If you were fortunate to grow up during the heydays of Conneaut Lake Park and one of the hundreds of thousands who enjoyed the thrill of riding the Blue Streak, you have a chance to help restore the great wooden coaster to its days of glory.

Everyone with an emotional tie to the park knows the run of bad luck as well as bad management that had put it at the brink of extinction. A fire that devastated the former grand ballroom and other parts of the nostalgic midway two years ago seemed to seal its fate.

But thanks to the efforts of many, the park reopened on a limited basis last year, with a plan to expand the Crawford County landmark annually to a point where it can attract many area folks who have spent lots of good times there.

One of the keys, of course, is restoration of the Blue Streak, a vintage wooden coaster built in 1938. Until it was shut down several years ago with the rest of the park, it was a major summer thrill and because of its sheer age and design, one of the best wooden coasters in the country.

I spent a lot of my youth at the park, and one of the main reasons was the Blue Streak. It was fragile, worn and swayed from the force of the train as it rounded the curve. It looked and felt dangerous, which made the challenge of riding it all the greater.

We would ride the Streak time and again, getting off and sprinting right to the back of the line, which was usually very long. We tried to keep track of our place, constantly trading down with hopes of being the first ones for the next ride and getting the front seat in the lead car. Who can forget the musty smell in that dark tunnel that ended at the approach of the first hill?

A fundraising campaign is underway to reopen the Blue Streak to the delight of wooden coaster enthusiasts everywhere. It’s believed that it will cost some $125,000 to get the coaster up and running. In the scheme of things, that doesn’t seem like a great deal of money to complete the overhaul. But it’s nevertheless a big nut to crack.

That’s where you can help. If everyone who rode the Blue Streak contributed a dollar to the effort today, they would have the $125,000 tomorrow to begin the rebuilding. Here’s how you can do your part, no matter how small, to restore one of Pennsylvania’s landmark rides.

You can contribute via the Internet by going to Conneaut Lake’s Web site and clicking on “Restore the Blue Streak” for additional instructions. I loved the Blue Streak and it would be wonderful to have it operational again, especially for the newer generations of coaster fanatics. I’m donating today. Anyone else want to get in line?

To donate: www.conneautlakepark.com

The editor’s e-mail bag

I got a long e-mail message from Raymond B. Harton, a retired Marine who lives in Carrolton, Ga. He is a 1964 graduate of Mercer High School, and was spurred to write after reading a recent column about traveling the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He recounted his days hitchhiking between Philadelphia and Mercer for more than two years from the U.S. Naval Hospital:

“I could write a book on my experiences hitchhiking the ‘pike’ and before I get brain dead I just may make up a list ... jumping from HoJo’s to HoJo’s, saltwater taffy, open face pork or beef hot sandwiches with gravy and mashed potatoes or fries. Standing just outside the toll booths with my thumb out hoping to catch a look from a traveler and always watching for the single red light on top of the state police cruisers, who would always pick me up and tell me it was against the law to hitch on the pike, but would ride me to the next rest stop area and tell me who the best truckers were to catch a lift to the next rest stop ...

“I was a patient at the Naval Hospital after suffering wounds in Vietnam. Of all the days and nights of rain, sleet and snow, I was never AWOL, always made it from Philadelphia to Mercer and back by 4 a.m. Monday ... I never was able to help pay for a toll or never paid for any of my meals or snacks, the people were awesome and I will never forget.

“I have many times traveled from here in Georgia to Philadelphia on my way to Mercer just to travel my old turnpike route ... One thing I miss ‘Howard Johnson Service Area’ signs. God bless you and thanks for the memories ...”

Judy Hull, who worked at Sharon High School in stage and sound before retiring, passed along this comment about last week’s column on seemingly every child getting a trophy at competitions.

“I totally agree with your editorial ... If you want to give each participant something, a small certificate of participation is OK, but the trophies and main awards should be for the winners ... the exception being ‘most improved player.’ We are not doing our kids and grandkids any favor by telling them that it is fine just to participate. We should all strive to instill the idea that work produces results. I believe that all of our best and brightest have had someone behind them picking them up when they fail, saying ‘this is what went wrong, now try it again.’ ”



Jim Raykie is the editor of The Herald and his column appears on Mondays. His e-mail is jraykie@sharonherald.com