May 2026
Upcoming Meetings
May 18th, 2026Digging for Indian Artifacts
John Sites will speak about "Digging for Indian Artifacts" at the May 18 meeting
Our monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. (note time change) at the Sportsman's Club in Conneaut Lake. It is open to the public free of charge. Hall is handicapped-accessible and smoke-free. Refreshments will follow the program.
June 15, 2026
50th Anniversary of the Strudel Factory
50th anniversary of The Strudel Factory
Cuisine was Success
Our annual Conneaut Lake Cuisine was another great success with more than 200 guests plus 21 different food items! As usual, we sold out in about 24 hours and had a waiting list of more than 30 more!
Counting all the guests and the vendors and their helpers, it is the largest event we hold (in terms of numbers of people attending) of all our events and is a great community outreach.
Proceeds from this event are used to help fund our century building program.
The event would not be possible without the continued support of our local businesses.
Participating this year were: Silver Shores, Strudel Factory, Lake Diner, Rising River Brewing-Lakeside, Sheetz, Lake Golden Dawn, the G.O.A.T., Tavern 618, Pizza Joes, Casey's Ice Cream and Candies, Crawford County Dairy Princess, Sherry's Distributors, Saegertown Beverage and three new businesses in town - Beach Bits, Xu fei Chinese and Sundrip Smoothie Shop (the latter two located in the Strawberry Mall) and the Beach Bites at Firemen's Beach) and from the historical society: parsley potatoes, punch, coffee and cookies in memory of Judy Hughes and Nancy Manning , who started the Conneaut Lake Pumpkinfest., (cookies made by Jean Shanley). Our long-time participant, Livingston's Meats, didn't make it because of a scheduling mix-up.
Timberland Florist donated a door prize as well.
We sincerely appreciate all the time, food and support from these restaurants and food vendors!
Please support them to show them our appreciation!
Military Banners are Up
The new military banners are up on the streets of Conneaut Lake Borough.
The historical society has been working on this project for several years as a way to pay honor to our veterans.
Family members and supporters of individual veterans bought the colorful banners and the society has erected them in time for the upcoming Memorial Day. They will be in place until after Labor Day when they will be taken down and stored until next year.
The banners include the picture of the veteran in uniform and the military branch and years of service. The current banners will be hung for two years and then given to the ones who purchased them.
We have 60 this year, but hopefully will be adding more poles each year so we can accept more orders in the future.
We appreciate the support of borough council for giving up permission as well as the electric company to use the poles.The society will pay for the time spent by its employee Brian Leuthold in putting up the banners with the help from society members.
Thanks to all who purchased them and special thanks and appreciation to the veterans -- past and present -- for their service.
Without them we would not be celebrating our freedom!
Memorial Day
As it tradition, the society museum will be open on Memorial Day after the program in Memorial Park.
We will have hot dogs for sale and the museum will be open until about noon or later (if there are visitors there) for people to visit.
The program starts at 10 a.m.
EXHIBITS
We've made a lot of changes this year.
Our boat room has been renovated. The crew has been working long and hard. We have new cameras, wiring, plumbing and more. We also have hot water now and the water is no longer rusty!
We now have a "Book Nook" where guests may peruse our many donate scrapbooks and other books.
New exhibits
National Archery championship -- Jim Laird
Bridal gowns and pictures of weddings
Barber and beauty shops, including original electric permanent machine
Century Buildings
Quilts made by area residents
Replica of lead horse from Conneaut Lake Park carousel, carved by George Nowack
The Jones display has been renovated
Miscellaneous -- One of a kind items
Programs Return
Our monthly programs will return in April on the third Monday at 7 p.m.at Conneaut Lake Sportsmen's Club, east side,Conneaut Lake.
April's program will be Let's Get Physical-- Physical Education Comes to Elementary School"
Programs for the rest of 2026 will be:
May: Digging for Indian Artifacts
June: 50th anniversary of The Strudel Factory
July:Twenty Question Trivia
August: Dinors, include video from decades ago
September: Sadsbury Township, It's Beginning and Stories of Changes Through the Years
October: Churches -- First in a Series : Our Lady Queen of the Americas and Trinity Global Methodist
November: To Be Announced
December; Christmas dinner.
Mark your calendars
We have a full schedule of activities planned for the summer:
So mark your calendar and plan to attend and./or better yet, sign up to help.
May 25: Memorial Day (hot dogs available and the museum open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
June 19: Golf Outing
July 11: Car show, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Aug. 1,Paddlefest, 7 a..m.to noon
Aug. 12: Tikki Bar, 4 to 9 p.m. at Conneaut Lake Park
Sept. 12: Century Program, 9 a.m.at museum
Sept: Picnic
Oct, 9, 10 and 11, Pumpkin Fest at Conneaut Lake Park
Nov.:Christmas trees at museum
Nov. 28: Small Business Saturday Sal, 10 a.m.to 2 p.m.
Dec.: Ice House Festival
Dec. 14: Christmas Party
Ice House Festival
The museum will be open on Saturday, Dec. 7, starting at 10 a.m. in conjunction with the downtown Ice House Festival.
Stop by and warm up with hot chocolate and a cookie -- free of charge.
You can see the great display of Christmas trees and lights, see the other exhibits and buy something in our gift shop!
Spread the word.
The museum is open free of charge as well.
Save the date
Save the date of Dec. 16 for our annual Christmas dinner at the Iroquois Club.
It is open to all members and guests.
The menu will be announced shortly and reservations can be made.
Exhibits
The exhibit committee has made a few changes in the displays this year.
The military display has been changed to add a sculpture, "The Perpetual Soldier,"which is absolutely beautiful.
It was sculpted by Donald Valentine Jr. and is a life-size statue of a soldier in khaki uniform.
The exhibit area was expanded as we moved the clothing rack to make more room.
Pictures of the Century Buildings honored lat year are displayed so everyone can see what they look like -- and consider nominating other 100-year (or older) buildings for consideration in 2025.
Did you know a man who used to live in Conneaut Lake was a National Rifle Shooting Champion in the early 1900s?
Some of the loving cups by J. P. Ittel are displayed along with other memorabilia showcasing his accomplishments.
Mr. Ittel also made a model of a famous church in Normandy where paratroopers landed on D-Day.It also has been donated to use and isdislayed near the church section -- reminding us how important churches area.
Please take a few minutes to stop by the museum and see all the exhibits.
And, check out the new cubby holes which has all our clothing arranged neatly for easy shopping.
Crawford Gives is Coming
The annual Crawford Gives program of the Crawford County Heritage Community Foundation is set for August 12 through Aug. 15.
The program is simple. People may send donations designated for the historical society o the Foundation on those days via check or call with credit card or go to office with cash.
Once the program is over, the foundation tabulates all the donations and then adds a percentage to the total (based on funds donated for this program by sponsors) and then sends us a check for the new total. It usually is about 3 percent and we get it within a few months.
It is an easy way for the society to raise funds and all donations are tax deductible
Please mark your calendars and consider making a one-time donation.
Thank you in advance,
Upcoming Events
Below is a list of upcoming events for this summer.
Please post it where you can see it and join us for lots of fun and sharing our history!
EVENTS 2025
July 12, 2025 Car Show 10 am – 2 pm @ Museum
Aug. 2, 2025 Paddlefest 7 am – noon @ Fireman’s Beach
Aug. 9, 2025 Liberty Program (40 years) 10 am -2 pm @ Museum
Aug. 13, 2025 Tiki Bar 4 pm – 9 pm @ Conneaut Lake Park
Sept. 2025 Century Program 9am @ Museum
Sept. 2025 Picnic 6pm – 8 pm @ Msgr Toland Park
Oct. 10, 11, & 12, 2025 Pumpkinfest @ Conneaut Lake Park
Oct. 11, 2025 Pumpkinfest Parade 9 am @ In the Boro
Nov. 2025 Christmas Trees @ Museum
Nov. 29, 2025 Christmas Sale 10 am – 2 pm @ Museum
Dec. 2025 Ice House Fest. @ Boro and Museum
Dec. 15, 2025 Christmas Party @ Iroquois Club
Membership Dues
Dues for 2025 are now due and can be sent to CLAHS, P.O. Box 425,Conneaut Lake, Pa., 16316.
Annual dues are $12.
Lifetime dues are $150.
All members receive a 10 percent discount on any merchandise purchased.