TheOcean Park

Story

A community shaped by its people and enriched by its natural borders:

Chesapeake Bay and Lynnhaven River

Virginia Beach, Virginiad2015d

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Ocean Park History Project CommitteeNadine Costenbader, Chair

Judy Connors Grace MoranAnne Kane Ann Lyon Ackiss Susan Lyon Susie Walston

People Who Contributed Documents, Recollections or Assistance Gaynelle Copeland Ayers Marvin Bagent Terry Baker Debbie & Bill Bickel Andrew Broyles Clara Davis Bob Guess Patsy Hassell David Hill Bill Hook Mirium Horton John Isaacs Kal Kassir Martin Thomas Jim Morris Elaine Paphides Lou & Ray Paramore Margaret Rhodes Susan Spears Frankie Horton Sykes Jeane Wood Alice Conway Wallace

Special thanks to the Virginia Beach Central Library research staff, Mary Lovell Swetnam and Pat Cook

Compiled and authored by Nadine Isaacs Hook Costenbader in the interest of preserving Ocean Park’s history for its residents

Sources have been credited to the best of the author’s ability. Unattributed images are from the personal collection of the author or

Ocean Park Civic League archives.

Cover artwork by Nadine Costenbader

Why a history of Ocean Park?

Those of us who grew up in Ocean Park during the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, cherish the memories of this small town-like community--no Mayberry RFD, but close. We felt safe playing in the woods or on the beach, trick or treating, “dropping” valentines, skating at a tennis court on Friday nights, sledding in the snow all day on the hill near the railroad tracks, waiting for a bus to take us shopping in Norfolk or to the movies at the beach, or sleeping on the front porch at night because there was no A/C. Everyone knew everyone! Even our school bus drivers lived just down the street.

The center of our world as we knew it in Ocean Park was the firehouse, conceived, constructed and manned by the people who lived there. This was a place where scouts met, girls had dance classes, Halloween and Christmas parties celebrated the holidays and “Junior Firemen” emulated their parents. During the Cold War, sky watchers/plane spotters had their own special place atop the building. Our mothers, fathers and neighbors organized and met as the Women’s Club and Ocean Park Volunteer Fire Department.

Milk was delivered on our doorsteps each week in glass bottles (cream on the top!) from Bayville Farms. Right before Mother’s Day, the delivery included a bouquet of peonies. Bayville Farms also provided a source for potable water that we pumped into jugs from an artesian well.

We honor the men and women who were the founders of Ocean Park and dedicate this history to their hard work and determination to create this community and give it a true sense of small town America. We hope that those who have followed as residents will accept the torch that has been passed to you to preserve the area and its character.

We also dedicate this history to Nadine Isaacs Hook Costenbader, our muse and organizer, whose husband, David, once said “You can take Nadine out of Ocean Park, but you cannot take Ocean Park out of Nadine.” Thank you, Nadine, for seeing this project through and allowing all of us one more trip down memory lane!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

WHY A HISTORY OF OCEAN PARK?

I: THE ENGLISH ARRIVE

II: TRANSPORTATION ARRIVES

III: OCEAN PARK CORPORATION TAKES SHAPE

IV: SUMMER ENTERTAINMENT THRIVES

V: TROUBLES DESCEND

VI: THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZES

VII: THE QUIET YEARS

VIII: OCEAN PARK IS DISCOVERED

IX: PLEASURE HOUSE POINT: THREATENED AND SAVED

REFERENCES AND SOURCES

APPENDIX I: OCEAN PARK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT

APPENDIX II: OCEAN PARK WOMAN’S CLUB

IThe English Arrive

The English arrived as settlers in 1607 and the Spanish explorers arrived even earlier, but the first residents of what was to become the Lynnhaven settlement and now Ocean Park were already here.

A band of Chesapeake Indians lived in Ocean Park occupying a small village called Apasus. The history of their treatment by Powhatan who ruled the Confederacy is described by James and Frederick Jordan in Virginia Beach: A Pictorial History. The map on the next page clearly shows the palisades of the Apasus village.

In Lost Virginia Beach, Amy Waters Yarsinske wrote that Ocean Park showed no traces of its Indian culture. However, both nearby Baylake Pines and Great Neck revealed important discoveries by local archaeologists, Floyd Painter and Richard G. Pritchard.

The lack of any artifacts in Ocean Park should be no surprise with its early English settlement and the continual activity that followed. Some potsherds and a few artifacts have been found by residents. Most were found on the dredge spoil site at Pleasure House Point and were probably deposited there when the Lynnhaven Inlet channel was dredged. There are a few photos below.

The significance of Indian culture in the Ocean Park area is almost totally limited to the naming of Chesapeake Bay. Powhatan Avenue on the north side of Shore Drive is an exception. According to the Jordans (see above), Chesapeake Bay was named in 1586 when an English expedition from Roanoke Island encountered the Chesapeake Indians. Chesapeake is sometimes translated as “mother of all waters.” The more likely translation is “country or people on the great river” in reference to the Chesapeake Indians living there, according to Rountree et al in John Smith’s Chesapeake Voyages 1607-1609. The Spanish had previously called the bay“Bahia de Santa Maria.”

Most of these objects seem to be shards of pottery with net or cord imprints. The artifact on the left may

be part of a gorget that would have been worn as an ornament.

The Edgar Brown Collection from the Virginia Beach Central Library produced this very interesting map. Some of the map annotations are printed in the boxes below

because the script is difficult to read.

The Lynnhaven name originated with Captain Adam Thoroughgood to honor his former English home, Lynn. The captain is referred to as “a pioneer settler of distinction.”

Lynnhaven Roads or Lynnhaven Bay was named Morton’s Bay in 1607 to honor a sailor seriously wounded in an Indian attack on the night of the first fleet’s landing.

The palisades (lower left center on the map) marked the location of Apasus Indian Town in Ocean Park.

“Stump Haul Fishery” appears on the map (just left of the vertical line) at Ocean Park. It was one of the landmarks referred to in the Ocean Park Corporation deed.

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The Ocean Park story begins at Lynnhaven Inlet. It did not exist in the early 1700’s.

Who can imagine Ocean Park without that inlet?

5The Chesapeake Bay entrance to the Lynnhaven River was closer to Little Creek in the early 18th century. This created a longer and less convenient trip for laden boats.

According to a Beacon story from June 25/26,1987, Lynnhaven Inlet developed when Adam Keeling (or others) cut an opening through the sand bar that separated bay from river to enhance trade. Once the opening was made, tidal flow maintained the opening as both sides of the inlet eroded.

This is a small portion of the 1590 White-DeBry map, Americae Pars, Nunc Virginia dicta showing the Apasus village at the mouth of the Lynnhaven River (not named). The map is widely known, but this

particular piece is from Virginia Beach: A History of Virginia’s Golden Shore by Amy Waters Yarsinske. These early maps were not oriented

north-south but as the land was approached from sea.

Notice that the Lynnhaven River appears open to Chesapeake Bay. How many times was it opened and closed in the intervening centuries?

The small map section shown below is from Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach: A Pictorial History by Stephen S. Mansfield. The original map is the 1859 Ludswig von Bucholtz

map of Virginia. It, in turn, was based on the 1825 Herman Boye map.

Dr. Mansfield credits the Map Collection, Archives Branch, Virginia State Library and Archives, Richmond, Virginia.

This map is interesting because it clearly shows an open Lynnhaven Inlet, a second opening at “Pleasure House P.” and Pleasure House Creek (unnamed on the map).

Presumably Lynnhaven Inlet remained open after the 18th century work was completed. Notice that no road extends into what became Ocean Park. The closest road led to the “Pleasure House” at the end of Pleasure House Road.

There are no remnants of the 17th century Chesapeake Indian villages. According to some sources, an English settlement called Lynnhaven developed on the site of the Apasus village, but it does not appear on this map.

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IITransportation Arrives

It wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that real estate development began to attract visitors to Ocean Park. In 1902, electrified trollies ran along the edge of Chesapeake Bay and across a trestle at Lynnhaven Inlet where Ocean Park had its own trolley stop.

The 24-mile trolley line ran from Norfolk to Virginia Beach via Cape Henry and was operated by Chesapeake Transit Company, a competitor of Norfolk Southern. In 1904 Norfolk & Southern Railroad purchased the Chesapeake Transit Company. According to Prince’s Norfolk Southern Railroad Old Dominion Line and Connections, this route carried many passengers to an amusement park at Ocean Park in the early 1900’s. It also hauled fish and oysters to Norfolk.This photo from the Prince book shows cars that were typical for the transit line. The trip across Lynnhaven Inlet was made possible by a trestle that incorporated a rolling lift drawbridge which operated somewhat like a rocking chair in tracks. Several decades later, the rolling lift was replaced by a swing pivot design. Twenty years would pass before the construction of a bridge for automobiles.

The trains operated until the 1920’s. According to a “Back Then” story in The Beacon (Aug. 7/8, 1990), the Norfolk Southern Bus Company then arranged planks over the rails for buses to carry passengers to Cape Henry. Passenger rail service ended in 1947 when buses became the only mode of public transportation.

QElectric power for the trains was supplied by a coal-fired steam power plant located at what is now Bayville Park off First Court Road.

The concrete remains of the plant were part of the park for many years. This drawing of the former power plant is in the Edgar Brown Collection at the Virginia Beach Central Library.Without train service, the early success of Ocean Park as a resort destination seems unlikely. In some cases, railroad companies built amusement parks and resorts to encourage use of the rails, but this was not the reality in Ocean Park. Rail destinations began to cost a bit more in 1913 when a one-way trip from Norfolk to Cape Henry and Virginia Beach was raised to 20 cents (The Virginian-Pilot “back in the day,” June, 2013).

The first hotel in Ocean Park was probably the Lynnhaven Hotel which opened in 1906. There are almost no photographs of this building, although Amy Waters Yarsinske found this one for her book, Lost Virginia Beach. Motor bikes seem to have been a favored mode of transportation judging by the photograph. One of the bikes on the left seems to have a sidecar and there appears to be a motor car on the far left. Reaching Ocean Park by car or motor bike must have been quite an adventure.

In 1910 State Senator John A. Lesner hosted a lunch at the Lynnhaven Hotel as part of a 3-day event for Virginia’s state senators. This is the same John Lesner for whom the bridge is named.

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Here is photographic proof of folks’ willingness to take the adventurous ride to Ocean Park!

Early transportation to Ocean Park involved rail, motor cars and motor bikes. As motor cars and bikes became more popular, improvements to roadways followed. The rail lines eventually disappeared, but Shore Drive and Lesner Bridge remain with us and continue to evolve with Virginia Beach. The evolution continues as construction for new bridge spans began in 2014.

The photo on the right shows Lesner Bridge under construction in 1927-28. The Mueller family story claims that the shadow in the photo belongs to Mr. Mueller and the photo is from the family. John A. Lesner was a state senator whose mission was road construction. A Virginian-Pilot article after his death in 1938 credited him with the building the first concrete roads in Norfolk County.

Lynnhaven Inlet was 1,900 feet wide before the bridge was built, but the necessary approaches reduced it to 900 feet. This caused a major change in water velocity and deepened the channel from 9 to 15 feet by 1936.

At least one informal history mentioned A.S. Fox and J.S. Fadler as the construction contractors for the bridge, but the research staff at Virginia Beach Central Library could not verify the information.

This postcard was among Pauline Mueller Fentress’ memorabilia

The photo to the right was in The Virginian-Pilot when the new Lesner Bridge opened in 1958. There aren’t many photos that show the old bridge raised, the safety gates and the bridge tender’s house.

The center photo shows early work on Shore Drive where horses were employed to help remove sand. Notes on the picture were made by Pauline Mueller Fentress. Her father, Paul Mueller, built this part of Shore Drive and these three photographs came from the Mueller family memorabilia.

In the lowest photo, the railroad tracks are behind the motor cycle group which is composed of the Mueller girls and friends. The sign on the left reads “Ocean Park.” Shore Drive is in the foreground. The two houses in this photo are still standing. To the right is the red house just east of Chix Custom Cycles. To the left is Tin Soldiers Forgotten Treasures.

Shore Drive about 1930

Paul F. Mueller, a German immigrant (and the father of the girls in the previous photograph), was Ocean Park’s own engineer-in-residence. He designed the original plat, oversaw the construction of the now-removed sea wall and part of Shore Drive. These were demanding projects, but the platting was done in 1912, the sea wall was built in 1923 and Shore Drive construction occurred in 1927-28.

Meanwhile, as his family continued to grow, he moved several times to provide for them and avoid the influenza epidemic. That particular dilemma sent them to live at Bayville Farms for several years. Eventually there were four daughters (Pauline, Elsie, Hildegarde and Laurie) in addition to his wife, Roberta.

In 1923 Mr. Mueller was able to build a home in Ocean Park. It stood just east of Roanoke Avenue on Shore Drive. Initially there was a brick garage that served as a dining and living room with a small washroom attached. A large WW I surplus tent with roll-up sides held cots for sleeping.

For two years, the three older children took the train daily into Norfolk to attend Ballantine School. They later went to Bayside School and then to Kempsville High School. Mr. Murden, the grocer at Euclid, converted his delivery truck to a school bus with two cushioned benches and canvas sides. He took kids to both schools and transported several teachers who arrived in Ocean Park by train to catch his unusual bus. The photo shows the school bus in front of the Mueller home.

Pauline Mueller Fentress was meticulous about documenting her life. Many of the photographs that appear in this and other local histories were taken by her. Her first camera was from Woolworth’s on Main Street in Norfolk.

The Mueller family maintained its ties to Ocean Park: Hilda and her husband, George, owned Brinn’s Inn on Shore Drive, sister Laurie was often there helping out and Laurie’s son, Billy Hook, lived in Ocean Park for decades and served two terms as OPCL president in the 1990’s.

garage and

sleeping tent

Mueller home during construction

Photos on this page from the Mueller family

IIIThe Ocean Park Corporation Arrives

Ocean Park Corporation formed in 1911. According to Deed Book 90, the land was purchased from the University of Virginia for $75,000. The principals, J.W. Hough and Cora Hough, and Abner S. Pope and Rosa V. Pope conveyed the property to the Ocean Park Corporation. Forty-five thousand dollars was paid in cash. Walter H. Taylor was the Trustee of the deed for the remaining debt of $30,000.

Here is part of the property description from the deed book:

All that certain tract of land and fishery in the County of Princess Anne, in the State of Virginia, upon the shores of Chesapeake Bay and Lynnhaven Inlet or Bay and Known as Stump Haul Fishery, said tract containing Two hundred and forty (240) acres, more or less, and is bounded

and described as follows, to-wit: Beginning at a cedar post...and running thence South 44 deg. E. 376 feet; thence...

The Ocean Park property was purchased from the University of Virginia which had a 100-year lease. The land was platted from 1911 through 1917. Four plats of Section A were recorded in 1914 and in 1916 the Ocean Park Land Company began selling lots for summer residences. Advertisements boasted of 50-foot lots and a mile of waterfront.

Sylvan Beach, the section of Ocean Park on the north side of Shore Drive, received its name about 1917 from Mr. Meredith who was a realtor with Ocean Park Corporation. For many years anyone entering Sylvan Beach was welcomed by a pair of brick columns with “Sylvan Beach” painted on wooden plaques. The columns were damaged by an automobile and never replaced although there was an attempt to do so in the 1980’s.

That was not the only sign never to be replaced. For many years there was an “Ocean Park” sign on Shore Drive near where Pleasure House Creek passes under Shore Drive. It was removed when Shore Drive was widened. The only neighborhood identification to be found is located on the Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue building.

If you were driving through for the first time, you might think you were in Chic’s Beach or Chix Beach or Chick’s Beach! We are in danger of losing our name. Perhaps you have already noticed some changes on maps, store fronts and references by television reporters.

This advertisement for Ocean Park lots appeared in the Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch on Sept. 27, 1913.

(The text in the newspaper ad is nearly unreadable. It has been reprinted below in all its glowing appeal)

Fine catches are being reported right along. In fact the fishing is always unsurpassed. Large spot, trout, hog fish and all of the choice salt-water fish usual in this section are abundant in the waters of Lynnhaven, which waters bathe the shores of OCEAN PARK. With a home or cottage

there you could enjoy all of the pleasures of fishing, boating and bathing, together with other country joys and at the same time be near the car line, within thirty-five minutes of Norfolk and have city conveniences. Get a lot at OCEAN PARK for one-half price on the monthly payment plan. All lots will be improved with sewerage, water and sidewalks. The deed will contain all

desirable restrictions. There will be “something doing” in Ocean Park within the next few weeks.

This is the time for you to buy.

IVSUMMER ENTERTAINMENT THRIVES

Amusement parks reached their maximum popularity around 1919 when there were 2,000 of them in the U.S. That number dropped to about 600 by 1999. A Public Broadcasting System television show, “Great Old Amusement Parks” provided those statistics and they seem to fit the continuum of our own community.

One of the 1913 amusement parks is captured in the Harry Mann photograph below. It was printed in The Virginian-Pilot at some point and in Amy W. Yarsinske’s Lost Virginia Beach. Yarsinske’s book dated the photo at 1910, but the newspaper photo caption cited 1913. Both sources placed the venue in Ocean Park. The R.E. Prince book mentioned earlier verified that Norfolk Southern carried many trains of customers to an amusement park in Ocean Park in 1913 as well as to destinations at Cape Henry and Virginia Beach.

The 1906 Lynnhaven Hotel may have helped to launch Ocean Park as a resort destination, but it burned in 1920, was rebuilt and burned again in 1925. According to civic league notes taken at a Stephen Mansfield lecture in 1989, the 1920 fire was fought by a bucket brigade from the Ocean Park Fire Co.

At least one more hotel and a second amusement park were built in the 1920’s. One of these was the Saunders Hotel. Patricia Saunders Videll wrote to Bill Miller (whose family owned Duck-

In) about the history of her family’s business operations in Ocean Park. The letter is part of the Edgar Brown Collection at the Virginia Beach Central Library. The sidebars contain excerpts from the letter.

The photos below show most of the amenities mentioned by Mrs. Videll in her letter. The hotel doesn’t appear in the photographs. Is it off to the left or had it already burned?

William Henry Saunders built the Saunders Hotel in the 1920’s on the location

of what is now the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Beach Facility. The complex included a shell

house, several guest cottages and a beach with

pier, swings and a water slide. The hotel succumbed to fire

about 1930.

The Shell House with its unique

exterior finish of stucco and sea shells was a gift shop that later became the

Lynnhaven Oyster Bar.

Patricia Videll’s letter mentioned her

aunt, Catherine Saunders, as well as Alex and Mallie,

who were responsible for the famous food of the Lynnhaven Oyster

Bar.

The photograph on the

previous page and those on this page have been

widely used and the original source may be the Mueller family. They are probably

now part of the Edgar Brown Collection.

Many people visited the summer beaches via electric train or automobile. However, there were farm families, permanent residents of Princess Anne County,

who devised a different summer entertainment plan.

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These families camped in Ocean Park during the summer. A few camps were fairly permanent, but some folks hauled materials in on

wagons from their farms and set up for the summer.

The photo of the Newton family camp was in Pauline Mueller Fentress’ memorabilia.

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Newton Family Camp

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John Clayton Wood Camp

The Lyon family contributed these photographs. From left to right above, we

see John Clayton Wood, Sr., John, Jr., Beulah Wood, Margaret Wood Smith, Vera Wood Amburn, Mary (last name unknown),

Susie Wood Hill, an unidentified person and Louise Wood Lyon.

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After school ended for the summer, Mr. Wood would load their portable house on a wagon and head to Ocean Park. Half a day was required for the trip from their

Kempsville farm.

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The Wood family moved to Ocean Park permanently in 1924 after their farm house

in Kempsville burned.

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Mr. Wood later became the bridge tender

for Lesner Bridge.

As Ocean Park thrived, some of the homes became more substantial than the typical summer beach cottage or camp. During this era, two very distinct houses were built on Tazewell Road in 1921. According to a memoir by Pauline Mueller Fentress, Paul F. Mueller did the surveying, drew up the architectural plans and put in the sidewalks for the Wallace Clark and John Miller homes.

These Craftsman style homes were white stucco with red tile roofs, large porches and full basements--somewhat unusual in this community of temporary summer dwellings and cedar shake cottages.

The Wallace Clark home was located at 2081 Tazewell Road. The photograph of it to the right was taken by Pauline Mueller Fentress in 2002 as she and family members visited local spots that were important in her life. The tour often inspired commentary that the family recorded.

Vincent and Jen Colaizzi were able to salvage many roof tiles from the Clark home before it was demolished. They cleverly reused them for their home at 3753 Chesterfield Avenue. This photo was taken in 2013 by Nadine Costenbader.

The photographs below show the Clark home on the left and the Miller home on the right; they were clearly not taken in 2002. The cars are always a great addition to help identify an era! Crab Creek is in the foreground. The Clark home was demolished. The photos came from the Mueller family.

The Miller home is being restored by Michael Bowman who, in 2013, maintained a blog to record his labor of love.

This photo on the right shows a

section of the wall damaged by a ship during a storm. The last remnants of the wall were removed

in the 1990’s.

The left photo shows the train trestle and pre-dates Lesner Bridge.

This photo is by Harry Mann and was in the Virginian-Pilot in a

“Those Were the Days...” column. It dates the sea wall construction

between 1915 and 1920.

The photograph on the right shows the completed sea wall, stairs to the beach and Lesner Bridge.

As summer entertainment grew, someone sought to protect the investment made in Ocean Park. Did the corporation pay for the sea wall? Then, as now, the fear of storm damage and

erosion resulted in attempts to control the bay.

Construction of the sea wall began in 1923 at Lynnhaven Inlet on the north side of Shore Drive. You will

notice different dates given below.The photograph on the left shows the land side of the wall. It extended to the west perhaps as far as Roanoke Avenue. This was another project shepherded into

reality by Paul Mueller and three of the photos were in the Mueller

family collection.

The Virginian-Pilot occasionally printed a section called “Through the Years” and one of these referred to a Lynnhaven Roads Amusement Park run by the Stefanou brothers in 1922. The article mentioned the train station as well as the merry-go-round, sky ride (the Jack Rabbit), dance hall, bowling and the wooden boardwalk.

The next reference to an amusement park occurs in 1926 when, according to most accounts, the Ocean Park Casino opened. The two surnames most associated with this business were James and Venture, but research by the Virginia Beach Central Library staff produced no other information. The amusement park was located on the beach at the end of Roanoke Avenue.

The descriptions of the two amusement parks are very similar. Could they have been the result of different partnerships over several years on the same site?

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This photo was in the Mueller family collection. At the far right there seems to be an arch that could be the entrance.

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As an introduction to the Ocean Park Casino, take a peek at this 1928 insurance rating map found by Martin Thomas at Kirn Memorial Library. It shows a roller coaster, dance hall, carousel,

dining hall, pavilion, frame board walk and bath houses.

,,, Article or Advertisement? ...

If this is a newspaper article, the Ocean Park Amusement Corp. should have considered compensating the writer.

This piece appeared in The Norfolk Landmark which, after 1911, may have been published with or as part of The Virginian-Pilot.

The description glows!

A FEW EXCERPTS ARE LISTED BELOW IF YOU’RE NOT INCLINED

TO READ THE PIECE

wide, glistening beach brilliantly lighted board walk, colorful promenade

de luxe busses and electric trainsabundant shade, pure drinking water

popular family picnic resort and bathing beachsurf bathing at its best, bath house for 2,000

The casino was at the north end of Roanoke Avenue which placed it about two blocks away from the Mueller home. Pauline Mueller Fentress described her memories of the Ocean Park Casino to a busy family note taker. Pauline was only 12 in 1923 and it seems reasonable that the time frame of her employment was probably several years later than that; perhaps a better fit for the 1926 opening of the casino than the 1922 date mentioned in some sources.

Excerpts from her oral history of the casino are in the sidebars that appear with the casino photographs. The sources of these four casino photos are known and unknown; two appear in other histories and are probably part of the Edgar Brown collection. The one showing the roller coaster and the one showing most of the complex (perhaps taken from the roller coaster) were in the Mueller family memorabilia.

Could this photo contain the arch and building that appear in the “parking lot” picture several pages back?

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People would come up on the train from North Carolina. There was a side track in front of our house for some of the coaches... They’d come down early in the day--nice coaches--real trains--overstuffed seats

The casino was right on the sand-hill by the beach. Men raked the beach, buried seaweed, anything objectionable each morning at 6 AM. Miss Pauline Mueller was the cashier/ticket lady, checked valuables in, putting them in an envelope, then in a pidgeon (sic) hole. ... they rented bathing suits and caps and shoes... They used to wear canvas shoes, some like slippers, some laced up to the ankle... They did this at Virginia Beach, too.

... a Jack Rabbit ... (roller coaster), merry go round, fish pond....bowling alley, shooting gallery, two pavilions for picnics, concrete floor and benches, soda fountain... a dance hall upstairs. At night they’d have bands, dancing. You could hear it outside. ...nice big bath-house for changing.

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This is the iconic photo of the Ocean Park

Casino.

The urge to rotate the photo for enlargement was irresistible.

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In 1927

Ocean Park Casino

was listed in the Norfolk &

Portsmouth City Directory

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VTroubles Descend

When Ocean Park experienced trouble after the successes of the twenties, it arrived in a triple dose over a fairly short period of time.

j First There Was Fire i

In 1929 fire destroyed half of the amusement park at the Ocean Park Casino. It was rebuilt in 1931 according to Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach: A Pictorial History.

j Followed By Financial Failure iThe stock market crash of 1929 heralded the Great Depression. Ronald L. Heinemann, in an

article in Encyclopedia Virginia published by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, described the economic impact for Virginia as lighter than elsewhere in the country.

Unemployment rose rapidly in 1931 and in 1932 major statewide budget cuts occurred. By 1935 the state regained its footing partially due to its production of goods that all people required at

the time: food, clothing and cigarettes.

How directly these events affected the Ocean Park Corporation we do not know. What we do know is that by 1931 the charter of the Ocean Park Corporation had been revoked and in 1940

the corporation went into court-appointer receivership. Lots sold for $250.

j Mother Nature Dealt The Third Blow iMother Nature served up a notorious decade in the 1930‘s. According to the NOAA website,

which provided an abundance of information, there were 21 tropical storms and hurricanes in 1933 and 18 in 1935.

The 1933 storm killed 18 people in Virginia and North Carolina. In Ocean Park, the only recorded loss was the Ocean Park Casino. High winds damaged the premises in January and

then the Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane arrived the third week in August to complete the destruction. This storm produced the highest tide ever recorded

at Sewell’s Point in Norfolk.

In September 1936 another very dangerous storm struck the area. Its early track nearly matched the 1933 hurricane, but a slight turn caused it to pass within 25 miles of Virginia

Beach. Seventy mile per hour winds pushed the high tide level to within a half foot of the August 1933 storm.

This 1936 storm did have consequences for Ocean Park. The Lesner Bridge roadway was washed away on both sides of Lynnhaven Inlet. This photo was taken from the eastern end of the bridge according to Edgar Brown’s notes. It is part of his collection at the Central Library of

Virginia Beach. The Virginian-Pilot, in a 2011 series of articles about the 1933 hurricane, attributed this washout to the 1933 storm.

The photo below from the Edgar Brown Collection captured the Vacation Cafe after the 1936 storm and seems to be the only photograph of this business. In Mr. Brown’s notes, he placed its

location two blocks west of Lynnhaven Inlet. The roofline and decorative treatment are very reminiscent of Paul Mueller’s structural designs.

This section of a 1937 NOAA nautical chart showed a dance pavilion still located at Ocean Park.

VIThe Community Organizes

The citizens of Ocean Park did not build or operate the YMCA Camp, but it certainly was part of the community’s fabric for many decades. A Norfolk YMCA publication of May, 1952 marked the camp’s inaugural year as 1939. As late as 1958 the camp operated four two-week sessions for boys from 9-15. Programs were available in archery, boxing, aquatics, nature study, handicraft, softball and Indian lore. In addition to instruction, the boys enjoyed hikes, campouts and campfire services. The main entrance may have been at the end of Jefferson Blvd.

“Footprints” will appear occasionallyin The Ocean Park Story as a way for people to share memories.

David Costenbader recalls the hike to Camp Owaissa (the YWCA camp on the east side of Lesner Bridge) on Fridays for dancing. He remains convinced this was more for the benefit of the counselors than the campers. Kal Kassir found and contributed the sketch

below. He thought it was possibly a rendering of the YMCA camp.

The photo immediately below appeared in The Beacon in 2003 and appears to be a postcard. It was printed there courtesy of Virginia Beach Researchers.

The second photo may be from the same source.

A new YMCA Beach Club was built on the site in 1949. Families could join for $12.50 per season, a stag membership cost $6.25 and a student membership, $3.00.

At one point the Beach Club had 1,400 members and 200 different groups were using the club for outings during its summer season.

Kids in Ocean Park enjoyed the beach club as well. It was very easy to walk up the beach, use those big swings and buy from the snack bar.

The property was sold to R. G. Moore in the 1970’s and developed as Water Oaks.

This photograph is from a YMCA publication

Gaynelle Copeland Ayers and Frankie Sykes expressed some fond memories for the YMCA Beach Club to Anne Kane and Susan Spears--”ice cream, sodas, frozen Snickers, cute lifeguards and nuns swimming in their habits”.

Was World War II the stimulus for much of the organizational effort in Ocean Park?

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The civic league, men’s club, woman’s club and the fire department were established during this period. Perhaps there was a substantial need to contribute to the good of the community

as well as to the larger war effort. It certainly was a very productive period for a very small neighborhood.

The Ocean Park Civic League was organized in 1944. Its origin is covered beautifully by the original papers from that inaugural meeting.

Copies appear on the next two pages.

The Ocean Park Woman’s Club was organized in 1944 and dissolved in 2009. These women served the community for more than six decades.

The club history appears in Appendix II, researched and written by Ann Lyon Ackiss and Susan Lyon. They are the daughters of

Louise Wood Lyon, one of the founders.

The Ocean Park Men’s Club metamorphosed in 1945 to become the Ocean Park Volunteer Fire Department.

Versions of the fire department history have appeared in several places over the intervening decades. The frequent repetition often produced

inaccuracies that Ann Lyon Ackiss and Susan Lyon recognized. As children of Chief George Lyon, they were in an excellent position to research and

write a more reliable history of fire department history.

Appendix I contains their work on the fire department’s history.

From “Virginia Beach: Celebrating the Old and the New 1883-1983” Supplement to

The Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star, 1983

AASignal Corps photograph, Sept/Oct 1942, showing

“elements of the forces preparing for the allied invasion of French North Africa assembled in Chesapeake Bay”

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Ocean Park Civic League 1944

In 1946-47, the civic league constructed a two-story, concrete building on East Stratford Road on a lot donated by George and Mollie Robbins. It served both the

community and the fire department for a number of years.

In Appendix I, there is a reference to the USO Club in Ocean Park during World War II and its role in prompting Louise Wood Lyon to plan for a local woman’s club to participate in volunteer service. There don’t seem to be any photographs or records other than these memories of Louise Wood Lyon and her sister, Sue Wood Hill.

Could the USO Club have been located in the current home of J & A Racing? There was a large anchor-shaped sign that hung off the angled corner of the building in the 1940’s. The sign was very faded, green and white, outlined in non-working neon and advertised “The Anchor Club.”

Andrew Broyles bought the structure in 1998 and rehabilitated it as the Ocean Park Office Building after removing three additions that were not part of the original structure. Ocean Park owes him a great deal of gratitude. It is one of the few buildings saved from the demolition known as redevelopment.

The summary of the building’s history is courtesy of Andrew Broyles.

Originally the Sea Crest Inn, the building was constructed in 1917 with wood shake walls and roof, double hung six-over-one windows, mosaic tile on the first floor, wood floors on the second story, smooth coat plaster on the interior walls and wide moldings throughout. Mr. Broyles was able to identify a reception desk outline on the floor and an indoor kitchen that belonged to the original structure. When he bought the building in 1998, there were furnishings and personal belongings still on the premises. Could ghost sightings be far behind? No.

At some point, according to Mr. Broyles’ research, the establishment operated as the Saunders Inn, but how that information meshes with the Saunders Hotel that burned is a mystery. The inn enterprise was succeeded by Pop Campbell who served ice cream. Pauline Mueller Fentress did mention Pop Campbell’s with great fondness in her family memoir.

The building served as a nursing home for a period in the 1950’s, but spent much of its life in derelict condition. None of this search into the building’s history produced a location for the war era USO Club! It only raised more unanswered questions.

J & A Racing 2014

Earlier incarnation as theOcean Park Office

Building

Memorabilia of

World War II7

Receipt for a 1943 pledge to the

Norfolk United War Fund

Ration book covers and stamps

from the Isaacs family who lived on East Stratford Road for about 75 years beginning in 1932.

Notice the Rt #1 and R.F. D. #1 in the Lynnhaven, Virginia address.

The following World War II memories came from an interview of Alice Conway Wallace in 2008

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Alice Conway Wallace lived in Ocean Park from 1939-1946. Her father was employed as the railroad trestle tender for Norfolk Southern Railroad. The Conway family lived in one of the two houses he built just south of the railroad track near the current Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. The tender was notified by telephone of an approaching train. Alice recalled that, occasionally, she and her sister had to operate the railroad bridge when her father was not available.

The railroad bridge was left open at night. Alice recalled a boat (something like a fishing boat) going out at night and the next day. Her father was suspicious about the activity and the possible presence of a German submarine. Sometime later there was an audible explosion and the smoke was visible from Ocean Park. The nighttime window blackouts were also part of Alice’s memories.

She also recollected that there were rumors about Paul Mueller because he was a German immigrant. By World War II he had been in the USA for decades. As an engineer, he had been responsible for the planning and layout of the streets in Ocean Park. The rumors may have been aided by his night time work as the Lesner Bridge tender although just being German in wartime was probably cause enough.

Alice and her sister were able to save a fisherman from drowning in Lynnhaven Inlet by pulling him over the bulkhead. The bulkhead is no longer there. The currents in the narrow inlet were fierce and remain so.

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Mirium Horton, a longtime resident of Ocean Park, also had some memories of World War II.

The family cottage (now demolished) was built on Jefferson Ave. in 1931 or 1932. Mirium recalled soldiers living in tents on top of the dune. Occasionally they would request a visit to the cottage for a shave because they had no mirrors. After the 1962 Ash Wednesday storm, the home was moved from the bay side of the dune to the location shown in the photograph. Mirium said they missed the water view, but very much liked the lower fuel bill that came with a more protected location.

General location of the Conway home next to the removed N&S railroad track. Shore

Drive is in the background.