Raising Rock Falls
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — If trees could talk, the ones at Rock Falls Park would have endless stories to tell.
Some of the bigger ones could tell you the history of the park, first opened in the 1930s. At that time, the park offered a pool, dance hall, roller skating rink, custard stand and carousel.
Some trees would tell love stories, like the one carved with "Amy loves Mike."
And one, near Slippery Rock Creek, would tell the story of how Todd Heinsberg got a scar on his knee after swinging on a rope from one of its limbs.
It was sometime around receiving that scar several years ago that Heinsberg started falling in love with Rock Falls Park.
For the past four years, he and Ron Lightner have been working to revitalize the park, making it something like the park that many local residents remember — only with a more rustic feel.
Heinsberg and Lightner bought the 15-acre park, minus several parcels where private homes and cottages stand. As that property goes up for sale, Heinsberg tries to purchase it, he said.
Located along Route 173 two miles south of Slippery Rock, the park is accessed by a private drive next to the creek.
The park became overgrown and neglected over the past 30 years, but the business partners have spent the past four clearing or repairing what is left. Both have full-time jobs and families."Nothing is moving as fast as I wanted to," Heinsberg said during a recent tour of the park.So far Heinsberg and Lightner have cleared overgrown areas, removed or renovated some of the cabins, improved the road and provided electricity to the grove.His five-year plan includes using a portable sawmill to harvest trees on the site for rental cabins, fencing and other construction. The end product will feature rustic campsites with a canoe dock and a paved road.Although that plan has not yet materialized, the park is currently used for swimming, hiking and fishing.
Next weekend, the park will host the fourth annual Mid-Summer Music Festival, designed to raise money for the various improvements, as well as bring the public to the site to enjoy it, according to Heinsberg.The event will feature three days of live performances and probably the most guests the park has seen in recent years, he added.
Groups will play rock 'n' roll and acoustic tunes, with a variety of local bands featured.Vendors like Biling's Candles, Heather's Creek Side Supplies and Skye's Spirit Wildlife Refuge will also have tents set up at the festival.The oak grove is a perfect natural setting for an amphitheater, one item in the five-year plan. But for now, bands play on a rustic, but covered, wooden stage.This year's concert will feature the new electric service brought into the grove. Until now, that service was supplied by extension cords connected to someone's nearby home, said Heinsberg.The past few weeks have been a blur to Heinsberg as he gets ready for the concert. Friends drop by with weed whackers and chainsaws. Spare hours are spent building new stages, bridges, fences or whatever is needed."Every year, we do more and more for the festival," Heinsberg said. "It's like if you want to clean your house, you invite your whole family over."
The history of Rock Falls Park goes back more than 100 years to the legend of the name itself. According to that tale, the best-known explanation in the region, an Indian who was chasing a settler slipped on the rocks of the creek in this area, spawning the name for the creek and the town.Now, people swim at that site for fun, sliding down the rocks and splashing in the pools created by a nearby dam. The beach has been cleared out by Heinsberg.The park, originally known as Stoughton's Beach, opened in 1932, according to the Rock Falls Park History Web site.It was a true family business, owned by Saul Stoughton, who opened it as part of his farm and ran it with his wife and children.At one time the swimming pool was a big attraction, advertised as the largest in the state and boasting two diving boards at 10 and 20 feet. The foundation of the pool still exists at the park.The park was closed from 1941 to 1945 due to World War II gas rationing. Albert McDonald purchased the park after the war and changed its name to Rock Falls Park.Many groups held annual picnics at the park, canoes were rented and residents stayed at cottages or camped there.In 1967, McDonald sold the park and Ed Frank, a retired photographer, owned it from that point until its purchase in 2003 by Lightner and Heinsberg.McDonald sold the carousel to the Smithsonian Institution, where it was displayed for many years. It was later sold to the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission and moved to Wheaton Regional Park, where it is still in operation."(The park) used to be a tourist destination and wealthy people had cottages there," said Teresa Christy of Butler, a member of the Rock Falls Preservation Group. The group has been assisting the new owners of the park with renovation plans.In later years, many of these cottages were rented to students from Slippery Rock University and fell into disrepair, she added."Now, thanks to Todd and others down there, property values are starting to creep up," she said.Lightner is in the process of fixing up a 1940s stone house that is at the end of the private drive along Slippery Rock Creek. Heinsberg also lives along the drive in one of the former cottages that he's still fixing.When the two bought the land, "You couldn't even walk around," because the brush was so overgrown in the park, she added.Christy is looking forward to using the park for camping."It will be a primitive camping area," she said. "A lot of people like that."
Heinsberg said he's had a lot of help along the way from friends like Christy and others. For example, Grove City business owner Dale Rongaus will provide thousands of dollars worth of equipment for next week's concert for free because he believes in what Heinsberg is doing.Heinsberg said he's not sure how he'd make it without them.His journey started after moving to a cottage and having a property dispute with a neighbor. The dispute landed in Butler County Court, but Heinsberg won in the end."I came back from the courthouse and told Ron, 'We need to buy this park,'" he said.The goal is now to create the recreation-based park and make enough income along the way to get both of them out of the drywall business, said Heinsberg.Now, as he walks the property, Heinsberg envisions the new canoe dock, camping sites, wildlife trails and picnic pavilions. He hopes groups, families and even wedding parties will be able to enjoy the natural beauty of the site in the future."Whatever I can do to get people in here, I'll do.
<b>WHAT: </b>Fourth annual Mid-Summer Music Festival fundraising event to restore Rock Falls Park in Slippery Rock Township. Bands and vendors will participate; bring your own beverage. A Saturday "add-a-dish" picnic will be offered for anyone who wants to participate. Ornithologist Harry Schmeider will be featured from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday. Bands include 16 Eyes, Toast and Jam, Blue-Eyed Blonde, Rock-A-Fellas, Electricons, Left for Dead, Waldo, Undergound Sound, Well Strung, Bootleg Band, Opie Killed Aunt Bee and Allegheny Willie. An open acoustic jam will also be held on Sunday.<b>WHEN:</b> Doors open at 2 p.m. Friday. Music begins at 5 p.m. Event lasts through Sunday.<b>WHERE:</b> Two miles south of Slippery Rock on Route 173. Watch for signs.<b>COST:</b> $20 per person for the weekend, including camping, or $15 per person for Saturday only. Those under 16 are admitted free or by donation.<b>INFORMATION:</b> www.rockfallsonline.com.
