another park over the years to fill the void that Riverview left have been fruitless...

they havent been to CP though...

------------------
mela en coiamin Legolas...
it aint the size of the arrow, its what you do with the bow

I was talking to my grandma - she was conceived up at Chippewa Lake after her parents had been on the "Roller Coaster" there. They stayed the night up there. Sorry I'm sharing that, it's a little weird.

My mom and her brothers and sisters have told about how they went to Kennywood as kids. They've never really went into any details, but they remember riding Thunderbolt....

------------------
The Millenium Force ride Ops: Squishing you where it counts since 2000.
Track Record: 62 coasters at 17 parks.

Was Shady Lake, the same thing as Geauga Lak? I've always wondered that!

There are large generation gaps between my grandfather, my dad, and myself. So my dad, who was born in the early 30's, has stories about going over to Cedar Point on the G.A. Boeckling in the 1940's. It was a pretty neat experience being interviewed with my dad for the 1995 PBS documentary, Cedar Point Memories. They even used quite a bit of our home movie collection.

My grandfather, who was born in the late 1890's, worked at the old Cedar Point lighthouse. My grandfather died in 1983, but there are some stories that have been passed down. So, there's a lot of Cedar Point history and tradition in my family.

My dad was big into home movies. We have an great amount of footage of Cedar Point starting back in the late 1950's and going all the way through present day.

Combine this with growing up just 6 miles down the Lake Erie shore, and I guess it's easy to see why Cedar Point is such a big part of my life.

------------------
Walt Schmidt - Virtual Midway
*** This post was edited by Gemini 9/16/2003 8:58:53 PM ***

Shady Lake isn't the same as Geauga Lake. From what I remember or have been told actually, the park was constructed of mainly Euclid Beach rides and was for the most park a kiddy park, which didn't operate for to many years and closed in the late 70's early 80's. I don't remember the park but I know we did go there a few times when I was real young, have some pics somewhere. I believe the enterance sign similar to the one at Euclid Beach still stands in Streetsboro, or at least was standing up until a few years ago just past where I480 east ends. My parents or one of my grandmothers would know but there not really available at the moment.

My paternal grandparents both worked at Silver Dollar City for years long before I was born, and ultimately retired from there. I guess I did most of my early coastering and theme park soliciting at SDC. I used to visit them every summer when I was a kid and my grandparents would get us in for free (according to my father).

I grew up in Charleston, WV and have heard some stories about Camden Park in it's youth, as well as another small park right in Charleston that no longer exists.

-Tina

------------------
Gimme speed, height, airtime and plenty of LAUNCH!!!

My mother, who turns 62 this year, took only one ride on a coaster before I was born. I used to ask her about it all the time when I was younger hoping that somehow the next time she told the story she would remember more about the coaster. It was the Big Dipper at Springlake park in Oklahoma City, near where she grew up. She was in college at the time and had not yet met my dad. She was on a date with a boy she now says she didn't like, and he pressured her into riding the coaster. She only remembers shutting her eyes and feeling horrified. Apparently her date laughed at her; that was her last ride until I came along.

She has also told me her favorite carnival ride growing up (in western OK) was the Bullet, which was my favorite non coaster ride at the park I grew up going to, Bell's in Tulsa, OK.

-For those with RollerCoaster! back issues, Springlake's Big Dipper was featured (finally!) in one several years back. Mine is in a box somewhere....

------------------
I believe in the groove complacent, so jack me up and @#$% me up with entertainment- BV3K

I live in England therefore my parents nearest theme park experience was jumping up and down on a trampoline as school.

We only have one woodie in the whole country......right that's it, i'm moving to the US.

Uh, I thought Blackpool has 5 or something?

Heck, my grandpa even went there during the war. His uncle lived in a converted rail car there...cool!

------------------
"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

Blackpool has 5 amusement parks? ;)

mOOSH [thinking jf meant "England" target="_blank">

------------------
2004 Wood Coaster Calendar now available. Order before Oct 5th and save. See S&D Greetings for details.

No one in my family is interested in rollercoasters. My father used to be but since he has gotten old and has health problems he cant ride anymore. My mom got sick on Roadrunners Express at SFWoA so coasters are out for her. The only thing they remember was going to Disney World when it was first built. My parents grew up in Florida and they would go to Disney on dates sometimes, but they never road any coasters.

This is why I dont know why I love them so much since no one else in my family does!

------------------
What I do when I'm not riding roller coasters!

---

Snap43 said:
Shady Lake isn't the same as Geauga Lake. From what I remember or have been told actually, the park was constructed of mainly Euclid Beach rides and was for the most park a kiddy park, which didn't operate for to many years and closed in the late 70's early 80's. I don't remember the park but I know we did go there a few times when I was real young, have some pics somewhere. I believe the enterance sign similar to the one at Euclid Beach still stands in Streetsboro, or at least was standing up until a few years ago just past where I480 east ends. My parents or one of my grandmothers would know but there not really available at the moment.

---

The entrance sign is still standing. I have some family that lives in Streetsboro. There is an apartment complex that stand on the old amusement park grounds, which is called "Shady Lake" Apartments. It's on ST RT 14 across from Home Depot and Steak n' Shake.

As for amusement park hisotry, I have heard and researched plenty about Idora Park here in Youngstown, Ohio. A lot of interesting stories ranging from JFK visiting the old ballroom to the company picnics. I have read andd heard many cool stories about Cedar Point in the yesteryear as well.

------------------
YOUNGSTOWN 2010

Actually I meant:

<script language = "javascript">open.window("England")</script> ;)

And besides, given the large population of England, I'm sure there is and have been more than one woodie...

Ba-dum-dum. ;)

------------------
"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

Ah hell, mOOSH tricked me into hijacking my own thread! Damn....

------------------
"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

My grandparents are both gone, but my maternal grandmother told me about visiting Cedar Point when she was a young woman in the mid to late 1920's.

At my age, most of the memories have come from my parents, and myself. My mother and father used to spend their Friday and Saturday nights at Walled Lake Amusement Park or Edgewater Park (Michigan). My father was the coaster rider. My mother would hang back with the non-riders. They also made trips once in a while to Boblo Island.

My first memories include all of the above...riding the Flying Dragon at Walled Lake in 1962, Edgewater in the early 60's my first time, and visitng several times in the late 60's. Boblo Island was an annual event during summers between 1964 and 1968, and my first visit to Cedar Point ws in 1966.

You can read more on my website below my sig..
------------------
I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm

My mom told me stories about riding the Tornado @ Adventureland 19 times in a row and one time there were 2 guys in the front row who actually stood up the whole time and got caught doing it so they were kicked out of the park.

------------------
Skol Vikings
August 28, 2004-The Day I Am No Longer A Free Man