This week we are looking back at Euclid Beach Park as we near the grand reopening of its carousel this weekend.
You don't have to wait, though, to get a taste of the park.
WKYC Channel 3's Sara Shookman shows us how the historic attraction carries on -- through some of its living legacies.
David Ford, owner of Weber's Premium Custard and Ice Cream in Fairview Park, is carrying on the Weber's tradition that got its start at Euclid Beach Park in 1929.
"Nathan Weber went up to spend the summer at Euclid Beach. ... Worked for the Soeder Dairy Company there manufacturing Euclid Beach Vanilla," Ford says.
The vanilla custard at Weber's is still that same signature flavor from the fresh custard stands at Euclid Beach Park nearly a century ago.
"The old machines are the reason I can still make it," Ford says. "It's the one he designed the flavor on. It's the one I still use every day to make it. ... On the East Side it was Euclid Beach, and on the West side it was Weber's. ... One of my customers calls it the cheapest ticket back to your childhood you can imagine."
The same can be said for Humphrey's popcorn balls and candy kisses.
"You try them, you're like 'Oh my gosh! I remember that, and it's great!' It's exactly the same as it always was," says Joanne Lynch, co-owner and vice president at the Humphrey Company.
The melt-in-the-mouth taffy cools on the same trays you'd pull it from at the park. And those bright white kernels haven't changed a bit.
It's a tradition started by Dudley Humphrey's family, who owned a popcorn and candy store on Public Square and owned Euclid Beach Park from 1901 until 1969.
"The popcorn is still being grown at the Humphrey farm in Wakeman. We grow white popcorn, which is fairly rare now. Because it has great flavor, is very tender, looks great in a popcorn ball," says Humphrey.
"We get a lot of calls, a lot of people who say 'My grandparents went there, and they told me all about the park.' " Lynch says. "Or people will say 'You know, I went there as a child, and, boy,' you know, they love the taste again, the smell again and it just makes them think about, you know, happy times and great memories."
You might have experienced Euclid Beach without even knowing it on Cedar Point's Cedar Downs Racing Derby. The ride was originally at Euclid Beach until the mid-1960s, called the Great American Racing Derby.
The Euclid Beach Boys, John Frato and Joe Tomaro, have salvaged Laffing Sal, the Thriller car and the rocket cars to help relive the park on its anniversary every year.
"It's been our mission, since the group was founded back in '89, to keep the memories of the park alive, to try and save whatever physical pieces of the park still existing and to keep that cultural part of Cleveland's history in the forefront," Frato says.
Weber's Euclid Beach vanilla and other goodies will be available next to the carousel at the Western Reserve Historical Society during the carousel grand opening and for weekends through the end of the year.
But you can find Humphrey's popcorn balls and candy kisses at markets and grocery stores around the region.
Of course, starting Sunday, you can jump on the Euclid Beach carousel at the Western Reserve Historical Society.
Wednesday on Channel 3 News at 7, Sara Shookman will tell us about the long journey the carousel has taken since it left Euclid Beach in 1969.
