Is “Lake #5” the Bessemer Rod and Gun Club? When I was young My Dad and Uncle used to be members,and I fished there many times.Also,I remember The pump house lake.We were talking about that during the holidays.Nobody seems to remember how old these two particular Quarries are.Input would be great.
1930’s through the 1950’s, Lake #5 was the one north of the high school divided by a highway. Lake # 3,
on the south side of town, or where the wealthier people lived, was the Bessemer Rod and Gun Club, a private lake requiring a membership fee and dues. This may have changed in subsequent years.
Best regards,
Al
#3 as it was known was the initial Rod and Gun club lake. As kids we could all fish in it and some members kept row boats there. Sometime around 1950 one of the Youngstown steel mills began dumping waste water in the quarry which turned the water orange and killed all of the fish. The company then gave half of #5 to the club and they stocked it and built a clubhouse where they held “Turkey Shoots at Thanksgiving. #6 was west of #5 and back in the woods. It was fished occasionally by anyone but more importantly was where we went skinny dipping in May and nobody(our parents) knew about it because it was hidden. The locations had nothing to do with who was wealthy. Kids did not have to belong. The west side of #5 was for town swimming. The company built a large sandy beach where we swam all summer. One of our peers collected a small sum of money from each of us and purchased a thick wide plank at the lumber yard which he inserted in the rocks and we had a superior diving board that rivaled any installed in a professionally built pool. We all became proficient at diving. I grew up in Bessemer from 1936 thru 1954 when I joined the Navy with classmates Lester Stanley and Joe Bergles.
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Bill Cwynar #
Is “Lake #5” the Bessemer Rod and Gun Club? When I was young My Dad and Uncle used to be members,and I fished there many times.Also,I remember The pump house lake.We were talking about that during the holidays.Nobody seems to remember how old these two particular Quarries are.Input would be great.
Jeff Bales Jr. #
(EDITOR’S NOTE) Bill, Yes, I’ve been told that the lake/quarry at that location is known as Quarry #5 or Lake #5. Jeff
Al Spizzo #
Jeff, During my residence in Bessemer, the
1930’s through the 1950’s, Lake #5 was the one north of the high school divided by a highway. Lake # 3, on the south side of town, or where the wealthier people lived, was the Bessemer Rod and Gun Club, a private lake requiring a membership fee and dues. This may have changed in subsequent years. Best regards, AlBob Donaldson #
#3 as it was known was the initial Rod and Gun club lake. As kids we could all fish in it and some members kept row boats there. Sometime around 1950 one of the Youngstown steel mills began dumping waste water in the quarry which turned the water orange and killed all of the fish. The company then gave half of #5 to the club and they stocked it and built a clubhouse where they held “Turkey Shoots at Thanksgiving. #6 was west of #5 and back in the woods. It was fished occasionally by anyone but more importantly was where we went skinny dipping in May and nobody(our parents) knew about it because it was hidden. The locations had nothing to do with who was wealthy. Kids did not have to belong. The west side of #5 was for town swimming. The company built a large sandy beach where we swam all summer. One of our peers collected a small sum of money from each of us and purchased a thick wide plank at the lumber yard which he inserted in the rocks and we had a superior diving board that rivaled any installed in a professionally built pool. We all became proficient at diving. I grew up in Bessemer from 1936 thru 1954 when I joined the Navy with classmates Lester Stanley and Joe Bergles.
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