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Auction at Geauga Lake rides begins
By David Giffels
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 11:39 a.m. EDT, Jun 17, 2008
AURORA -- Hundreds of people visited Geauga Lake this morning for what probably will be their last time, not to ride rides or eat midway food, but to bid on the pieces of the old amusement park and reminisce.
The nostalgic crown jewel of the sale, The Big Dipper roller coaster, brought a high bid of $5,000 after a brief bidding process. The sale is subject to approval by owner Cedar Fair Entertainment, with approval needed by Wednesday.
The bidder, Tom Woosnam, said he was representing another company but declined to say who it was. Woosnam, who works for Apex Western Machinery Movers in Akron, said the ride will be re-erected for historic purposes but will not operate as a working roller coaster.
Bidders ranged from experienced auction buyers to Northeast Ohio nostalgia-seekers.
Jason Goscinski, 26, of Parma, bought two concrete benches from the midway for $225.
''I'll just put them in my yard,'' he said.
An auctioneer in a red blazer rolled slowly through the park standing in the bed of a pickup truck, calling out his cadence as the crowd slowly trailed behind him.
The first major ride to go up for auction, the Space Tower, has loomed above Geauga Lake since 1974, slowing lifting riders 195 feet for a bird's eye view of the park.
The high bidder was Ralph Plumpton of Akron's RP Motors, who bought the tower for $12,500.
''We're going to scrap it or possibly sell it to Nigeria — I'm not sure,'' Plumpton said as he hurried off to the next lot of bidding.
The fate of the Geauga Lake rides and attractions has been the subject of much speculation and debate since the announcement last fall that the park was closing. Attracting the most attention was the historic Big Dipper, a wooden roller coaster built in 1925 that remains an icon of Ohioana.
Cedar Fair, which bought Geauga Lake in 2003, announced in September that it was closing the 119-year-old park, keeping only the adjacent Wildwater Kingdom water park, which recently opened for the season.
After attempting to attract bids for the Big Dipper and other coasters, the Michigan-based Norton Auctioneers was enlisted to handle the sale of virtually everything else that remains on site, from office equipment to water rides.
The list includes such rides as the Double Loop, Raging Wolf Bobs, the Villain, two 60-foot paddle-wheel boats, the Skyscraper observation tower, the Grizzly Run raft ride and the pirate ship ride.
Today's auction is devoted to the amusement park rides and related equipment. Wednesday will focus on campground trailers and equipment.
The auction, conducted at Geauga Lake, is open to the public. Admission is $10.
Additional details are on the auctioneers' Web site: http://www.nortonauctioneers.com.
AURORA -- Hundreds of people visited Geauga Lake this morning for what probably will be their last time, not to ride rides or eat midway food, but to bid on the pieces of the old amusement park and reminisce.
The nostalgic crown jewel of the sale, The Big Dipper roller coaster, brought a high bid of $5,000 after a brief bidding process. The sale is subject to approval by owner Cedar Fair Entertainment, with approval needed by Wednesday.
The bidder, Tom Woosnam, said he was representing another company but declined to say who it was. Woosnam, who works for Apex Western Machinery Movers in Akron, said the ride will be re-erected for historic purposes but will not operate as a working roller coaster.
Bidders ranged from experienced auction buyers to Northeast Ohio nostalgia-seekers.
Jason Goscinski, 26, of Parma, bought two concrete benches from the midway for $225.
''I'll just put them in my yard,'' he said.
An auctioneer in a red blazer rolled slowly through the park standing in the bed of a pickup truck, calling out his cadence as the crowd slowly trailed behind him.
The first major ride to go up for auction, the Space Tower, has loomed above Geauga Lake since 1974, slowing lifting riders 195 feet for a bird's eye view of the park.
The high bidder was Ralph Plumpton of Akron's RP Motors, who bought the tower for $12,500.
''We're going to scrap it or possibly sell it to Nigeria — I'm not sure,'' Plumpton said as he hurried off to the next lot of bidding.
The fate of the Geauga Lake rides and attractions has been the subject of much speculation and debate since the announcement last fall that the park was closing. Attracting the most attention was the historic Big Dipper, a wooden roller coaster built in 1925 that remains an icon of Ohioana.
Cedar Fair, which bought Geauga Lake in 2003, announced in September that it was closing the 119-year-old park, keeping only the adjacent Wildwater Kingdom water park, which recently opened for the season.
After attempting to attract bids for the Big Dipper and other coasters, the Michigan-based Norton Auctioneers was enlisted to handle the sale of virtually everything else that remains on site, from office equipment to water rides.
The list includes such rides as the Double Loop, Raging Wolf Bobs, the Villain, two 60-foot paddle-wheel boats, the Skyscraper observation tower, the Grizzly Run raft ride and the pirate ship ride.
Today's auction is devoted to the amusement park rides and related equipment. Wednesday will focus on campground trailers and equipment.
The auction, conducted at Geauga Lake, is open to the public. Admission is $10.
Additional details are on the auctioneers' Web site: http://www.nortonauctioneers.com.
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