by Ken Lahmers, Aurora Advocate Editor
Unless the press is invited to the grounds of the former Geauga Lake amusement park when plans are announced for the future of the property, I set foot on the land in a park setting for the last time June 17.

Rides, equipment, contents of some buildings and miscellaneous items were sold by Norton Auctioneers of Michigan. Although a few dozen people went to the sale to buy items, many others went to bid the park farewell.

Nobody who I saw showed it publicly, but I'm sure there were a handful who fought back tears as they trodded around the park for the last time and remembered how it used to be.

One auction attendee explained she came for "closure; just to say goodbye."

Even Gasper Lococo, one of the owners of the park under Funtime Inc. -- which was in control when I took over my Advocate post in 1987 -- was on hand. He said he never expected to see the park's demise.

With only about 500 people on the grounds, the stroll reminded me of the several years when a public relations representative and I walked the grounds of the former Sea World each year before opening day.

Geauga Lake Park looked so forlorn with only those 500 people there. No more screams, no more little smiling faces, no more traffic jams, no more rumbling of roller coaster cars high up on the tracks.

After Day 1 of the sale -- Day 2 moved over to the Geauga Lake Campground on Treat Road -- I talked to a local resident who yearned for one more year of operation.

One of her daughters would've been old enough to experience rides she couldn't last year. She said she wished the park would've stayed open one more year after the closing was contemplated.

Although the park has been closed only since last September, it shows it is tired, and in some cases, run down, especially at Turtle Beach, the old water park near Route 43.

Concrete fixtures have been removed, some wooden buildings are deteriorating and stagnant water lays in some old channels and pool areas. It's a sad sight.

Back to the auction

Prior to the auction, many people speculated to me they believed the wooden coasters -- Big Dipper, Raging Wolf Bobs and Villain -- wouldn't be bought and thus would fall to bulldozers.

A guy from APEX Western Machinery Movers in Akron bought the Dipper and Bobs for $5,000 and $2,500, respectively, and the Villain went for $25,000.

The APEX representative said he bought the Dipper for another party, who he declined to identify, and claimed the 1926 coaster will be moved and reassembled, but probably not to be ridden again.

Estimates to disassemble and move the coasters are in the several hundred thousand dollars range, and perhaps $1 million.

Many people came to the auction to buy specific smaller items, but were disappointed that some were grouped in lots and bids reached beyond their means.

In other cases, people told me they would've have liked to bid on certain items, but cost of removing them was prohibitive.

A few people told Advocate reporter Brent Hovey and me they were successful in their quests to buy items, but really didn't know how they'd remove them or what they'd do with them.

Nearly 300 lots of items were sold, including picnic tables, pavilions, signs, greenhouses, split-rail fences, the floating dock across the lake and even the three ticket buildings at the main entrance.

Other large items sold were two ferry boats, the Scrambler ride, water slides, Kids Play Zone complex, a pirate ship, Himalaya Matterhorn ride, flume ride and pool equipment.

I had hoped to perhaps buy a sign or small item, but the line to register for the action was too long when we arrived and the sale was starting, so I gave up.

I came home with two Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom hats for $5 each, which I snagged at a merchandise stand. One was for a co-worker. I had bought another discounted Geauga Lake hat at the gift shop this spring.

A century of fun gone

The auction brings to an end 120 years of fun at the park, which began in 1888 as Picnic Lake Park. The 75-room Kent Hotel once graced the southeast shore of the lake.

In 1937 at a cost of $35,000, the 64-horse Marcus Illions carousel was built. It remains on-site, and Cedar Fair officials have said it will be moved to another park. Its value today is said to be $1 million.

In 1969, Funtime Inc. purchased the park, and invested about $35 million up until 1995, when Premier Parks paid $60 million for it.

The park became Six Flags Ohio late in 1999. Shortly after, $40 million in new attractions were erected. Six Flags acquired Sea World in 2001 for $110 million, and the combined parks were renamed Six Flags World of Adventure.

In 2004 came an ownership change to Cedar Fair, which paid $145 million and brought back the name Geauga Lake. Attendance dropped drastically in the last few years.

So now all that remains for thrill seekers is Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom, the water park started three years ago at the old Sea World.

Many area residents await Cedar Fair's decision on what will become of 400-plus acres for which it has received four bids. The decision likely is not far off.

It might not be more than two or three years until bulldozers move in and smash the existing structures to the ground like what's happened at other defunct amusement parks.

But bulldozers can't smash all the memories of all the fun at Geauga Lake.

E-mail: klahmers@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3155