Jul 14, 2015 5 min read

CONNEAUT LAKE – Few would suggest these are the glory days of 123-year-old Conneaut Lake Park.

It’s been years since anyone floated on its lazy river. Two of its landmark buildings have burned to the ground. And the miniature model of the Bessemer and Lake Erie sits idle on the tracks.

The publicly owned amusement park in western Pennsylvania is in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings, seeking protection from the prospect of a forced sale for taxes and the weight of $3.8 million in debt.

But on a sunny Friday in July there are still signs of a heartbeat, reasons to believe that a park with such a rich past might still have a future.

Shortly before the park opened at noon, cars began to drift into the parking lot.

Bob and Barbara Ranker, a Pittsburgh couple coming to the park for years, were among the first to arrive, accompanied by their daughter and young granddaughter.

The couple came in part to ride the Blue Streak, the park’s 78-year-old wooden coaster. But they also found an appeal in the slower pace.

Ladine and Jarrett Gfeller, of Middlefield, Ohio, brought their 2-year-old daughter Kinley.

“She is really excited,” said Ladine Gfeller, who visited the park as a child.

The park still has its share of rides that appeal to older visitors – aside from the Blue Streak, there’s the Paratroopers, the Tumble Bug, Tilt-a-Whirl and others.

But the park’s greatest appeal may be for parents and grandparents of young children.

Mary and Bob Antil made the hourlong drive from Cortland, Ohio, near Youngstown, to spend the day with their grandchildren, ages 2, 4, 6 and 8, who were visiting from North Carolina.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here, probably 40-some years,” Bob Antil said. “We thought we would bring them over and see if it was good as it used to be.”

Later, inside the park, he said his grandchildren were having a great time.

But the park, by most any measure, isn’t what it used to be.

There are some constants.

Kids still scream as they plunge down the first hill of the Blue Streak, hands in the air and mouths open.

But the big crowds have moved on. Rows of picnic pavilions sit mostly empty. Much of the midway, once home to skeeball, french fry stands and giant stuffed bears, is mostly boarded up.

There are no dances at the Dreamland Ballroom, which burned in 2008. The Beach Club is gone too, claimed by fire in 2013.

Those are challenges to overcome if the park moves forward under the direction of the Economic Progress Alliance of Crawford County, which manages it through an agreement with park trustees.

Mark Turner, executive director of the alliance, said he’s been pleased with the performance of the park this summer.

“There was a lot of people who came out this past weekend,” he said, “Probably a couple thousand used the park.”

That’s all the more amazing given what he called the park’s negative history.

“It’s been demonstrated that most people thought it closed years ago,” he said.

Dan and Leslie Roberts, of Pittsburgh, who were visiting for the first time, knew nothing about the park’s past.

But it didn’t matter. The couple, along with their children, 10-month-old Laughlin and 2-year-old Brooklyn, were headed for Kiddie Land after a spin on the park’s carousel.

The park, which is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, appears to be gaining traction with its $10 ride pass. Several visitors said they decided to visit after reading about this year’s lower price on the Internet.

The Internet helped deliver Jodie Terlisner and her two sons, ages 8 and 10, to the park Friday afternoon. Terlisner, who lives in Atlanta, was staying with her family near Chautauqua Institution when they decided to visit the park.

The nonexistent lines at Conneaut Lake Park – the Blue Streak was running less than half-full Friday – are both part of the park’s appeal and one of its biggest challenges.

Terlisner said her sons wondered aloud as they drove to the park if they would have to wait in line.

“We pulled in – we were like the 10th car – and I said, ‘I think we’re good,”‘ she said.

The question, though, is whether the crowds will ever be large enough for the park to be viable.

The park started this year with a financial head start in the form of two $150,000 loans from the Economic Progress Alliance and Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission.

Turner said he believes there’s a way forward for Conneaut Lake, which is hoping to generate as much as $1.5 million from the sale of some property.

Neither the lives nor the livelihood of Rod and Mary Boor, of Guys Mills, hinges on the survival of the park. But the couple, who danced at the Hotel Conneaut at their 1976 senior prom, say the outcome matters to them.

“It would be nice to see it survive and thrive,” said Rod Boor, who carried his 4-year-old grandson Liam Boor on his shoulders Friday.

The nostalgia the couple and so many others feel works to the advantage of the park, Turner said.

But that alone isn’t reason enough to keep going, he said.

“From our perspective it’s an economic development initiative,” he said. “You can see the value if it can be turned around.”