Geneva Public Library to present program on GOTL’s unique history

January 07, 2009 07:50 pm

— GENEVA — The air down Lake Road, from Indian Creek Campground to Geneva State Park, is filled with memories of rides at Erieview Park, hot dogs at Eddie’s Grill and the promise of endless breeze-blown summer days.
Village resident Jack Sargent has savored his summers at Geneva-on-the-Lake and will take an audience through the history and the irresistible draw of Lake Erie in the summertime. Sargent will discuss the village’s historic events and landmarks Jan. 15 at the Geneva Public Library.
Library community relations coordinator Tom Milligan said Sargent will bring his colorful memories to life in the presentation, including a riot in the summer of 1965, racing at the Chestnut Grove Speedway and Conway Twitty visiting the village.
The program will begin at 7 p.m. in the library meeting room and will include photographs and memorabilia of a “more innocent, carefree time,” Sargent said.
Sargent, a retired attorney with the Library of Congress and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, came to Geneva-on-the-Lake as an infant in 1946. Sargent went to college in 1966 but returned to the lakeside village in 2001 and moved to his childhood house.
Spurred by his love of the village and armed with his personal collection of photographs and memorabilia, Sargent has been giving talks and presentations about his hometown since 2006.
Other materials have been contributed by other village residents and the Ashtabula County Historical Society, Sargent said.
Sargent was also a consultant to author Susan Bradburn, whose book on the village was published in 2007 as part of the Images of America series.
The discussion will take several turns away from lakefront fun, including the Fourth of July riot in 1965, the body found on the beach that was never identified, burlesque performer Busty Russell at the Geneva Theater, the Shower-a-Go-Go at the Castaways and performances by Tom and Jerry, who later became known as Simon and Garfunkel.
Light refreshments will be served at the free event, but reservations are requested. For more information or to make a reservation, call (440 466-4521).