Stricker’s Grove, the family-owned and family-friendly amusement park in Crosby Township, will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Sunday, August 11, during its annual Family Day.
Located on State Route 128 near Ross, the park has been a favorite spot for West Siders for generations, retaining the quaint charm of old amusement parks with fairground-style rides and two classic wooden roller coasters.
Stricker’s Grove, which is usually rented out for corporate picnics, church festivals and school groups, is open to the public on Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. Admission is $18; children under 2 are free. The price includes all rides, miniature golf, horse-drawn wagon rides and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages, the park’s Facebook page says.
The history of Stricker’s Grove, as described on the park’s website, began in 1924. Henry Stricker opened 55 acres of his land on Compton Road in Mount Healthy so that his co-workers at Procter & Gamble could have Sunday afternoon picnics. The Stricker family continued to live in a house on the property as it developed into an amusement park.
His son, Ralph Stricker, moved Stricker’s Grove to a 25-acre cornfield on State Route 128 in 1972.
Ralph Stricker also built the two roller coasters himself. The Tornado, completed in 1993, was based on a design by Al Collins, the lead engineer on The Beast at Kings Island. For the tamer Teddy Bear roller coaster, added in 1996, he used plans from the Coney Island roller coaster of the same name, built in 1935.
Stricker’s Grove has also added the pirate ship and electric rainbow from LeSourdsville Lake and features a railroad that circles the property.
Co-owner Debbie Ziegler is the third generation of the Stricker family to run the park.
