Along the coast of Lake Erie, Cedar Point has been a beloved amusement park in the region for more than 150 years. Memorabilia sharing that history is now on view in the Cedar Point Historical Museum as of Wednesday within Downtown Sandusky’s Merry-Go-Round Museum.
The majority of the items belong to self-proclaimed Cedar Point fanatic and Sandusky native David Kaman. Postcards, photographs, commemorative plates, banners and signage are just some of the items on display, not to mention an impressive collection of souvenir coffee mugs.
“Over the last 50 years, I have been in love with Cedar Point, and I have amassed a tremendous amount of different Cedar Point memorabilia,” Kaman said. “I loved sharing this memorabilia with my family and friends, but as the amount of items that I had grew greater and greater, I felt a bigger need to share it with other Cedar Point lovers.”
Kaman also said that as his collection grew, so did the need for a larger space to display it all.
“Luckily, my sons moved out of the house to go to college, and as they would move out, I would take over their bedroom and fill it with Cedar Point things,” Kaman said.
His love of the amusement park began around the time of his high school graduation, when he took a summer job working the overnight shift changing light bulbs on the rides.
“At that point in time, I just fell in love with the park,” Kaman said. "It was such a wonderous aspect of a summer job to be there at four in the morning, down on the beach at my break and just seeing the stars overhead.”
History and family
Cedar Point first opened in 1870 as a public bathing beach along Lake Erie. The first rollercoaster, the Switchback Railway, came along about 20 years later and stood 25 feet tall at its highest peak.
“Imagine the screams of delight that caused,” Kaman said with a smile, pointing to an early photograph of the coaster in one of the glass cases.
The oldest item in the museum dates back to 1893, a ribbon from a company outing of the Huber Manufacturing Company, based in Marion at the time.
“In the olden days, when groups of people would come to Cedar Point, the entire group would wear the ribbon showing what city they were from and the year,” Kaman explained.
Other artifacts from earlier years include a World War I helmet given as a souvenir at a gathering of veterans in 1936; a piece of the wooden rotunda floor from the Hotel Breakers, Cedar Point’s luxury resort, and a model of the G.A. Boeckling steam ship - named after the park’s original owner - that transported visitors across Sandusky Bay to the shores of the park.
Perhaps the most cherished item in Kaman’s collection is a photograph from 1931 of his mother and uncle sitting on a carousel horse together.
“Cedar Point means fun, it means family, and to me, it’s just a wonderful thing to have a part of my family be a part of this museum,” Kaman said.
Building the collection
Kaman’s collection began with a handful of Cedar Point postcards from his father and took off from there. Over the decades, he’s accumulated items from garage sales, estate sales and regional travels.
While the museum isn’t affiliated with Cedar Point, the park granted Kaman permission to use the Cedar Point name.
Many additional items came by way of donation from other park enthusiasts as well as from former employees of Cedar Point.
“When I came of age to have a job during the summer, I chose Cedar Point. Or, they chose me,” said Candy Frankowski, who worked her way up through various roles at the park and eventually retired in 2005 as director of park operations.
“David called me out of the blue,” Frankowski said. “He said people recommended me to help him in the museum.”
Frankowski, who also accumulated a large collection of memorabilia over the years, is delighted to share her items with visitors.
Admission is included with a ticket to the Merry-Go-Round Museum, and the Cedar Point museum keeps the same hours.
“I hope everyone that comes through the door has memories, fond memories of Cedar Point, and this will help bring them back so that they can relive them again,” she said.
