Culver Town Park 1970-1979  

Beach to the east 1970's

The local VFW post has maintained a fishing pier at the old Maxinkuckee boat launch site since the early 1970's

1973 - Sep. "819_e_shore_angelo/angelo.htm" target=new>Angelo Cifaldi dies; during the 1960's till his death he was the park caretaker.

1973 - Oct 11 - The Roof Leaks, but...

PARK BOARD DISCUSSES BEACH LODGE PROBLEMS

The Culver Park Board met last Thursday. October 6th, in regular session to discuss matters concerning use of the Town Beach Lodge.

Four members of the Board were present to discuss the possibility of repairing the s tructure with a view toward making the Lodge useable on a year-round basis.

It was concluded by those present that the structure of the building was sound, and therefore that there was no need to consider building a new facility. The major problems with the building concern the need for a new roof, plumbing problems and general renovation of the interior.

One of the problems that makes use of the building difficult is excessive moisture on the ground floor. 1t would be desirable to solve this problem. since the ground floor lounge area has two fire places that would be ideally suited to winter entertaining in the lodge.

Other problems which must be looked into to make the Beach Lodge useable are the electrical wiring, and general heating - as of now, the building is not heated.

Suggestions were made regarding utilization of the entire building or parts of it during the winter months, primarily as a meeting place for local groups who wished to hold social functions such as skating parties, dances, and so on.

In addition to the mechanical problems, the problem of supervision is one which must be dealt with. Vandalism during the past summer season has pointed up the necessity of year-round supervision of the lodge, and the possibility of hiring a couple to live in the third-floor apartment and act as supervisors was discussed. Last year's vandalism also prompted discussion about keeping only the second floor of the lodge open during the summer months. to insure better supe rvision of the facilities

Access to the town park by vechiles was always done via Washington Street and entering under the old viduct there that no longer exists; this ceased to be when the railroad sold off their strip of railroad property to adjacent property owners in the late 1970's. This is the view of the the access road from the park entrance of it, which was just at the end of the main sidewalk, where Amond's pier was at and now the area of lighthouse. Just a few yards of the Washington St. Access is where the Anderson Boathouse stood and also a few piers - tho not the amassed conglomeration of them that we have today; back then then were single piers that number possibly no higher than five.

1974 - May 2 - JUNIOR WOMEN "VETCHING AROUND" - like other CUlver groups they done alot of work in the town park below is one such activity as captured in the Culver Citizen

AND NOW, THE FUN BEGINS... Here's the part that separates the ... well, whatever. This group Is smoothing the dirt Into the eroded areas to facilitate planllng of the crown vetch. From left, the work crew consists of George Hopple, Kay (Mrs. Ronold) Tusing, Kevin Bonine, Nancy Thomas, Gary Connant, Georgie Hopple, and Jeff Thomas.

IT'S A LONG WAY DOWN-Members of the Maxlnkuckee Junior Women's Club survey the task ahead of them... a gully caused by erosion of the embankment along the shore of Lake Maxinkuckee at the Town Park. The Junior Women spent last weekend filling several gullies such as this along the slope with black dirt and planting crown vetch In the areas to stop further erosion. As you can see from the pictures here, the job meant along weekend's work and sore back muscles Monday, but Nancy (Mrs. Kenneth) Thomas, Connie (Mrs. Michael) Overmyer, and Mary (Mrs. Robert) Radawski don't seem to mind

THE FIRST STEP In stopplng the eroesion Is black dirt-lots or It! The dirt Is used to fill in the gullies It is then smoothed, the vetch is planted, and the planting Is covered with straw and anchored to prevent wind erosion while the plants take root. Above, Jackie (Mrs. Larry) Berger, Rosalie (Mrs. James) Bonine, Lorraine (Mrs. Norman) DuMaine, Connie Overmyer and Linda (Mrs. John) Deery watch while a dump truck deposits a generous load or dirt in one od the gullies.

1975 - grant from the federal Economic Development Association

saw the most drastic change in the physical plant of the park and beach lodge since the 1930s. In June of that year, the Citizen's lead story gleefully announced that a $264,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Association, represented at the time by then summer resident Jim Peterson.

The grant was compared, in its day, to the WPA project as 70 percent of the funds had to go towards ' labor. Changes included major changes to the 1883 train platform picnic shelters, including addition of fieldstone fireplaces and storage rooms at the end of each. A t-shaped docking pier was added west of the public pier already in place as Capt. Amond's Maxinkuckee tour boat pier, with a concrete structure added into the embankment west of the dock, to store it (sunbathing would be facilitated on the flat, railing-enclosed roof of the structure, all of which still remains). What had been merely a dirt access road would become a staple of the park: the double, cement walking trails along the lake shore.

The old street lights from the town of Culver, which themselves had come from the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, would be added to the cement 'promenade.'

Lumber ties were used to construct three stairways up he embankment along the double sidewalk, and another was added alongside the beach lodge (the former three were cemented years later, though the beach lodge one was not). While the park already had a basketball court, a larger, 60 by 90 foot court was added. Two playgrounds were constructed, primarily of timber with tires, ropes, and chains. This took place both in the east end -- supplementing the old metal play structures already there -- and the west end, where little existed up to then in the area of play equipment. A host of trees and other plantings were added to the park, as well as wood and rubber chips at various places on the ground and landscaping and fountain creation around the old spring at the entrance of Capt. Amonds pier to the north. Perhaps of most lasting significance was work done to the beach lodge itself, the first major renovation there since 1937.

the north side of the lodge was dug out to the foundation and steps taken to prevent moisture seepage, Don Stubbs was brought in to dig a ravine to the very foundations of the lodge, which he filled with gravel and dirt to minimize water seepage into the basement level of the lodge



A "heating and cooling plant," previously absent, was added by Mike Maddox -- then just a year into his longstanding local HVAC business -- to affect the two top layers of the The bottom level was designated for summer use only and would house "a service desk, refreshment area, recreational area, restrooms, and locker facilities." Coin operated lockers and dressing facilities were planned. The existing lower level fireplace, it was noted, would be made usable for some heating in spring and fall. The second, or ground-level area of the lodge was at that time renovated into a community meeting space, as it remains today of 125 people and kitchenette. The existing northwest door was added to the middle level as well. It was also during this 1975 renovation that the upper level was rehabilitated into an apartment "for a year-round park superintendent," with two bedrooms, a kitchen and dining room, living room with fireplace, entry way and utility room. The uppe level of the lodge was used prior to this date to house the park superintendent, but prior to `75, the upper level was still split into several rooms and unusable on a year-round basis.

paving of what had been a dirt access road (to create the double walkways along the water front west of the beach),

new playground equipment, and wooden steps from the upper area to the lower, among others. At various intervals over the years, park activities were planned, such as those overseen by then superintendent Rick C. Ashmore in 1977, which included craft classes and various other programs

A cover story in the Culver Citizen in 1979, complete with photos, blasted the town and park administration for the deplorable appearance of the park, which included broken picnic tables and benches and an abundance of trash and litter, among other problems -- such criticism continued, on and off, for several years following.

1979 - Dorothy Thews, Park Superintendent

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