August 2020 News
Next Meeting: Monday, September 21st: Entertainers Who Appeared at Dreamland Ballroom Through the Years
"Entertainers who Appeared at Dreamland Ballroom Through the Years" with Chuck Groger as presenter. Meeting is Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Conneaut Lake Sportsmen's Club, just off Route 18, Conneaut Lake. The facility is handicapped accessible. The meeting is open to the public, free of charge.
New Museum Exhibits
The museum has several new exhibits this year – including a timeline highlighting notable events over the last 200 years.
We are also thrilled to have a beautiful display highlighting the careers of Darryl Jones and Lynn Jones, brothers from Harmonsburg, who both played in the Major Leagues. The display includes various memorabilia from the major leagues as well as from the Jones family of athletes.
It is inspirational and really shows dreams can come true with a lot of hard work.
A replica of the ice houses, complete with conveyor belts and railroad cars, designed and created by Gary Worthington, has been added to the ice house exhibit. It is very well done!
The speedboat Conneaut Lake Resident Bill Ott drove to win the national contest is on exhibit – along with pictures and his uniform. It also is a great exhibit, showing how local residents have done in national competition.
We have re-arranged some of the other displays and also have an exhibit of police department items, a music exhibit and a photo display from Cam Lend-a-Hand.
We hope you can visit and see what we’ve done despite the pandemic.
Anyone interested in helping on the exhibit committee may call Judy Groger, chairwoman, at 382-8722.
New Research Tool Available
We have exciting news for those wishing to do some research between the years 1922 and 1988.
We have gotten the Conneaut Lake Breeze paper – a weekly paper printed in Conneaut Lake during that period – digitized.
That means the paper is available to view – and print an article – via a computer.
The way the process works is simple. You just open up the program to a year you believe the event you are researching was held. Then you type in a word (or phrase) and the computer will pull up all the articles pertaining to that word or phrase.
For example, you are researching the various hotels that were operating in the area during that time. Type in the word “hotel” and any time the word is mentioned in the paper, the article will appear.
If nothing appears for that year, the next move is simple. Jut type in another year!
We have been wanting to do this for a long time, but finances prevented it. It is such a great tool for researchers who no longer will have to look through microfilm!
And, even better news is here!
We just received a grant from the Dietrich Foundation to continue this work, allowing us to start digitizing the Community News, which is the local paper which took over when the Breeze folded.
It will be a few months until that work is done, but we are excited to offer it to everybody – free of charge.
If you want to research what we now have, contact Chuck Groger, president, at 382-8722 and he can set up a time for you to do so!
Announcement will be forthcoming when the Community News is complete!
Grants Received
We are excited to report the historical society has been successful in receiving several grants, meaning we will be able to move forward with some projects.
The first grant for $6,400 is from the Dietrich Foundation and is to be used for digitizing our local newspaper. It means we now start digitizing the Community News. This will be a valuable tool for researchers.
The second grant was from Crawford Gives program and is a result of 17 people making donations to the society through the special program.
We raised $3,055! We so appreciate all those who donated and know that money will be put to good use.
The third grant is the Covid-19 grant for non-profits. We have been approved to receive $5,000, which is to offset our losses from our annual fundraisers, such as the Conneaut Lake Cuisine Paddlefest, Pumpkin Fest as well as loss of funds from not being able to open the museum and/or have meetings as scheduled.
We are so grateful and appreciative of every dollar we received from these three program.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible!
Bequest Received
Our beloved, George Rutherford, left us a generous bequest in his will.
As you may know George was one of the founding members of our society and spent every Saturday and Sunday at the museum, serving as a host or docent.
He was a retired history teacher and a wealth of information and he is missed by many.
His generosity will allow is to move forward as we preserve our history and make improvements.
We are so appreciative of his thoughtfulness in remembering us.
Christmas is Coming!
I know summer is not over yet, but this is the last newsletter before Christmas and wanted to be certain you know about special gifts available in our gift shop and on-line.
We have a special game to offer this year – Cribbage. The board is shaped with the 3D dimension of Conneaut Lake (or Pymatuning Lake) showing the various levels of the lakes and the surrounding streets listed. It is very unique and we think would be a great gift idea for that “rd to buy for” person – especially if they have ties to Conneaut Lake or Pymatuning.
We only have three in stock – two from Conneaut Lake and one from Pymatuning. Cost is $50 (plus tax). We can order more, but the company said orders must be received by mid-November to ensure delivery by Christmas.
So if you are interested, please contact Jane Smith, 337-6377 or at grandmagjane@zoominternet.net or go on-line at www.conneautlakehistory.com
We also have mugs ($5), clocks, $85; 16 by 20 picture with the 3-D dimension for $150, 8 by 10 unframed pictures of the dimensional picture for $40; as well as numerous books, ranging from $1 to $25. And, for those liking clothes, we have t-shirts for kids, adults, sweatshirts and hoodies. Prices range from $5 (for kids, which has a very limited supply), to $12 for t-shirts; $20 for sweatshirts and $25 for hoodies with no zipper and $30 for those with zipper. If we don’t have the size or color you want, we can order it. The key again is to give us plenty of time to be sure you get it for Christmas.
We will have our annual Shop Local sale on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the museum. If you need something special ordered though, please don’t wait as that is later this year than usual.
Check our website for more suggestions!
And, I know it’s early, but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Cribbage Boards
We have a special new gift for sale: Cribbage boards featuring the 3-D outline of Conneaut Lake and./or Pymatuning Lake.
These are unique and would make great gifts for those who love the lake and playing cribbage. Cost is only $50.
We only have three of these available at this time -- two of Conneaut Lake and one Pymatuning Lake.
However, we can order more, but it takes about two months so if you are interested in one as a Christmas gift, please contact Jane Smith at 337-6377.
Golf Outing
The second annual Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society Golf Tournament is set for Sept. 10 at Oakland Beach Golf Course.
Tee time is 8 a.m. Cost is $60 per golfer, which includes the golf, lunch and snacks. A foursome is $240.
Team mulligans is $20 and team skins, $20.
We also are seeking sponsors, with sponsorships ranging from $50 to $1,500.
The platinum is $1,500 and includes golf for eight people.
Gold is $1,000 and includes golf for four people.
Silver is $500 and includes golf for two people.
Bronze is $100 and includes a tee sponsorship.
A $50 sponsorship includes our sincere thanks and appreciation.
Various baskets also will be raffled, including items from auto care to historical to food items, etc.
Registrations with names of golfers and sponsorship money can be sent by check to Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society, P.O. Box 425, Conneaut Lake, Pa., 16316.
Thank you in advance for your participation.
Volunteers Needed
We need volunteers to serve as docents -- another word for tour guides -- at the museum on Saturdays and Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m.
You need not be a great historian to serve. Duties are to welcome guests, give them a brief explanation of the museum (we give you the information) and to sell any gift items they may want.
It's always interesting to hear the guests talk about their memories and a great way to share your memories as well!
Interested: Contact Chuck Groger at 382-8722.
New Gift Items
We recently purchased a number of specialty t-shirts and golf shirts from Stitch Art and are offering them to our guests. They are in various sizes, styles and colors, but cannot be special ordered. Most have just the wording Conneaut Lake (not historical society). Some have special beads that make the t-shirts a little dressier. The golf shirts have Conneaut Lake on the front in the pocket area and are in different colors.
If you are interested, stop at the museum and check them out. They are really neat!