Today I was blessed with a visit from Harold Zook. Harold is a founding member of the Red Rock Camp and has been coming to Leetonia since he was a teen. Harold is in his 80's so this represents a lot of history. I will be getting some more information from the Red Rock members, which promises some interesting pictures of the old swimming hole by the Nightengale Camp.
Of most interest to me was the fact, Harold had stayed in our camp on at least two different occassions: Once while owned by the Lowes and a few times when my grandfather, Paul Maholm owned the camp.
Harold remembers coming up in his late teens to hunt and staying with the Lowes.
"They were poor people," Harold recalled.
"They fed us burnt bear meat and apples for dinner and one of their oldest son's was our hunting guide." Harold remembers how cold it was out hunting and how little the Lowe boy had to wear.
"He just had overalls and rubber boots on, I don't know how he could do it." Harold remembers the hunting was good. The deer were plentiful back then. He said the Lowes farmed the top of the hill and put potatoes in.
"It seemed like there were more rocks than potatoes in that field."
When the Lowes sold the place to my grandfather for $800.00, Harold said. "I was young and didn't have that kind of money or I would have tried to buy it." It is wierd to think how one person buying a property over another changes all of history. If Harold had brought this property, I would never have lived here. There would be no mountain girl of Leetonia.
Later, after my grandfather purchased the place he rented it to Harold to hunt out of. Harold said they just about froze to death trying to keep the place warm. The single pane glass frosted over and they could see their breath. They brought up an extra stove the next year only to find out the chimney was plugged and they again had to suffer a cold hunting season.
Harold recalls, "I was younger then and it didn't seem as bad to me as it would now."
Harold ended up buying the Red Rock camp with some other guys and started their own history there. Hopefully, I will be able to fill in some detail on the Red Rock later.
UPDATE: Last week multiple camps experienced break-ins from Jersey Shore all the way up Leetonia Rd camps were broken into. Seems they looked for guns, propane, and cooper pipe. Many camps found themselves repairing things this weekend, instead of enjoying a vacation. A pry bar was used to open windows and doors. Camps broken into that I know of at this point coming up Leetonia Rd are: Bobcat Camp, Carpenter Camp, Red Rock and Nightengale.
Don't leave your guns at camp. If any of you have camera's you can mount which take pictures without being noticed. It might be a good idea. Maybe we can catch these people.
Mountain girl, Paula, Logging out.
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Hi Paula! I am the lady who sat beside you at the Brown Twp. breakfast on July 20. My dad was also a member at Red Rock with Harold Zook and others for many years. I was given some old pictures of Red Rock before it was purchased by Zook and others. The picts date back to the mid-40's. My husband and I are coming up after Labor Day. Maybe we can get together so you can see those pictures. I am hoping to get more picts from the senior members of the group.
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