Pine Lake Lodge fans remember former water park fire

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

39 2 minutes read

In the years after the old Pine Lake Water Park closed, the owners' grandson, Ray Munn, would drive past the Ravenna Township site on his Harley-Davidson, stop and take a look.

“Just looking over the lake and seeing what it looks like, and it’s depressing to see how it ended, but we have a lot of good memories,” Munn said of the Summit Road site.

There are a few fewer things to watch out for after a fire Tuesday evening. Firefighters responded to a call shortly after 7 p.m. about a fire at Pine Lake Lodge, across from the much larger Hodgson Lake, Ravenna Township Fire Chief David Moore said.

“It was fully involved when we got there, so it was just a defensive operation,” Moore said. He added that some newer pole buildings on the property were not damaged and no injuries were reported.

Firefighters were on scene for about two hours, using water trucks that filled up with water at a fire hydrant down the road.

Moore said the fire was still under investigation Wednesday, but it is believed to have been accidental, resulting from wood burning after it was cleaned up.

“There was an open burn nearby,” he said. “There was a change in wind and that probably precipitated this fire.”

The lodge was used to store farm supplies, mostly hay, Moore said.

Fire departments from Ravenna City, Rootstown, Kent and Charlestown also responded.

Township firefighters returned around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday to put out some hot spots, Moore said. No mutual aid was necessary.

Mike and Gladys Bly opened the 35-acre Pine Lake in 1960, the year Munn turned 5 years old. He moved to Florida with his parents that year, but starting when he was 7 or 8, the family would head north pulling a trailer. Munn remembers spending many summers at Pine Lake until he graduated from high school.

“I learned the lifeguarding trade there,” said Munn, who now lives in Pennsylvania. “I took my diving lessons there and got my certificate.”

At the age of 9, in 1964, he planned to compete in the Florida Junior Olympics as a swimmer, after returning from Pine Lake.

“I went there to spend the summer and swim in the lake to qualify,” he said.

According to a Record-Courier article published about him at the time, he had been swimming since the age of 3 and already had a collection of medals.

Deciding to retire, the Blys sold Pine Lake in 1937. Munn said both of his grandparents died shortly afterward.

An April 1998 Record-Courier article reported plans to reopen the park under new ownership, but no follow-up article was found and Munn said he did not know what happened after that.

A July 2018 Akron Beacon Journal column titled “When Water Parks Were Everywhere” reported that Pine Lake was “overgrown and unsold for many years.”

But something remains of old Pine Lake.

“Lots of good summers, good memories. People on Facebook are saying really nice things about my grandparents, which is heartwarming,” Munn said.

Indeed, Remembering Pine Lake Lodge is a public Facebook group created by and for fans. Souvenirs include diving boards, a “dipsy doodle,” something that looked like a zip line that came out above the water, and board games and competitions for children.

“Many of you, myself included, have felt a sense of sadness as so much of our childhood was spent in this lodge,” one woman posted Wednesday morning in response to the fire. “A place of nostalgia, coming of age, family and just plain good times.

“The thoughts of Mike and Gladys at the bar with a drink in their hands, my son with the giant bullfrogs, the view of the lake at sunrise, the smell of cut grass, greasy food and cream solar. Those were the days, weren't they?”

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at [email protected].

Lina Portman

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