History of Lake Shore Park

Pepper · 07-28-2006, 10:38 AM

Steve, my MIL spent every summer at LSP as a child. Her parents started out with a tent platform, and eventually built a small cabin there. She's 87 now, with a memory like a steel trap. Her very fondest memories are of her childhood and teen years at LSP, and she's got lots of great stories and information.

I'll pick her brain and get some info off to you as soon as I'm able. I may even be able to find some old photographs in the albums!

GravyBoat - fear not ... I won't pull out any photos of the shenanigans that went on up the road a piece!

That is, unless our cousin from Texas doesn't get busy and start posting here!

SteveA · 07-28-2006, 12:35 PM

Wow!

Thank You.... all help appreciated! I started in LSP in 1973... It's a wonderful place.. and my plan is to try to preserve some of it's history for my kids and future generations..

I'd love to include anything you can send...

Steve

mcdude · 07-28-2006, 07:19 PM

Steve:
The best source (of course!) is this website. Here's some info on Lakeshore Park from the Lakeshore RR thread.
(See the thread for "super-sized versions of the text)

Not to sound like a broken record, but, the best source for any Gilford historical information is Adair Mulligan's book, "The Gunstock Parish: A History of Gilford, NH. Pages 205-207 are devoted to Lakeshore Park with references found on five other pages. Photos are found of the Lakeshore Inn and the Pavilion.

Her opening words about the park goes something like this...

"The Lakeshore Inn and the Park on Belknap Pt. Road were perhaps the most extensive summer development on Gilford's Winnipesaukee shore at the turn of the nineteenth century. the property was originally known as Carr's Point after Richard Carr's early farmstead, which itself was frequented by travellers from Meredith Bridge bound for Alton or the seacoast. The Lakeshore RR under the urging of its' president, purchased the property, intending to create the most popular resort on the southern shore of the lake. The company envisioned a resort for primarily railroad employees, with an inn, pavilion, picnic area, tent platforms and a railroad station.........The Maid of the Isles stopped there twice a day and the Lady of the Lake four times a day.................."

upthesaukee · 07-28-2006, 11:00 PM

About ten years ago it was still there and still named the "Wee Hoose". That was my first trip up to Lake Winnipesaukee back in 1946 or 1947. The Wee Hoose belonged to Jim and Millie Foster, Scottish immigrants from Andover MA, who also started with a tent platform I believe in the 1920's and then grew into a "cottage". Uncle Jim and Aunt Millie were my mom's aunt and uncle, therefore my great-aunt and great-uncle, and of course "Wee Hoose" is the Scottish dialect for wee house, small house, and small it was.

I have little recollection of the stays there, except that Uncle Jim would sleep on an "L" shaped porch in the warm weather, and my Dad & I would join him when we came up. There was a "cooler" that was built into the floor right next to Uncle Jim's cot, and there was always some ice and an eyeopener in the cooler. And an eyeopener it was...Uncle Jim would reach down into that cooler and get an eyeopener for himself and wake up my dad and get him one too. Me....I had to go inside and get milk out of the icebox (truly an ice box, not a refrigerator.).

I can barely remember the beach, and swimming, but do remember walking around the park and it seemed like everyone knew everyone else.

I know there were dances at the Pavillion on Saturday nights, with kid's dances early, and then the kids would get put to bed, and the adults would take over. Teams of parents would go around and check on the kids to make sure they were alright. (used to do the same thing in our old neighborhood in Reading MA...adults at neighborhood cookouts in the summer and sledding on the hill on our street in the winter time). Of course, if parents did that sort of thing now, it would be called neglect and the kids would be taken away

!

Uncle Jim and Aunt Millie are long gone, as are all the rest of the family, so that's about it for info from this end. This is where my user name comes from, because as a toddler, I couldn't say "Winnipesaukee", so I would simply say "Up the Saukee", and that phrase stuck.

Just Sold · 07-29-2006, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

This is where my user name comes from, because as a toddler, I couldn't say "Winnipesaukee", so I would simply say "Up the Saukee", and that phrase stuck.

Thanks for the history from your experiences at LSP and how your user name came to be. Good thing your pronunciation has improved.

Pepper · 07-29-2006, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Sold

.. Good thing your pronunciation has improved.

Who say's it has?

upthesaukee · 07-29-2006, 11:07 PM

Go ahead, ya live by the sword and ya die by the sword

.

My pronunciation ain't never been no better and it ain't gettin' no worser, so if I ain't misunderstood none, then it ain't never gonna matter none! Right????

(Yikes, I think I contracted a Yogi Berra virus

)

SteveA · 07-30-2006, 02:24 PM

McDude, Upthesaukke,

Thanks for the response's

If either of you ever want to get into LSP for "memories" or pictures... let me know.. I'd love to show you folks around..

the old railroad station is now a 4 unit "motel" that we let out to members families... and I would love to go see if Upthesaukke's old place is sill there.

The pavillion still looks exacly like the old postcard mcdude posted.. and we still have dances every saturday night...

SteveA

MWSP · 08-01-2006, 08:30 AM

While doing research for our pageant last year, I ran across a story about a bathing beauty pageant that used to be held there. The winner was called Miss Lake Shore Park. I'm sorry but I cannot recall where I ran across this article.

SteveA · 08-01-2006, 08:48 AM

MWSP,

I've been a member at LSP for thirty years... they started the contest back in the mid 60's...

It's not a "real" pagent type event... no talent or bathing suit. It's alot of fun for the young ladies... there are 2 divisions.. Miss and Jr. Miss. They get a chance to walk the runway.. and the hall is always full.

Really just a fun thing.

Thanks for the post!

MWSP · 08-01-2006, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveA

MWSP,

I've been a member at LSP for thirty years... they started the contest back in the mid 60's...

That is interesting. I believe the story I saw was much older since the history I was working on at that time was the 1930's through the mid 1950's.

SteveA · 08-02-2006, 09:14 AM

Well that may be correct.... I've been there since 73.... I'll ask some of the "old timers" at LSP
Thx SteveA

mcdude · 08-06-2006, 08:19 PM

carguy · 08-06-2006, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcdude

My familie's camp was located about 50' to the right of where the man is standing by the tree. My dad bought it from Harold Holmes in 1943 for $50. It was a tent platform with walls at that time. I was a couple of months old when he bought the camp.

SteveA · 08-06-2006, 10:16 PM

WOW!

I'm a newbie to... welcome

Carguy.... boy do I want to talk to you... I'd love to see any old pics you have of LSP...

mcdude is incredible... he has more local info to the "west side" of the big lake...

Be sure you look up his other posts on the Lake Shore railroad...

upthesaukie is another great reference for LSP... ask him about the Wee House!

Thanks for posting...

Contact me if you ever want to come into LSP to revisit old memories..

Thx SteveA

SteveA · 08-07-2006, 11:44 AM

carguy,,

Some of the family names you mention... Donohue, DeGroot are still in LSP.

I sent you an e-mail with even more names of the oldtimers...

SteveA

xredvette · 03-31-2007, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

About ten years ago it was still there and still named the "Wee Hoose". That was my first trip up to Lake Winnipesaukee back in 1946 or 1947. The Wee Hoose belonged to Jim and Millie Foster, Scottish immigrants from Andover MA, who also started with a tent platform I believe in the 1920's and then grew into a "cottage". Uncle Jim and Aunt Millie were my mom's aunt and uncle, therefore my great-aunt and great-uncle, and of course "Wee Hoose" is the Scottish dialect for wee house, small house, and small it was.

The Wee Hoose is still there and has been in my family for some time. My Grandfather, also a Scottish immigrant, owned it for many years and then my Dad purchased it from them about 30 years ago. Sad to say my Dad just passed away this past December and left the Wee Hoose to myself and 4 siblings. I'm the Voting Member and the holder of the deed.

I have so many fond memories of LSP and the Wee Hoose. Spending summers running on the dirt roads barefoot. Good friends, great times! Over the years my dad and I upgraded the ole Wee Hoose, insulating, adding on as the bylaws would allow, completely redoing the interior, adding indoor plumbing and a shower!!! It turned into a year round home for my dad although my family still refers to it as "the camp". My dad loved the Wee Hoose and treasured his time there. When he got older and could not stay by himself during the winter months he couldn't wait to get back to LSP and his Wee Hoose.

We are in the process of having a head stone made for him and the family is unanimous in having an image of the Wee Hoose with mountains and lake behind sandblasted into the stone. He loved that place so much it is a fitting tribute to what he would have wanted to be remembered for.

Thanks for letting me share....

Jim

nj2nh · 11-07-2008, 04:15 PM

[/QUOTE]

Hey, my father knows Anne Carr! He worked at Union Hospital until his retirement in the late 1980's. I am sorry, but that is totally weird. I don't know what made me look!

Love this forum and the history section in particular!!!!!!

nj2nh

mcdude · 01-04-2009, 12:29 PM

I'm posting this brochure in the Lakeshore Park thread since the Fairview appears to be adjacent to it and overlooking what is now Ellacoya beach. (it appears that the cabins are very close to the site of the recent allegedly illegal tree cutting at Ellacoya). Directions advise the traveller to take the train to the Lakeshore Park stop. Perhaps SteveA or Carguy or one of our other Lakeshore Park friends can tell us if these cottages are still there?

07-28-2006, 10:38 AM	#1
Pepper Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Laconia, NH Posts: 1,284 Thanks: 409 Thanked 155 Times in 40 Posts	Steve, my MIL spent every summer at LSP as a child. Her parents started out with a tent platform, and eventually built a small cabin there. She's 87 now, with a memory like a steel trap. Her very fondest memories are of her childhood and teen years at LSP, and she's got lots of great stories and information. I'll pick her brain and get some info off to you as soon as I'm able. I may even be able to find some old photographs in the albums! GravyBoat - fear not ... I won't pull out any photos of the shenanigans that went on up the road a piece! That is, unless our cousin from Texas doesn't get busy and start posting here! __________________ Never waste time lamenting what was. Simply celebrate what is!

07-28-2006, 07:19 PM	#3
mcdude Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rock Haven Lake - West Newfield, ME Posts: 5,343 Thanks: 370 Thanked 1,033 Times in 480 Posts	Steve: The best source (of course!) is this website. Here's some info on Lakeshore Park from the Lakeshore RR thread. (See the thread for "super-sized versions of the text) Not to sound like a broken record, but, the best source for any Gilford historical information is Adair Mulligan's book, "The Gunstock Parish: A History of Gilford, NH. Pages 205-207 are devoted to Lakeshore Park with references found on five other pages. Photos are found of the Lakeshore Inn and the Pavilion. Her opening words about the park goes something like this... "The Lakeshore Inn and the Park on Belknap Pt. Road were perhaps the most extensive summer development on Gilford's Winnipesaukee shore at the turn of the nineteenth century. the property was originally known as Carr's Point after Richard Carr's early farmstead, which itself was frequented by travellers from Meredith Bridge bound for Alton or the seacoast. The Lakeshore RR under the urging of its' president, purchased the property, intending to create the most popular resort on the southern shore of the lake. The company envisioned a resort for primarily railroad employees, with an inn, pavilion, picnic area, tent platforms and a railroad station.........The Maid of the Isles stopped there twice a day and the Lady of the Lake four times a day.................." Last edited by mcdude; 09-15-2006 at 05:24 PM.

07-28-2006, 11:00 PM	#4
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,616 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,483 Thanked 1,988 Times in 1,088 Posts	The "Wee Hoose" About ten years ago it was still there and still named the "Wee Hoose". That was my first trip up to Lake Winnipesaukee back in 1946 or 1947. The Wee Hoose belonged to Jim and Millie Foster, Scottish immigrants from Andover MA, who also started with a tent platform I believe in the 1920's and then grew into a "cottage". Uncle Jim and Aunt Millie were my mom's aunt and uncle, therefore my great-aunt and great-uncle, and of course "Wee Hoose" is the Scottish dialect for wee house, small house, and small it was. I have little recollection of the stays there, except that Uncle Jim would sleep on an "L" shaped porch in the warm weather, and my Dad & I would join him when we came up. There was a "cooler" that was built into the floor right next to Uncle Jim's cot, and there was always some ice and an eyeopener in the cooler. And an eyeopener it was...Uncle Jim would reach down into that cooler and get an eyeopener for himself and wake up my dad and get him one too. Me....I had to go inside and get milk out of the icebox (truly an ice box, not a refrigerator.). I can barely remember the beach, and swimming, but do remember walking around the park and it seemed like everyone knew everyone else. I know there were dances at the Pavillion on Saturday nights, with kid's dances early, and then the kids would get put to bed, and the adults would take over. Teams of parents would go around and check on the kids to make sure they were alright. (used to do the same thing in our old neighborhood in Reading MA...adults at neighborhood cookouts in the summer and sledding on the hill on our street in the winter time). Of course, if parents did that sort of thing now, it would be called neglect and the kids would be taken away ! Uncle Jim and Aunt Millie are long gone, as are all the rest of the family, so that's about it for info from this end. This is where my user name comes from, because as a toddler, I couldn't say "Winnipesaukee", so I would simply say "Up the Saukee", and that phrase stuck. __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

07-29-2006, 11:07 PM	#7
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,616 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,483 Thanked 1,988 Times in 1,088 Posts	Gee thanks Pepper Go ahead, ya live by the sword and ya die by the sword . My pronunciation ain't never been no better and it ain't gettin' no worser, so if I ain't misunderstood none, then it ain't never gonna matter none! Right???? (Yikes, I think I contracted a Yogi Berra virus ) __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

07-30-2006, 02:24 PM	#8
SteveA Deceased Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilford, NH Posts: 2,311 Thanks: 1,070 Thanked 2,054 Times in 497 Posts	McDude, Upthesaukke, Thanks for the response's If either of you ever want to get into LSP for "memories" or pictures... let me know.. I'd love to show you folks around.. the old railroad station is now a 4 unit "motel" that we let out to members families... and I would love to go see if Upthesaukke's old place is sill there. The pavillion still looks exacly like the old postcard mcdude posted.. and we still have dances every saturday night... SteveA __________________ "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry he'll be a mile away and barefoot!" unknown

07-28-2006, 12:35 PM	#2
SteveA Deceased Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilford, NH Posts: 2,311 Thanks: 1,070 Thanked 2,054 Times in 497 Posts	Wow! Thank You.... all help appreciated! I started in LSP in 1973... It's a wonderful place.. and my plan is to try to preserve some of it's history for my kids and future generations.. I'd love to include anything you can send... Steve

The Following User Says Thank You to mcdude For This Useful Post:
Lake Charm (12-11-2013)

08-01-2006, 08:30 AM	#9
MWSP Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 48 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Miss Lake Shore Park While doing research for our pageant last year, I ran across a story about a bathing beauty pageant that used to be held there. The winner was called Miss Lake Shore Park. I'm sorry but I cannot recall where I ran across this article. __________________ The Miss Winnipesaukee Scholarship Program A Lakes Region Tradition since 1925

08-01-2006, 08:48 AM	#10
SteveA Deceased Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilford, NH Posts: 2,311 Thanks: 1,070 Thanked 2,054 Times in 497 Posts	Miss LSP MWSP, I've been a member at LSP for thirty years... they started the contest back in the mid 60's... It's not a "real" pagent type event... no talent or bathing suit. It's alot of fun for the young ladies... there are 2 divisions.. Miss and Jr. Miss. They get a chance to walk the runway.. and the hall is always full. Really just a fun thing. Thanks for the post! __________________ "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry he'll be a mile away and barefoot!" unknown

08-02-2006, 09:14 AM	#12
SteveA Deceased Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilford, NH Posts: 2,311 Thanks: 1,070 Thanked 2,054 Times in 497 Posts	Well that may be correct.... I've been there since 73.... I'll ask some of the "old timers" at LSP Thx SteveA __________________ "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry he'll be a mile away and barefoot!" unknown

08-06-2006, 08:19 PM	#13
mcdude Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rock Haven Lake - West Newfield, ME Posts: 5,343 Thanks: 370 Thanked 1,033 Times in 480 Posts	Short Beach

08-06-2006, 10:16 PM	#15
SteveA Deceased Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilford, NH Posts: 2,311 Thanks: 1,070 Thanked 2,054 Times in 497 Posts	WOW! I'm a newbie to... welcome Carguy.... boy do I want to talk to you... I'd love to see any old pics you have of LSP... mcdude is incredible... he has more local info to the "west side" of the big lake... Be sure you look up his other posts on the Lake Shore railroad... upthesaukie is another great reference for LSP... ask him about the Wee House! Thanks for posting... Contact me if you ever want to come into LSP to revisit old memories.. Thx SteveA __________________ "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry he'll be a mile away and barefoot!" unknown

08-07-2006, 11:44 AM	#16
SteveA Deceased Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilford, NH Posts: 2,311 Thanks: 1,070 Thanked 2,054 Times in 497 Posts	present Day LSP carguy,, Some of the family names you mention... Donohue, DeGroot are still in LSP. I sent you an e-mail with even more names of the oldtimers... SteveA __________________ "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry he'll be a mile away and barefoot!" unknown

11-07-2008, 04:15 PM	#18
nj2nh Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 535 Thanks: 86 Thanked 47 Times in 27 Posts	[/QUOTE] Hey, my father knows Anne Carr! He worked at Union Hospital until his retirement in the late 1980's. I am sorry, but that is totally weird. I don't know what made me look! Love this forum and the history section in particular!!!!!! nj2nh __________________

01-04-2009, 12:29 PM	#19
mcdude Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rock Haven Lake - West Newfield, ME Posts: 5,343 Thanks: 370 Thanked 1,033 Times in 480 Posts	Fairview in the Pines - 1930s I'm posting this brochure in the Lakeshore Park thread since the Fairview appears to be adjacent to it and overlooking what is now Ellacoya beach. (it appears that the cabins are very close to the site of the recent allegedly illegal tree cutting at Ellacoya). Directions advise the traveller to take the train to the Lakeshore Park stop. Perhaps SteveA or Carguy or one of our other Lakeshore Park friends can tell us if these cottages are still there? __________________

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