originally posted on 10/2/2020
Photo: Jimmy Titko. View full-sized image.
ACE Eastern Great Lakes comprises parks of all sizes and offerings, but probably the first park that popped into an ACEer’s mind would not be the site of the region’s informal meetup on September 19. On a sunny but not hot Saturday, Sluggers & Putters Amusement Park – yes, amusement park – in Canal Fulton, Ohio, played host to around 30 ACE members who gathered for mini golf, riding and some socially distanced socializing. Admission and parking are always free, plus Sluggers & Putters offered event attendees a discounted price of $23 on their Super All Day Pass, which included all rides and attractions.
Photo: Jimmy Titko. View full-sized image.
Lil' Dipper.
Photo: Bill Linkenheimer III. View full-sized image.
Sluggers & Putters may be slightly off the beaten path, but it is definitely worth a visit — and a revisit. “Sluggers” can test their hand-eye coordination at the seven outdoor batting cages, and “putters” can choose between two creatively designed 18-hole mini-golf courses — or play both. The Adventure course has two themes — Mother Goose and the Wizard of Oz. Some of the Mother Goose and Wizard of Oz props came from Canton, Ohio's Mother Gooseland, which closed in 1989. The Olde’ Skool Golf course features soundtracks from the 1960s and some hilariously themed holes. Other park attractions include Battle Creek Ohio Outdoor Laser Tag, an arcade and plenty of rides.
Bigfoot welcomes visitors on the way to the facility’s beautiful mini golf courses.
Photos: Lee Ann Draud & Bill Linkenheimer III. View full-sized image.
The meetup began near Auntie Em’s Food Court, where attendees gathered to walk over to the first informal takeover time (ITOT) of the day on the 1956 Allan Herschell Lil’ Dipper, originally at LeSourdsville Lake (Middletown, Ohio) but at Sluggers & Putters since 2015. Other ITOTs followed, on the F-22 Raptor Go Karts and the Dodge’em Bumper Cars. A mini-golf tournament took place on both 18-hole courses between 2:30 and 4 p.m. The Flying Chair Swings and the Scrambler were popular rides, as were the kiddie rides for younger family members.
Photo: Jimmy Titko. View full-sized image.
After the Bumper Car ITOT, attendees gathered again at Auntie Em’s, where newly promoted Regional Representative Jimmy Titko thanked them for attending and supporting the small, family-owned parks in the region during a difficult year.
Although the “scheduled” parts of the meetup were over, no one seemed eager to leave this happy little park. A few days before the event, the Sluggers & Putters Informal Meetup Facebook event page posted a poll for attendees, asking why they were going. The most popular answer was “to spend time with friends.” To drag out an old cliché, it’s been a roller coaster of a year, with considerable anxiety and uncertainty, so a real draw for attendees was the opportunity to spend a few hours with friends having fun. Sluggers & Putters was just the place to do it. It’s worthy of a return visit.
— Lee Ann Draud, ACE Publications Director
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