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- The Old Firehouse Winery on the lakefront in Geneva-on-the-Lake
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- The Marina at Geneva State Park
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- The relatively new lodge on the lakefront at Geneva-on-the-Lake
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- The beach at the Geneva State Park
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- Couples have even gotten married on this lakefront Ferris Wheel
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- One of the more unique ways to watch a Lake Erie sunset on board the Ferris Wheel at GOTL
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- Generations of visitors to GOTL have had one of Eddie’s foot-long hotdogs
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- Oldest operating miniature golf course in the United States in at Geneva-on-the-Lake
It was just after the war and veterans and their families were looking for a place with sun, beaches, water and fishing to spend some quiet time in the summer. Geneva-on-the-Lake was such a place.
The year was 1869 and the American Civil War was the conflict that had just ended when war-weary families discovered a quiet picnic grove on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie. It became Ohio’s first lake-vacation resort.
Today, Geneva-on-the-Lake is an eclectic collection of past, present and future. The “strip” in the downtown area has remained little changed since the early 1950’s. On warm summer nights it still resembles a street carnival with its arcade lights, sounds and smells. They love miniature golf here. They have several courses; The oldest miniature golf course in continuous operation in the U.S. is downtown. There are sidewalk eateries that still raise their shutters to reveal counters right on the street. Eddie’s Grill continues to serve his popular deep-fried foot long hotdogs. Madsen Donuts, another summertime business since the 1930’s, finds lines of people waiting for hot donuts when they open each day……
….you can read the rest of my story about Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio’s first lake front resort in the Saturday, August 8 edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer or read it on line at their website www.cleveland.com
Neil Zurcher's One Tank Trips 