Stricker's Grove is a family owned

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

located in

Ross, Ohio Ross is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ross Township, Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,417 at the 2010 census. Ross sits along U.S. Route 27 between Cincinnati, Ohio and Oxford, Ohio. Ross is part of the Cincinnati ...

, USA. Unlike other amusement parks, Stricker's Grove is closed to the public for most of the year. Instead, it is rented out for private functions, such as weddings. The park is open to the public for 8 days of every year, on

July 4 Events Pre-1600 * 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaim ...

, 4 days in mid July for the Hamilton County 4-H Community Fair, the second Sunday in August (Family Day), Labor Day, and a Sunday in October called "Customer Appreciation Day".

History

The park was first started in 1924 in

Mt. Healthy, Ohio Mount Healthy is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky metropolitan area. The population was 6,098 at the 2010 census. History Mount Healthy was founded in 1817 as the village of Mount Pleasant. In ...

by Henry Stricker on of property next to the Drive-in on Compton Rd. The Stricker's lived in a house on the property. Henry Stricker initially used the land for a place for coworkers to come to on weekends to picnic and enjoy the countryside. A dance hall was later added, and was designed so that if the park failed, it could be converted into a chicken coop. In the 1940s, a pony cart ride was added along with a horse and pony track. The first rides arrived at the park in 1954, including the Boat Ride and the Rockets, both of which remain in operation. Upon Henry's death in 1960, the park was passed on to his three sons, Harold, Elmer, and Ralph. In 1972, the park was relocated to

and Ralph became the sole owner. Ralph died in January 2007. His daughter Debbie and three longtime employees now operate the park.

Rides and attractions

Stricker's Grove currently has several amusement rides, including two "classic"

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also ...

Tornado

The larger of the roller coasters is ''Tornado'', designed by Al Collins and built by Ralph Stricker. The ride started construction in 1990 and opened in 1993. The ride runs a single

Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia T ...

train. The Tornado is a mirror image of the former

John C. Allen John C. Allen (May 21, 1907 – August 17, 1979) was a roller coaster designer who was responsible for the revival of wooden roller coasters which began in the 1960s. He attended Drexel University. He started working for the Philadelphia Tobogga ...

designed Jet Coaster (later known as the Mighty Lightnin' and the Comet) at the now defunct

Rocky Glen Park Known by a variety of names over its 101-year existence, Rocky Glen Park was a park near Moosic, Pennsylvania. Founded by Arthur Frothingham in 1886 as a picnic park, it was transformed into an amusement park by engineer and entrepreneur Frederi ...

Moosic, Pennsylvania Moosic ( ) is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, south of downtown Scranton and northeast of downtown Wilkes-Barre, on the Lackawanna River. Moosic is in a former coal-mining region. A few older industries existed at one time, inclu ...

. it goes 45 miles per hour.

Teddy Bear

The ''Teddy Bear'' wooden roller coaster is a small family sized ride first built in 1996, also by Ralph Stricker. Like the Tornado, the ''Teddy Bear'' coaster was built using the blueprints from the 1935 built Teddy Bear at

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to th ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

. The coaster has been recognized as an

ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ca ...

Classic Coaster.RCDB - Teddy Bear (Stricker's Grove)
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Other attractions

* Boat Ride * Rockets * Little Cars * Kiddie

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

* Kiddie Turtles (a kiddie-sized

Tumble Bug A Tumble Bug is an amusement park ride with a circular track. The ride has a central axis and a circular track. The track has changes in elevation in it, and the cars, each attached by a rod to a central pivot attachment point and connected to ...

) *

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in SA) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular pla ...

Train ride A train ride or miniature train consists of miniature trains capable of carrying people. Some are considered amusement rides and some are located in amusement parks and municipal parks. Backyard railroads and ridable miniature railways run ...

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

Tilt-A-Whirl Tilt-A-Whirl is a flat ride similar to the Waltzer in Europe, designed for commercial use at amusement parks, fairs, and carnivals, in which it is commonly found. The rides are manufactured by Larson International of Plainview, Texas. Descri ...

Scrambler In telecommunications, a scrambler is a device that transposes or inverts signals or otherwise encodes a message at the sender's side to make the message unintelligible at a receiver not equipped with an appropriately set descrambling device. Wher ...

Flying Scooters Flying Scooters, also known simply as ''Flyers'', is an amusement ride consisting of a center post with ride vehicles suspended from arms attached to the center post. The ride dates back to the 1930s and 1940s when Bisch-Rocco manufactured the ...

* Electric Rainbow ( Round Up) *

Miniature golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

Pirate ship Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

* Elephants * Tip Top

Former rides

* Kiddie Coaster (a 13 foot tall purple kiddie coaster) * Crazy Daisy (a Philadelphia Toboggan Company miniature "Cuddle-Up" ride) * Helicopters * Topsy Turvy * Freefall

Pictures

Image:Sg-midway.jpg, Inside the park Image:Roundupride.jpg, Electric Rainbow (Round Up) Image:Flyers-StrickersGrove.jpg,

Image:Sg-tornado-onride.jpg, Tornado roller coaster

References

External links

Official Stricker's G *{{RCDB">4612 Amusement parks in Ohio
Buildings and structures in Butler County, Ohio Tourist attractions in Butler County, Ohio 1924 establishments in Ohio Amusement parks opened in 1924 Family-owned companies of the United States