Christine Whelan FEO, September 1, 2022, 2022, VOL. 4 ISSUE 1
As the Labour Day weekend draws near, those who have experienced Crystal Beach, or “The Beach”, during the days that have wrapped up the summer, might find themselves remembering, smiling, sighing, and turning to a neighbour with a “remember when?” story.
As those who have more recently called this village home, one by one, are told details, here and there, of wild parties, costumes, award ceremonies and parades, topped off with the centrepiece — a casket — I thought it would be fun to write a piece to inform and reiterate, the wild and unique history, drenched in bittersweet, of Crystal Beach during the Labour Day weekend.
Sharon Bowers, Secretary-Treasurer of Friends of Crystal Beach (FOCB) and one of the many volunteers who helped with the parade in recent years, took the time to reflect on the journey of the End of Summer festivities, right down to the annual casket sent out into the lake, set ablaze.
According to Sharon, it all started back in the 1950s, when groups of “party people”, mostly from Buffalo, decided to give Old Man Summer a proper send-off.
“A bunch of cottagers who lived on the lake devised an elaborate ceremony and wore proper mourning attire. There was someone playing an undertaker who gave the eulogy and a wooden casket carrying the ‘remains’ of Old Man Summer was taken to the lake near the Palmwood Hotel and set on fire.
“Then the wake began as mourners said a ‘beerful’ and cheerful goodbye to summer as they prepared to return to Buffalo until the next summer.”
Sharon would like to correct an assumption about the party people who rented cottages in Crystal Beach and Thunder Bay, “They were not fraternities or sororities in the strict sense of the word. They were mostly working people who got together with friends to rent a cottage for the summer. They just liked to cut loose in the summer – and they did.”
In the late 1960s, many of the cottagers were Vietnam veterans, trying to party away their war experiences and memories. “That was a time when drugs became part of the atmosphere, mostly marijuana and hashish, but there was LSD around as well.”
In 1969, there was a whole contingent of Crystal Beach party people who went to the original Woodstock festival in upstate New York.
By the time Sharon was old enough to participate, the End of Summer event featured a parade of cars and other vehicles that wound its way through the streets of Crystal Beach, on its way to the lake for the Viking-style burial of Old Man Summer and his mate Old Lady Summer.
Sharon continued, “The parade was preceded by a two-day wake at a group of cottages on Graeber Road that was known as ‘The Ponderosa’. Of course, there was a lot of drinking and merriment as the summer renters prepared to return to their normal lives after Labour Day.”
She added, “All this was done without proper permits, etc. but the authorities had a hands-off attitude for the most part, probably because they were relieved that life in Crystal Beach would soon return to normal when the party people left.”
Friends On Both Side of the Border Remember
It was fun researching this topic as I came across an abundance of comments to a variety of posts in social media groups that made me smile, often laugh, and at times shed a nostalgic tear. Some posts included both spellings of the word, Labour and Labor, showing a combination of memories from both sides of the border. Each holds its own special, personal memories, further painting the picture of those unique and magical days.
Memories were shared about an awards ceremony. In 1964, the ceremony, held at Shifty’s cottage, presented awards such as a ‘Days of Wine & Roses trophy’, a wine bottle and a Girl Scout award.
One remembered Keystone cops. Another remembered standing on the sandhill watching all the craziness. Others commented about bathtub races in 1974.
There was a mentioned old wringer washing machine that was used for any clear coloured booze, giant, galvanized tubs filled with Canadian beer, plastic trash cans filled with punch that was described at one time as jungle juice, another as Loganberry punch. And then, “Sometimes the punches were made with grain alcohol.”
Finally, “….different cottages had hundreds attending parties, all outside. One cottage had the drinks in a new toilet fixture, serving from it.”
“We couldn’t return home until after the parade.”
In reading the comments reflecting the memories of this last weekend from many years ago, the word that comes to mind is eclectic. While one remembers “people wearing black with veils, wailing”, role-playing mourners, another remembers a “casket taken through the streets with wildflowers filling and covering the casket”.
All seem to remember, though, that the casket was the ‘centrepiece of the parade’ that ended at the lake “where they set Mr. Summer off to sea ablaze” or “…afire like the Norsemen out to sea, to go to their final resting place.”
Just as common, was the expression of emotional contrast within themselves. Many “loved the party but hated that my summer friends were going home for the winter.” The word often used was, bittersweet.
“I remember Labour Day fireworks and all sitting near the pier hugging and crying that we wouldn’t see each other until the following summer.”
Bittersweet.
Sharon Post Park
For a while, the End of Summer festivities died off. Sharon Bowers also shared of more recent days.”But the parade part was brought back by the Friends of Crystal Beach and has featured floats and a horse-drawn hearse in its End of Summer Parade.
The most recent End of Summer Parade was held in 2019 and its theme was the commemoration of the thirty-year anniversary of the closing of the Crystal Beach Amusement Park. It was organized by then FOCB president, Shirley Wallington Grace, who died a few weeks later at the age of ninety-four.
“FOCB could find no one to organize a parade this year, but it is hoped that one will take place in 2023. Shirley Grace is a tough act to follow. Now she is joined by another icon of Crystal Beach, Paul Kassay, Jr. who was featured in the parade by his well-deserved title Mr. Crystal Beach.”
I invite you to dig into our local Facebook Pages to find the posts with photos, content and comments, remembering those unforgettable days, the parties and ceremonies that wound down the summers of “The Beach”.
Photo provided by Paul Lewis, a former member of the Friends of Crystal Beach
