May 2022
Upcoming Meetings
May 16th - "Meadville Railroad Museum" (presented at Mdv RR Depot, 136 Mead Ave, Mdv)"
Presented by Bernie Hanmore, French Creek Valley Railroad Historical Society President and Ed Cronin, Treasurer
Our monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Sportsman's Club in Conneaut Lake. It is open to public free of charge. Hall is handicapped accessible and smoke free. Refreshments will follow the program.
June 20th - "History of Fireman’s Beach"
Presented by Teresa Olah
Museum Opens May 21
We had to postpone the official summer opening because of some unexpected events that caused a delay in the vestibule renovations. With the renovations being done there was too much construction stuff around that would have made it unsafe for visitors. So, the board voted to delay the official opening until May 21 at 10 a.m.
That being said, we will have an official ribbon-cutting ceremony to show the work done by our building and maintenance crew for the past few months! It is beautiful and we think enhances the museum -- not only in its look, but its safety.
A new floor was laid -- eliminating the slope as you enter. The floor covery was donated by Shipton Flooring from Lynn Thurber. She not only graciously donated the materials, but her staff came and laid it! Thank you.
Funds for about half the cost of the renovations was from a $5,000 grant from the Dietrich Foundation. Thank you to it as well.
Our ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 10 a.m. followed by light refreshments in the museum, which then will open for the summer. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Please join us and see the new vestibule -- and new garage renovations! We are proud of the work done by this crew of men, who spent two days a week (and sometimes more) all winter and I think you will agree it is beautiful!
The entrance also will have a new rug complete with the historical society logo. It is designed to catch all the mud and water before it is tracked into the museum, but also is a beautiful welcome mat. It was purchased with memorial funds donated by Frances Sperry's children. Thanks to them for the wonderful donation.
Please tell your friends as well!
There is no fee and the museum, 150 N. Third St., Conneaut Lake, is handicapped accessible!
Memorial Day Plans
The following week will be Memorial Day and on Monday, the museum will hold special hours from 10 a.m. until about 12:30 or 1.
We will have hot dogs and snacks available to purchase.
We also will award the two kayaks that we have been selling tickets for since the Ice House Festival.
You can still buy tickets that morning!
Check the kayaks out at the museum and come and join the fun!
Quilt Raffle
Talking about raffles, Rusty Gordon has made a handmade quilt featuring a sailboat and donated it to the museum for a fund-raiser. We will be selling tickets for it until Labor Day when we will draw the winning ticket.
Tickets are $3 each for two for $5.
Thank you to Rusty. It is beautiful and we appreciate her generosity.
Upcoming Events
We have our annual car cruise-in on July 9 at 10 a.m. It will feature cars of all makes and models and is a fun time for all.
The museum will be open that day starting at 10 a.m. until about 2 p.m.
Both the car show and museum are open free of charge to everybody.
Hope you can join us!
This is our 4th annual golf fundraiser in support of the Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society. The theme this year is patriotic and all vets will golf for free! The registration is from 7-8am on Thursday, July 21, 2022 at the beautiful Oakland Beach golf course in Conneaut Lake. The cost is 75 dollars per golfer which includes green fees, carts, lunch, snacks and mulligans. First prize for men and women teams is 300 dollars. Basket raffles will also be available. The White family of Conneaut Lake is the Grand Sponsor of the event. Hole and tee sponsorships are also available. Golf Co-chairman is John Leasure who can be reached at 814-720-1954.
Golf Outing Registration
PADDLEFEST 2022
The 6th Annual Paddlefest will be held Saturday morning, August 6 at Fireman’s Beach. There’s something for everyone. Enjoy the Dice Run, leisurely visiting 10 docks around Ice House Bay and beyond to toss floating dice in a ring and compete for high and low score prizes. Docks are clearly marked with color coordinated flags, identified with sponsor signs and manned with volunteers. Participants can also choose to compete in a 3 mile race up the west side of the lake and back for prizes. Race course is marked by boats with flags and volunteers are ready with shouts of encouragement and help if needed. For one registration fee ($30 for preregistration or $35 after July 23) you can do either or both events.
Many thanks to all our past participants, sponsors and volunteers. We appreciate your support and hope to see you back again this year. And if you’ve not yet experienced Paddlefest, you’re in for a treat! Join us for a fun morning of paddling on our beautiful Conneaut Lake.
For more info, call 814-724-9841
New Gift Ideas
We have had a busy winter coming up with new ideas for gifts that are unique. We have taken suggestions and have a lot of new gifts -- all reasonably priced and we think very unique.
For starters, we have our annual Wendell August Forge Christmas ornaments. We sold out of the Tumble Bug ornaments last year, so we ordered another 100 and they are selling quickly. This will be the final order as we are using the die for another project.
We have added the Blue Streak ornament for this year and have ordered 300 -- of which we have already sold more than 100.
We tell you that only to make sure if you want either to be sure to purchase them now because once the orders are gone, that's it.
Cost is $12 for each ornament, plus 72 cents tax. If you want them mailed, there will be an additional $1 fee for each.
We also have a stainless steel wine and bottle opener set, which is inscribed with the word "Conneaut Lake" on them. It also includes a wine stopper. Cost is only $12 and comes in a nice gift box.
If you need a unique gift for somebody -- or just for yourself -- this is a nice gift.
And, we have two absolutely beautiful flags for sale this year. One is a garden flag, which has pictures on both sides and is very durable and nice. It sells for only $16.
The second is a regular size flag that is identical to the garden flag and sells for only $20.
Both are blue and are centered with the outline of the lake and includes the Liberty the Second Boat, complete with a small frog on the boat. These are nice for people to show their pride in being from Conneaut Lake and we think are different and unique.
We also have re-ordered 10 sets each of the three different sets of coasters featuring Conneaut Lake Park scenes. The coasters are four for $8 and are available only at the museum because they are too heavy to mail.
They feature various rides and scenes from the Conneaut Lake Park from its history. We have had three different orders of these and they always sell out, so if you want a set, please email Jane Smith at grandmagjane@zoominternet and reserve them!
AND, our big news is we have WOOD from the Blue Streak. After several suggestions, we contacted the park and were given permission to go and get all the wood we wanted. Two of our members did that we are now deciding what to make from the wood.
So, stay tune and watch for announcements about items available and cost.
And, also planned as a new gift this year will be a set of two Pilsner glasses from Wendell August Forge with the medallions from the Blue Streak and the Tumble Bug ornaments on them. (Check out Wendell August Forge's website and you will see what similar ones look like.)
We don't have the final cost yet -- pending final figures from the company -- but we believe the cost will be between $40 and $45.
We again (we are a little biased) think they are not only unique but make great gift ideas for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas or any other special event -- or just to give for no reason -- or to keep for yourself. They too come in gift boxes.
For an extra $15, you can get them in a wooden crate-type box with specially engraved covers.
So, as you can see, our gift shop has all types of gifts in addition to the ones we already have in stock. You can view them on the gift page of our website or stop at the museum and see what all we have! Lots of items that can only be purchased at the museum -- be it books, puzzles, t-shirts, sweat shirts and hoodies, or a special Conneaut Lake or Pymatuning clock or large picture!
We hope you can stop and visit this summer and see our new renovations and new artifacts -- including a car from the Blue Streak that you can sit in and have your picture taken. Plans are to have the video on beside so that you can feel you are "taking one last ride" on the Blue Streak.
If you can't make it during regular opening hours, contact Chuck Groger at 814-382-8722 or Julie Catalano at 814-724-9841 for special appointments.
Crawford Gives Date Set
We will once again participate in the annual Crawford Gives sponsored by the Crawford Heritage Foundation. It will be held Aug. 29 and 30.
As you may remember, this is a time for people to make special donations to various 501-c organizations. A portion of the money designated for each organization is matched so we all win.
You can send a check during that time, or call a phone number and charge the donation or take cash to the Foundation office on Chestnut Street.
Last year, we received more than $5,000 in donations. It helped to make up for the loss of our proceeds generally raised by our Conneaut Lake Cuisine. As you know, we have not been able to hold it for the past two years. We again have chosen not to ask our restaurant and food vendors to do that again this year because of the economic conditions.
Please consider marking your calendars and donating to us in this special program.
For more information, www.crawfordgives.org.
Thanks in advance for your help! Please spread the word to others!
All donations are tax deductible!
Blue Streak Car Donated
One of the exhibits in 2022 will be one of the original cars from the historic Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake Park.
Todd Joseph, the owner of the park, donated it to the society after the Blue Streak was dismantled.
We hope to have it so people can sit in the car and take a picture -- or just reminisce about the memory of the wonderful ride!
