The Three Gentlemen Campers:
In the Early 1900's, three rather distinguished gentlemen embarked on a series of annual treks into he wilds and wilderness of America's North Coast. According to onlookers, it was a rare sight, indeed, as servants scurried about laying campfires and pitching tents so that John D. Rockefeller, Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford could get down to the business of camping, fishing, and just having fun in, of all places, Geneva-on the-Lake, Ohio. It wasn't too long after Moses Cleaveland began mapping out the Western Reserve that industry started up on the shoreline of Lake Erie. Lumber mills, ships works and limestone ovens were bustling with activity by the Early 1800's and, perhaps, would have expanded further had The Spencer family not settled in the area. At the turn of the Century, they opened "Sturgeon Point House", a lakefront lodging for tradesmen and travelers. Fifty years later, Cullen Spencer and another young man, Edwin Pratt, took a look around at the sunny beaches, the abundant fish, the glorious Lake sunsets and refreshing clean air and decided that the area could serve as more than just a way-station for transients. So, four years after the close of the American Civil War, Spencer Pratt cleared a bluff overlooking Lake Erie and, on July 4th, 1869, opened a public picnic grounds. As the Spencers had a true appreciation of the monsters who thrashed, fought and spawned just off their beaches, The named this park "Sturgeon Point." A few years later, Spencer Pratt added a jerry-built, horse-powered carousel to the picnic grounds and Geneva-on-the-Lake's colorful tradition as Lake Erie's "Playground." was born
The Gentry Come Apackin':
By 1905, over fifty cottages and twenty-some boarding houses filled to the rafters each summer as the well-to-do in Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh sent their families packing to Geneva-on-the-Lake. They came for the healthful environment and the curative powers of taking to the waters, but, they stayed on for the fun. By the 20's, these genteel vacationers enjoyed daily sightseeing and fishing excursions aboard modern motorlaunches such as the "Red Wing". They enjoyed sets of tennis on the clay courts at Ramsey's "Idle-A-While". They picnicked and partied on the beaches of Chestnut Grove Park, they played whist and bridge on the lawn of the Colonial Hotel, they dined on succulent dinners of "milk-fed" chicken at the New Inn and, in the evenings, after they strolled along the Shady Beach hillside enjoying a dazzling sunset they dashed off for an evening full of roller skating, miniature golf, carousel rides or dancing at the Casino, Pergola or the newly constructed Pier Dance hall. Big Bands, Big Beaches & Beautiful Women: The advent of the 40's saw Geneva-on-the-Lakes's mile long entertainment "Strip" lined with the Fords, Oldsmobiles & Packards of clerks and shopkeepers, bakers and firemen. With wheels, young men and women from throughout the Tri-State region would flock to the area's beaches by day and stay on to dance to the music of Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey or Duke Ellington by night.This was the heyday of Big Bands, Big Beaches & for those who were there, beautiful women.
Why A Duck?
During the Postwar Years families flocked to the Lake.They were everywhere. Riding the waves. Riding the rides. Sharing hot dogs and donuts on the street or picnic baskets in the Township Park. On Saturday evenings, families lined up on the "Strip" as the "Duck," an amphibious unit from World War II led a battalion of beauties who vied for the coveted title of Miss Geneva-on-the-Lake. And, on July 4th, the families would converge onto the beaches to cluster on blankets as fireworks, launched from "The Duck", exploded into the night sky. There was, indeed, something for everyone at Geneva-on-the-Lake. Toddlers rode on the self-propelled land cars, while their older siblings soared above on the "Scooters" whose name was modernized after the War to"The Flying Jets". While teenagers sipped sodas at Pete's Grill or danced to the Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" on the Front Porch, college students (who weren't waiting the tables at restaurants, or running the rides at the amusement parks) cruised the Strip as "Night Train" blared from the organ in The Barn. The Swallows and the Cocktail Lounge served as the cabaret for the sophisticated. Shops lined the streets, featuring Jantzen bathing suits and souvenir stuffed crocodiles, who unlike the sturgeon, thankfully, did not spawn in the local waters. Charter captains however, did find other "Big Ones" for boatloads of sport fishermen. Speed boaters & sail boaters took to the water along with slews of inner tubing bathers. The arcades and the midways offered challenging games of ski-ball and pin-ball and Shoot-Til-You-Win. But, perhaps the biggest challenge for most youth were the claw machines which held the ultimate prize: naughty playing cards. Priceless moments and affordable pleasures. That's what Geneva-on-the-Lake is about and has always been about. From Rockefeller, Firestone & Ford, through generations of tourists and vacationers, Geneva-on-the-Lake has proved to be a great spot to experience for over 128 years