Vol. 53 No. WINTER 2O2 GREEN ISLANDS A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FROM METRO PARKS, SERVING SUMMIT COUNTY
4 Very Amusing Historic amuse- ment parks in the Gorge 7 In Your Back Yard Groundhogs and baby animals 0 Top Spots Best places to cross-country ski Our parks are like green islands BOARD of PARK in an urban landscape. commissioners
IN THIS ISSUE Very Amusing...... 4 In Your Back Yard...... 7 On the Trail: Meadow Trail ...... 0 Top Spots: Cross-Country Skiing .... 0 My Favorite Place...... Kid Craft: Natural Suncatcher ...... Winter Sports ...... 2
BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS Carol M. Curtis, Chair Roland H. Bauer Carol M. Curtis Roland H. Bauer Frances S. Buchholzer Frances S. Buchholzer Keith D. Shy, Director-Secretary The park district’s governing body is appointed by the Summit County Probate Judge. They serve overlapping three-year terms and are assisted EDITORS by the director-secretary, who oversees the work of full-time and part-time employees, seasonal workers and volunteers. For more information, please Nathan Eppink call the administrative offices at 330-867-55. Chief of Marketing & Communications Timothy Hite Marketing/Communications Specialist
ART DIRECTOR ABOUT the Karl Simonson cover Graphic Designer/Production Coordinator Mary Campbell Cave in Gorge Metro Park has been visited for centuries, long before amusement parks (“Very Amusing,” page 4) popped up in the Gorge. In 759, 2-year-old Mary Metro Parks, Serving Summit County Campbell was captured in Pennsylvania by Delaware Indians 975 Treaty Line Rd. and reportedly brought to the cave, becoming the first white Akron, OH 4433-5837 child in the wild frontier of the Western Reserve. 330-867-55 F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm: 330-865-8065 Seasonal Information: 330-865-8060 PARK news Volunteer Information: 330-865-8047 • Our 90-year history book, published by the University of Akron Press, Photos contributed by: Jerry Cannon J.J. Prekop Jr. Karl Simonson is now available. “Steps in Time: Ninety Years of Metro Parks, Serving John Phillips Dennis Roliff Mark Szeremet Summit County” can be purchased at the gift shop at F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm. 828 Smith Rd., Akron This magazine is mailed free of charge to Summit County residents. To join the mailing list, send your name and mailing address to [email protected] • The Twinsburg Ledges Area, part of Liberty Park, opened October 25. or call 330-867-55. The Ledges Trail passes by an incredible system of ledges and a wetland. Green Islands can be downloaded online: 9999 Liberty Rd., Twinsburg summitmetroparks.org • Metro Parks will break ground on the new multi-purpose Freedom Trail in spring. It will follow the former Freedom Secondary railroad corridor and connect Akron to Kent.
For more news, visit our website: summitmetroparks.org Printed on FSC-certified Chorus Art Silk; a 30% post-consumer, processed chlorine-free recycled paper.
2 ©20 Metro Parks, Serving Summit County GREEN ISLANDS Magazine | WINTER ’2 PARK news (continued)
RECYCLE YOUR
The park district “recycles” Christmas trees by chip- ping them into mulch. Drop off your tree, cleaned of all decorations and tinsel, through January 3 at the following locations: FIRESTONE METRO PARK Little Turtle Pond | 2400 Harrington Rd., Akron FURNACE RUN METRO PARK Brushwood Area | 4955 Townsend Rd., Richfield GOODYEAR HEIGHTS METRO PARK Main Entrance | 2077 Newton St., Akron SAND RUN METRO PARK Treaty Line Area | 995 Treaty Line Rd., Akron SILVER CREEK METRO PARK Big Oak Area | 599 Medina Line Rd., Norton
Friends Hires Coordinator corner
Friends of Metro Parks hired Bridget Garvin Ambrisco in October as its new part-time organizational development and advancement coordinator. She will facilitate the group’s board activities, fund-raising efforts and com- munity outreach initiatives. Ambrisco has a master’s degree in environmental studies from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and most recently served as the director of volunteer programs for the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
For information about joining Friends of Metro Parks, including a list of benefits, visit friendsofmetroparks.org.
Friends of Metro Parks is a 50(c)(3) organization that supports the park district in many ways, including contacting legislators and educating visitors about important issues. Paid memberships are available for individuals and families, and membership dues allow Friends to support the mission and programs of the park district. Membership is tax deductible and good for one year. GREEN ISLANDS Magazine | WINTER ’2
VERY AMUSING
Courtesy, Akron-Summit County Public Library Library Public Public County County Akron-Summit Akron-Summit Courtesy, Courtesy,
heer sandstone cliffs, Senormous boulders perched at incredible angles and roar- ing whitewater have long lured visitors to the banks of the Cuyahoga River where it divides Akron from Cuyahoga Falls.
Today, visitors know the area as Gorge Metro Park (60 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls), hugging the banks of the river as Old Maid’s Kitchen, known today as Mary Campbell Cave, circa 890s it begins its meandering
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VERY AMUSING
Amusement parks draw crowds to the Gorge in 800s, early 900s
Sarah Vradenburg
turn toward Cleveland and helps opened High Bridge to earn its signature Crooked River Glens. Taking its name moniker. That part of the river, flow- from a high bridge that ing south from downtown Cuyahoga spanned the Cuyahoga Falls and around the big bend, has seen at Prospect and Front more than its share of adventure and streets, site of today’s sightseers. In fact, two private amuse- High Bridge Glens city ment parks, including examples of early park, Loomis and Parks rollercoasters, once were major draws built a family attraction. Its ornate two-story to the area. Trolley and Interurban Bridge, late-890s pavilion offered dining, Although area residents had long dancing and performances by enter- car pushed by young men eager to known about the Gorge, its appeal tainers from singers to acrobats. earn a few cents per trip. A merry-go- widened in 879, when Cuyahoga Falls Picnic tables and benches strewed the round and Florida museum sporting hardware store owner L.W. Loomis grounds. What some claim to have alligators rounded out the street-level and business partner Harvey Parks been the nation’s first rollercoaster attractions. sat near the pavilion. However, modern In the park’s heyday, more than 8,000 visitors shouldn’t people came to High Bridge Glens imagine a huge daily aboard up to 60 trains that pulled wooden frame up to the tracks opposite the park carrying linked cars entrance. The rail lines were eager over dizzying heights to attract business and promoted and speeds, but instead the work of photographers selling Courtesy, Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society Courtesy, a circular inclined track stereographic images of the river and High Bridge Glens picnic shelter and dancing pavilion, 885 carrying an old coal its magnificent natural features.
continued on page 6
5 GREEN ISLANDS Magazine | WINTER ’2
continued from page 5 Courtesy, Akron-Summit County Public Library Public County Akron-Summit Courtesy,
miniature houses and pint-sized High Bridge Glens was wildly popular three-masted ships. for about a decade, although as a summer resort its appeal was limited. Although the rough-and-tumble river Soon, rail companies had more than is wild as it leaves the Falls, it grew enough business hauling freight, and High Bridge Glens footprint sketched out quiet enough downriver to accommo- by former naturalist Mark Ludwig excursion trips to High Bridge Glens date a hand-pulled ferry. Hikers who found themselves too tired at the end Understanding the attraction of the of their walk could pay a dime for a river, Loomis and Parks built a series leisurely ride upriver. Those who kept of stairs and walks from Front Street going could cross a wire suspension south along the west bank of the river bridge near where the river bends and traveling down toward the water. north. Greeting these brave ones At one point the trail opened on a were the Weeping Cliffs, so named plateau offering croquet courts and because many natural springs met benches with colorful beach umbrellas. their end in the towering sandstone In 9, construction of the Northern A nearby ledge earned the name of wall, causing the rocks to seep contin- Ohio Traction & Light Power Plant on the Lover’s Retreat. The more adventur- uously. Hikers venturing farther could Cuyahoga River, north of the dam, con- tributed to the end of High Bridge Glens. ous continued downward and south. get a glimpse of Mary Campbell Cave, Children were met at one point then known as Old Maid’s Kitchen, waned. Loomis and Parks sold their by manmade Mirror Lake, with its across the Big Falls. interest and the new owners began to sell alcohol. High Bridge Glens gained a rowdy reputation and families stopped attending.
Finally, the region’s need for electric- ity dealt the Glens a final blow. Ohio Edison began construction of a dam on top of the Big Falls. Even before the concrete went up, the thick forest on either side of the river was felled. Eventually, the waters behind the dam flooded many of the caves and ledges In this 90 photo, Estella Chamberlin and John Dana Phillips pose on a date in High that had put High Bridge Glens on Bridge Glens. The couple later married. the map. continued on page 8
6 GREEN ISLANDS Magazine | WINTER ’2 IN YOUR BACK YARD
GROUNDHOG (Marmota monax)
Hibernation helps animals survive winter when Nature Notes food sources are scarce, and when it comes to local hibernators, the one animal that usually comes to • The groundhog is one mind is the groundhog, also called a whistle pig or of only a few true Ohio woodchuck. hibernators. Others include frogs, turtles, Before the groundhog retreats to its restful slumber snakes, black bears and it eats as much as it can to maximize its body weight, some bats. fattening up on grasses, berries and other vegetation. During hibernation, the groundhog’s body temperature drops and breathing slows, • Insects are included in the and it will not wake up until the first warm days of spring. groundhog’s diet during warmer seasons. Learn more about this creature — and others — during naturalist-led hikes in the Metro Parks. Sarah Putnam, Naturalist
BACKYARD WILDLIFE
HERE’S MOM? Every year, hundreds of people Baby birds without feathers can be carefully placed back Wtry to help what they think are abandoned or into a nest. Birds have a limited sense of smell, so you can orphaned wildlife. But before you touch, watch to see if a handle them without leaving behind a human scent. Young young animal is truly in need of help. birds that have feathers are called fledglings, and they are generally too A female deer will often leave her big for the nest but are still taken care young to forage alone. (Mom needs to of by a nearby adult. eat, too.) Her babies can be left alone for several hours at a time. Cottontail So remember, before you touch, rabbits only feed their young at night. look to make sure an animal is truly in The babies are left alone during the need. day so mom doesn’t attract predators to the nest. Danette Rushboldt, Naturalist
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VERY AMUSING continued from page 6
Rollercoaster Roseland Dance Hall Aerial Swing
Riverview Park (upper left) along the Cuyahoga River, February 928
Roseland Ballroom (lower left) with rollercoaster in the background, September 930
gallery and a small menagerie that sported monkeys and alligators. Liz Cross, curator of the Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society, recalled a city resident telling her about the day the monkeys escaped from Riverview and climbed onto her back porch, which overlooked the amusement park.
People flocked to ride the Sky Rocket wooden rollercoaster that hugged the tree line, and to an aerial swing carrying joy seekers out over the river. But by far, the most enduring attraction was the Roseland Ballroom, its twin sandstone towers and clock That did not spell the end of face becoming a familiar landmark for amusements by the river, however. dancers. Ads marketed the massive building as a “temple of syncopation,” When Silver Lake Park closed, much its programs often broadcast on local of its equipment migrated to a spot radio. overlooking the Ohio Edison dam in the Gorge. By 99, the newly A 2009 story by Mark Price of the
opened Riverview Park (also known Akron Beacon Journal described River-
Courtesy, Akron-Summit County Public Library Library Public Public County County Akron-Summit Akron-Summit Courtesy, Courtesy, as Riverside to some) sported a view’s manager, John “Jack” Giffin, as carousel, roller rink, rowboat livery eager to draw “people of refinement,” and concessions, including a shooting recognition of the unsavory reputation
8 GREEN ISLANDS Magazine | WINTER ’2
Deck Aerial Swing Boardwalks
Aerial swing and dance hall, January 93 Old Maid’s Kitchen, February 928 Deck and Boardwalks, February 928
High Bridge Glens had earned in its an insignificant cost of doing business. the Akron Metropolitan Park District waning days. For a time he succeeded. (now Metro Parks, Serving Summit Interurban streetcars took the place No one knows exactly why the County), made sure the 44-acre tract of railroads in transporting families to Roseland burned in 927, or what went to the park district in December the park, where they could now hike caused the Old Mill ride to go up in 929. to Old Maid’s Kitchen and stand within flames a few weeks later. Riverview’s its massive stone cavern, eat a picnic owners hastily rebuilt the dance There was still life left in the Roseland. among the trees or inside the small hall on the site of the old roller rink Park district officials allowed Fairyland shelter or take the family out on a and reopened with a new manager, to continue offering dances, which boat ride near the dam. bandleader James “Jimmy” Richards. proved quite lucrative, bringing in as Falls officials upheld the Sunday ban, much as $5,000 in a season, although This, however, was also a time of strict setting the stage for the park’s final Fairyland’s rent was never more than blue laws. Cuyahoga Falls had outlawed days. $500 a season. The park district dancing on Sundays. Roseland stayed flirted with the notion of using its open despite the prohibition, although Richards was arrested in August 928, quasi-governmental status to override city officials continued to beat the no- complaining that he couldn’t compete the Falls’ dancing ban, although it did dancing drum. with Summit Beach Park or Lake Brady, not. The other features at the park, both of which offered Sunday dancing. including the concessions, the swing Giffin found the controversy too much Riverview closed for the remainder and the rollercoaster, were demolished to handle and in 925 turned over of 928 and reopened in 929 as the to get them off the tax duplicate. its management to a group of Akron Fairyland Amusement Co., with the investors who found nothing wrong same group of Akron investors in However, Fairyland’s operators were with opening the ballroom on Sunday charge. By this time, however, Ohio no more conscientious about paying and paying a $00 fine on Monday. Edison, which owned the land, was rent to the park district than they had Dancing was popular; as many as tired of late rent and controversy. been with Ohio Edison. After several 500 people a night would crowd the Edmond Eckroad, both an official for years of lawsuits and threatened Roseland’s dance floor, making the fine Ohio Edison and a commissioner for shutdowns, Fairyland got out of the continued on page 2
9 | GREEN ISLANDS Magazine WINTER ’2 The best places to CROSS- ON THE TR IL T COUNTRY SKI What do visitors like about the Meadow Trail in the in Munroe Falls Metro Park? O Metro Parks P Jolene Yost, 48, Cuyahoga Falls, and Michelle Gebler, 40, Akron There are multiple areas for cross-country skiing in the park district, but two stand out “This park is bigger than it looks,” commented among Metro Parks employees who enjoy this Gebler as she surveyed the 287-acre Tallmadge winter activity. Meadows Area. “The view of the open sky from the meadow is fantastic.” These friends have hiked the trail three times since it opened in May. Bike & Hike Trail Boston Heights They plan to return again in winter to see the Trailhead seasonal changes and snap some photos. 298 Boston Mills Rd. West, Boston Heights Jeff Stull, 50, Tallmadge Ski south of Boston Mills Road to pass through the snow-covered Sharon A hike along the Meadow Trail has become part of Stull’s Conglomerate sandstone walls of the Boston Ledges daily routine. “I am here every day,” he said. “I just love it.” along this scenic stretch of the multi-purpose trail. Although he often brings family along on the weekends, Stull calls his solitary weekday hikes “a time for me.” Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail Clinton Trailhead 2749 North St., Clinton
Ski north from the Dan Feathers, 26, Munroe Falls, Clinton Trailhead for a with his dog, Troy quiet, flat and peaceful stretch of the Towpath Trail. The Tallmadge Meadows Area is a frequent Busy birds may be the only distractions for several destination for Feathers and his energetic young miles in this winter wonderland. dog, Troy. “We walk this trail together all the time,” said Feathers. “It’s nice to have a park close to home where we Note: This is the first winter season for the new Prairie can enjoy a picnic or go for a quick hike.” Trail at Springfield Bog Metro Park (400 Portage Line Rd., Springfield Twp.) and Meadow Trail at Munroe Falls Metro Park (088 North Ave., Tallmadge). Both may prove popular with cross-country skiers. The Meadow Trail passes by the former County Home cemetery and Where do YOU enjoy cross-country skiing? travels through woods, a shrub thicket, Share your favorites — even photos — with us wetland woods and its namesake meadow. on Facebook, or send them to: 088 North Ave., Tallmadge [email protected]
For more information about these locations, visit our 0 website: summitmetroparks.org GREEN ISLANDS Magazine | WINTER ’2 my FAV RITE Commissioner Carol Curtis has fond memories of both Munroe Falls Metro Park and the Gorge CAROL M. CURTIS place in Cuyahoga Falls, where she and other Girl Scouts CHAIR, BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS often went for day camps. Still, when choosing a favorite place, Munroe Falls will always have a special place in her heart. MUNROE Curtis recently walked there with her dogs, black FALLS and white Teddy Jr. (affectionately named after her METRO husband) and Nicky. PARK “I used to swim here as a teenager with my brother and friends when it was Renner’s,” she said, referring LAKE AREA to the family that sold the private swim park to 52 S. River Rd. Metro Parks in 978. “I came here with Ted many Munroe Falls 44262 years ago, before we were married.”
Curtis has been a Metro The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniver- Parks commissioner since 2003. sary in 2007. Her late brother, Jerry Hupp, retired as mayor of Munroe Falls in 999.
Make a NATURAL SUNCATCHER in four easy steps! Here’s what you’ll need:
• round cake pan • drinking glass or cup • string or rope • a freezer
STEP : STEP 2: STEP 3: STEP 4: Place a plastic cup filled with After it freezes, add small leaves, Remove the pan from the Tie your creation outside, water off-center in a round cake sticks, bird seed or other items freezer and run a string through where it’s visible from a window, pan and fill the pan halfway with to the cake pan, and then fill it the hole left behind by the and enjoy! water. Put the pan on a flat completely with water and let drinking glass. surface in your freezer. it freeze.
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BUNDLE UP VERY AMUSING continued from page 9 FOR WINTER FUN IN A trek on today’s hiking trails in Gorge Metro Park can give hikers a glimpse of THE METRO what earlier visitors might have seen PARKS of the river, but the only dancing at the Gorge now is done by chipmunks to the tune of birdsong in the hemlocks. WINTER SPORTS Vradenburg is a freelance writer who also volunteers for the park district. She is the author of “Steps in Time: Ninety Years of Metro Parks, Serving Summit dancing business, and although other County,” published by the University of Akron Press. band leaders came and went, the Roseland’s days as a dance hall were numbered.
In 936, park commissioners gave the Roseland building to the city of Akron as a recreation hall. It was dismantled and then rebuilt in the new develop- ment at Elizabeth Park, where it served for another 30 years. In 966, the old Roseland was condemned and razed.
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